fOTOfAX
BREVARD PLANT
PHOTO PRODUCTS DEPARTMENT
VOL. 12, NO. 7 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 1979
GUIDELINES SET FOR FIREWOOD CUTTING
SIGNS OF A HARP WINTER: Ray Miller and Ken Walend assist
John Golden as he signs over 60 "Certificates of Compliance" with Department of
Energy heating and cooling regulations.
A bluenose, says our dictionary, is
"a puritanical person". But that was be
fore DOE. This winter, a law-abiding
citizen on the job may also be called a
bluenose. The U.S. Department of En
ergy, under the direction of President
Carter, has issued regulations for comfort
heating and cooling. As a result, some
of our noses, fingers and toes will feel a
distinct chill in months to come.
Two key words are "comfort" and
"regulation". Comfort of people is no
longer an allowable reason for heating a
plant space to more than 65° F. And the
65 degree limit is a regulation, with
severe penalties for violation.
After years of suggestions, recommen
dations, good ideas and voluntary guide
lines, the word "regulation" sounds sur
prisingly harsh.
The federal restrictions apply to all
non-residential structures. As with all
such things, there are exemptions, exclu
sions and considerations to the law, but
its terms are basically easy to under
stand.
In order to ease the financial drain
caused by continuing increases in the
price of foreign oil, the government is
limiting the use of fuel related energy
for heating and cooling buildings. No
energy may be used to raise tempera
tures above 65°F or lower them below
78. Water heaters must be set down
ward to 105°F or as low as the thermo
stat can be adjusted.
Plant thermostat settings will be very
important under the new rules. At pres
ent, the only persons allowed to autho-
tize adjustments to space conditioning
thermostats are Bruce Blythe and Henry
Adams. If a workplace temperature is
Unsatisfactory, they can offer only sym
pathy if the air is between 65 and 78
egrees. The law won't permit them to
tna e adjustments for the sake of any
one's personal comfort. There's a
$5,000 civil penalty for a violation and
a $10,000 criminal penalty for willful
violation. Each day beyond the limits
is counted as a separate offense.
Many employees will enjoy working
in areas where temperatures must be
controlled to more customary levels.
The Federal edict does not apply to
conditions which are required to pro
tect materials or product, so in areas
where electrical static problems and dry
ing rates are tied to room temperatures,
life will be comfortable. For those who
work in other places, sweaters will be
coming back in style.
Weather prophets have long had fa
vorite ways to predict the severity of a
coming winter. $ome favor the measure
ment of husks on corn, others insist that
the size of the acorn crop or the width
of wooly worm stripes is the only reli
able indicator. For Brevard Plant em
ployees and anyone else who works in a
nonresidential building, the arrival of
the "Emergency Building Temperature
Restrictions" is an absolute guarantee of
a hard winter - particularly for those
who "froze" last year at 68°.
What can we do? Dress warmer and
be thankful for the heat we have, one
supposes. But looking for some sign of
a silver lining in the coming cloud of
cold air discloses some positive facts:
those who must work outdoors will ex
perience less discomfort in going out of
65° than from 72° or more. People who
breathe cooler air in winter seem to
have fewer colds and other respiratory
problems. And we can take advantage
of our own tendencies to live by habit.
For most people, the only reason
72° seems more comfortable than 65
is because "we're used to it".
If we enter the heating season with
Employee Relations has issued guide
lines for woodcutting on the plant
property this year.
As more employees turn to wood-
burning stoves for supplemental heating,
the availability of firewood becomes a
matter of greater interest. Having a
source of wood in company cutting
areas will be of considerable benefit to
many employees. The benefit, however,
is tied to some responsibilities, which
include following the guidelines and
using safe work practices.
Cutting days this year will be Mon
day, Wednesday and Baturday as weather
permits. The following guidelines apply:
Cut only in designated zones
Don't cut marked trees
Cut low, as close as possible to ground
level
Take all wood 1" and bigger
Check in and out with the Gate on each
load
Harvesting is limited to six pickup loads
per household per year.
Wood is not to be taken for resale.
Remember that roads to the fire
wood cutting zones are not always pass
able. These roads become very muddy
as cold, wet weather increases. It's
probably a good idea to call in and
check on road conditions before plan
ning your day's work in the woodlot.
home thermostats set at 65°, we should
soon become accustomed to that tem
perature. That should make us more
comfortable on the job, save significant
money on the home heating bill, and
peiiiaps even give us a little bit of pride
in having done our part to stop the
national dollar drain.
$ure enough, winter's coming. Learn
ing to live at 65° is going to be a tough
experience for some of us. But if fing-
gers seem to get a bit stiff when you're
working in a remote corner, when peo
ple around us say our nose is turning
blue - we can aivyays look ahead to the
coming of Spring. But we'd best not
think too far. A 78 degree summer will
be another story.
■ .* '• *• •
Lv
PLEASE, DON'T BREAK
was the unvoiced plea of many to the
flying egg at the annual picnic. This one didn't break — this time.
Address Correction Requested
Box 267, Brevard, N. C. 28712
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
PAID
Brevard, N.C.
Permit #66
28768