Making Workers Safer Around the Nation

The following new services and innovations have been introduced by International Safety Equipment Association member companies to help make workers safer:

• From Ansell is the Eighth Edition of the Chemical Resistance Guide, containing updated hand protection permeation and degradation data. The comprehensive document is available as a downloadable PDF, or chemical workers can request a free hard copy by regular mail at www.ansellpro.com.

• From Gateway Safety is the 2009 edition of its full-line product catalog, a sourcing guide for more than 60 styles of safety eyewear, hearing, respiratory, head and face protection products. Visit www.gatewaysafety.com or call 800-822-5347.

• From DSM Dyneema and Kimberly-Clark Professional comes word that Kimberly Clark has joined Dyneema's licensing program for protective gloves made with Dyneema^® fiber. Kimberly Clark plans to expand its offerings with additional cut-resistant gloves featuring Dyneema fiber.

• From Avon-ISI is an improved Web site, www.avon-isi.com, which has a user-friendly layout with information organized into categories, including “market solutions” and “product solutions.” Each product is organized into tabbed information, such as descriptions, approvals, user focus, features and options that viewers can select.

• From Jackson Safety are changes to promote its “Lean and Green” program, which is intended to keep the environment safe. For example, the company's catalog now is available in an interactive format online at www.jacksonsafety.com/catalog.

• From MCR Safety is an improved Web site offering easier navigation and faster document access at www.mcrsafety.com. The company also has introduced “Professional Grade” as its market identity to provide consumers with the highest level of innovation in safety products.

• From Moldex comes word that it received the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Award for Green Excellence in Product Innovation in the North American Hearing and Respiratory Protection market. The award is presented to acknowledge a company's commitment to environmental sustainability in its product lines. Visit www.moldex.com.

• From Sperian Protection is a Howard Leight poster detailing the care and maintenance of earplugs and earmuffs. Designed for placement on worksite bulletin boards or in other high-traffic areas, the poster is downloadable free through www.howardleight.com.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) — www.osha.gov — issued a final rule on clarifying employers' duty to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and train each employee. The rule revises OSHA standards to clarify that, for employers to be in compliance, they must provide PPE and hazards training for each employee covered by the standards.

Each employee not protected may be considered a separate violation and penalties assessed accordingly, OSHA said, adding that this revised language is consistent with language in other standards for which per-employee citations have been upheld.

OSHA also issued clarifications on the use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) when entering a silo, and on the classification of hard hats, and posted on its Web site a letter of interpretation concerning corrosive materials and concentrations requiring use of emergency eyewashes and showers.

When entering a silo during the first 4 to 6 weeks after filling stops, or any time the silo is full or partially full, SCBA should be worn, OSHA said.

Concerning hard hats, OSHA said it is in the process of updating its incorporated reference to the ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 standard for head protection to recognize the 1997 and 2003 editions of the standard, which use a new classification system for the various types of head protection. In the newer editions, head-protective helmets are classified differently by both Type and Class than in the current OSHA-incorporated 1986 edition. ISEA publishes the ANSI head-protection standard.

OSHA issued the letter of interpretation concerning eyewashes and showers in response to a request from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. Access it at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=27181.

OSHA also announced that in conjunction with a proposed rule on cranes and derricks in construction, it has initiated a National Crane Safety Initiative to address safety hazards during construction crane operation.

In other construction-related news, OSHA unveiled a web page at http://www.osha.gov/doc/falls/preventingfalls.html as the central repository of resources targeting ways employers and employees can prevent construction-related falls.

The agency also announced that it had published a final rule on improving the safety of longshoring employees who work with vertical tandem lifts (VTLs). The rule may be found in the Dec. 10, 2008, Federal Register.

New communications products from OSHA include:

• OutreachTrainers.org, a free Web site dedicated to the Outreach Training Program community. Developed in cooperation with the Directorate of Training and Education, the site provides easy access to scheduling information for 10- and 30-hour Construction and General Industry training classes. Employees interested in training can search from more than 700 registered outreach trainers to find course locations and schedules based on the type of training and proximity.

• A Safety and Health Topics Web page for employers and employees involved in the use or manufacture of engineered nanoscale materials; it highlights related OSHA standards, current and potential applications of nanotechnology, potential health effects and workplace hazard controls, and health and safety research priorities.

• An eTool for the operation of powered industrial trucks, focusing on forklifts commonly used in general industry.

• New sonography and MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas) modules and updated surgical modules added to the eTool to help healthcare industry workers avoid injuries and illness.

• Safety and Health Information Bulletins posted on OSHA's Web site on Compactor Rollover Hazards; Hazards of Transporting, Unloading, Storing and Handling Granite, Marble and Stone Slabs, and on Hazards of Using Flammable Liquids in Cutting Laminated Glass.

• Protecting Worker Safety and Health Under the National Response Framework QuickCard, which describes OSHA resources and services available to protect worker safety and health following a disaster.

• Safety and Health Injury Prevention Sheet on Shipfitting, which addresses the hazards of shipfitting in vessel construction and repair, and ways to avoid those hazards.