T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Zehnder Clean Air Solutions regional sales manager Derek Ennis speaks to Belmont County Safety Council about the importance of air safety.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — With the rapidly changing workforce dynamic, Zehnder Clean Air Solutions Regional Sales Manager Derek Ennis is informing the Belmont County Safety Council about how his company can help.

Ennis said he wants to provide employees with a safer, healthier workplace.

He added that the National Fire Protection Association created new standards about a year and a half ago regarding explosive dust.

“Any dust is explosive in certain aspects, right? So sugar can explode, cotton can explode, wood dust can explode. Explosions are a thing that happens in manufacturing settings, not common, but freak accidents happen,” Ennis said. “So the NFPA standards changed, which now there’s enforcement standards. These manufacturing operators have to do a dust hazard analysis. So before it was just the dust was dirty, and whatever, we got to clean it up, but now it’s a fire risk, an explosion risk, an employee health hazard, and so the nuisance dust standard is getting more stringent, and our company is there to serve that changing environment.”

The monthly meeting was hosted by St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Kindler at the city’s Rec Center on Thursday.

She said any organization or business can join the Safety Council.

“If you have an Ohio workers comp policy and a policy number, you can save a percentage off of your workers’ comp policy if you attend 10 of our meetings throughout the year,” Kindler said. “That’s why a lot of businesses take advantage of it. Not only do they learn about different safety topics each month, but they can also save money.”

She added that the council’s fiscal year begins in July for companies interested in joining.

“I would need to have their application in by June 30. It’s really important that if they’re interested in saving money on their workers comp policy, to give us a call at the Chamber, and we can get them signed up,” Kindler said. “We do not hold a meeting in July, but businesses can still acquire points, so if they need to have 10 points in order to get their rebates they can attend all 10 meetings in person here at the Rec Center. You can also attend eight meetings in person, and then you can acquire two external points, which are online courses.”

She added that courses eligible for points toward workers’ compensation rebates include CPR and other first-aid certifications that businesses typically require regardless.

Kindler said many area businesses take advantage of the council, and Thursday’s meeting drew 75 representatives from area businesses to hear from Ennis.

Ennis spoke to the council about the importance of indoor air quality. He said historically, the way to collect dust has been to essentially vacuum it at the source.

He said Zehnder Clean Air Solutions is a Switzerland-based company that has operated in the United States for the past 10 years.

“We’re exponentially growing because we will hang our air purifier systems from the rafters of a manufacturing setting, and whatever smoke or dust or mist that vacuum system doesn’t collect, it’s still in the air to affect the employees, and so we come in and we make sure that the ambient air level is always at a safe level for the employees in the worksites,” Ennis said.