Democrats' Bill Would Force OSHA to Issue Diacetyl Rule
California Rep. Lynn Woolsey's new measure would require OSHA within 90 days to issue an interim final standard to minimize workers exposure to diacetyl...
NIOSH Blasts Air Quality at Interior Department
The NIOSH industrial hygienists, who in August conducted a health hazard evaluation of the Main Interior Building (MIB) of the Interior Department's National...
House Dems Applaud DOL's PPE Decision
The standard has been on hold since 1999, and the decision to release it was prompted by a lawsuit filed by the AFL-CIO and the United Food and Commercial...
Labor Department Ordered to Respond to Lawsuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit gave the Labor Department 30 days from the date of its order to respond to the lawsuit,...
OSHA Fines Pharmaceutical Company for Violations
Provident Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures tablets and syrups, was cited for seven serious violations with a proposed penalty of $17,500, six willful...
Mine Operators Urged to Provide Enough Breathable Air
The requirement, posted in a bulletin titled "Options for Providing Post-Accident Breathable Air to Underground Coal Miners," was published to help operators...
Reference Materials Could Help with Silica Measurement
Crystalline silica, or quartz, is one of the most common minerals on earth. Monitoring silica dust in the workplace typically is done by collecting samples...
NSC: Howard Highlights NIOSH Priorities
"Real-time exposure assessment would empower both the employer and the worker to be able to correlate workplace activities directly with exposure levels...
Breathing Right
What happens when employees or worse, employers are not aware that the environment in which they are working is plagued with contaminants? Media reports...
OSHA Adds APFs to Respiratory Protection Standard
OSHA will publish its final respiratory standard on APFs in the Aug. 24 Federal Register. This APF final rule completes the revision of the reserve sections...
Respirator Manufacturers to Bush: Sign Bill to Stop Flood of Litigation
The six manufacturers who sent the letter Aearo, Bacou-Dalloz, Inovel, Moldex, MSA and North Safety, all of which are members of the Coalition for Breathing...
Breathing Easy: Respiratory Protection in Coal Mines
In the first 2 months of 2006, 16 miners lost their lives working in West Virginia coal mines. Since then, unions and organizations advocating for workers'...
Why Are So Many Workers Still Exposed to Silica?
A striking irony about silicosis is that while it is one of the oldest recognized occupational diseases, experts say they really don't know how many people...
Data vs. Experience: The Human Factor in OSHA's APF Proposal
The public hearings to amend OSHA's respiratory protection standard (29 CFR1910.134), stretching over three days in January, were filled with enough technical...
The Right Reason for Respirator Training
If legal liability is at the heart of your respirator training program, it is destined to be a failure...
Working Together for Respiratory Protection
I absolutely believe employee participation is the key piece missing in most respirator programs," asserted Bruce Lippy, director of the National Clearinghouse...
Respiratory Protection Against Terror
A terrorist has attacked your plant, causing an explosion that releases chemicals into the air inside and around the facility. Do you have respirators...
Cleaning Up After 9/11: Respirators, Power, and Politics
The Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) horrified the nation and the world: 2,800 civilians died in the conflagration, and the subsequent collapse of the WTC buildings created what was probably the most dangerous emergency response, rescue and recovery effort in U.S. history. This disaster and the ensuing fires released thousands of tons of matter - much of it hazardous - into the atmosphere...
The Positive Side of Respirators
Traditional health and safety practice has emphasized the primary role of personal protective equipment in providing worker protection and achieving OSHA...
