October 1, 2008
Articles
Report: When the Going Gets Tough, OSHA Reduces Fines
A new report from ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest, proves that the old adage "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," works just as well for reducing OSHA fines as anything else in life....
House Hearing Focuses On “Secret” DOL Rule
A Sept. 17 House Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing considered the impact of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) worker health risk assessment proposal, a rule critics say was developed in secret and that could weaken and delay the enactment of future workplace health standards....
OSHA Cites Three Contractors for Inadequate Cave-In Protection
'OSHA has cited three contractors from Maine and New Hampshire for alleged willful violations for failing to provide adequate cave-in protection for employees...
Speaking Out: Doing the Right Thing (And Doing It Successfully)
Some EHS professionals strongly object to the amount of regulation in their industry, or to specific requirements. Others are frustrated by the hoops...
Seven Decades of Safety
The magazine's first publisher, Irving Hexter, noted in the first issue of Occupational Hazards and Safety, Each stride of modern industry towards faster,...
Seven Decades of Safety: Fighting Two Wars
It was the known as the king of occupational diseases, said Gerald Markowitz, a professor of history at John Jay College in New York. In the mid-1930s,...
Seven Decades of Safety: Good Times Take Their Toll
Americans entered the late 1940s and early 1950s as the heroes of World War II. Patriotism and democractic fervor were at an all-time high. The economy...
Seven Decades of Safety: Asbestos Becomes a Menace
Dr. Irving J. Selikoff told more than 400 scientists at the Conference on the Biological Effects of Asbestos in October 1964 that asbestos was killing workers...
Seven Decades of Safety: The Birth of OSHA
The end of the 1960s was a rare mixture of rage and hope in the United States. While the Vietnam War continued to drag on and divide the nation, Lyndon...
Seven Decades of Safety: Bhopal's Legacy: New Vigilance in the Chemical Industry
Chemical industry experts consider the tragic events of 14-years ago in Bhopal to be the biggest wake-up call of all time. Chemical companies undertook a massive reexamination of their safety practices when a Union Carbide pesticide producing plant emitted a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate (MIC) onto the densely populated region of Bhopal in central India...
Seven Decades of Safety: Reform and Reinvention
The November 1994 congressional election marked a dramatic turning point in the political fortunes of OSHA. For years, powerful Democratic committee chairmen...
Seven Decades of Safety: Anatomy of a Tragedy
Time after time, those of us in the safety community read about workplace injuries and fatalities that were completely preventable. Had Company X just...
TECO Employees Flip for Safety Coins
TECO Peoples Gas in Florida employs nearly 600 workers. Since many of these employees work with natural gas, their jobs inherently are dangerous. So,...
First Responders and the Importance of Conflict Resolution
When first responders reach the site of an emergency that is in progress, it often is unnerving and unsettling. They must keep their wits about them and...
Watch Out: The Importance of Protecting Your Eyes In the Industrial Workplace
To anyone who thinks eye protection may not be a crucial component of PPE in the workplace, think again. Nearly three out of five injured workers were...
