Standards News Archive
Poll: Regulations Not the Top Concern for Small Business Owners
A new poll reveals that most small business owners do not list regulations as a top concern or barrier to their businesses; in fact, many respondents view regulations as a way to level the playing field with larger companies...
MSHA Administrator: The Nation's Mine Safety Is Improving
In a Feb. 2 speech, MSHA Administrator Joseph A. Main said the agency's enforcement efforts, combined with increased compliance within the industry, "are making a difference and making mines safer for the nation's miners"...
OSHA Addresses PELs in Regulatory Agenda
OSHA's Fall 2011 semi-annual regulatory agenda, which the agency released in early 2012, includes a "Review/Lookback of OSHA Chemical Standards" to begin to address the agency's permissible exposure limits (PELs), which most safety stakeholders consider woefully out of date...
EPA Offers First Look at Greenhouse Gas Reporting System Data
EPA recently announced the availability of the first wave of data from its new greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting system. Communities can access the 2010 GHG data from more than 6,700 facilities to identify nearby sources of GHGs, help businesses compare and track emissions and inform policy for state and local governments...
Safety Stakeholders Urge OMB to Finish Review of OSHA's Crystalline Silica Rule
In a Jan. 25 letter, a group of more than 300 occupational safety experts, doctors and public health scientists urged President Barack Obama to help move along the delayed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review of OSHA's proposed crystalline silica rule. This delay, the stakeholders stressed, prevents the rulemaking process from moving forward, obstructs public participation in the issue and puts workers at risk of disease and death...
Cal/OSHA Uncovers Dozens of Safety Violations at California Warehouses
The California Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) identified more than 60 safety violations, including fall protection, storage stacking and machine guarding violations, at four San Bernardino County, Calif., warehouses owned by National Distribution Centers. Cal/OSHA proposed $256,445 in fines against the company and its temporary staffing contractor, Tri State Staffing...
OSHA: AirTran Fired Pilot Out of Retaliation
According to OSHA, AirTran Airways violated whistleblower provisions by firing a pilot out of retaliation for reporting mechanical issues. OSHA ordered AirTran to reinstate the pilot and pay more than $1 million in back wages...
OSHA Makes Its Case for I2P2 in New White Paper
The introduction to OSHA's new Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) white paper stresses that the agency "believes that injury and illness prevention programs provide the foundation for breakthrough changes in the way employers identify and control hazards, leading to a significantly improved workplace health and safety environment."...
CSB: Dust Control, Housekeeping Failures Led to Fatal Hoeganaes Explosions
On Jan. 5, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released a report on the three deadly fires and explosions that occurred at a Hoeganaes Corp. plant in Gallatin, Tenn., in 2011. The report asserts that the accumulation of fine iron powder in the facility led to the explosions, and that Hoeganaes did not take necessary action to prevent these fatal events. CSB also used its report to highlight the need for an OSHA standard on combustible dust...
Hepburnia Coal Co. Agrees to Pay Fine, Provide Special Training in Discrimination Settlement
To settle charges of discrimination against an employee, Hepburnia Coal Co. Inc., a Pennsylvania surface mine operator, agreed to pay a $3,750 civil penalty and provide its miners with training surrounding their rights to report safety hazards or request MSHA inspections without retaliation...
CSB Calls For Hazardous Waste Facility Safety Standard
On Dec. 17, a chemical fire at an Ohio hazardous waste facility fatally injured one worker and severely burned another. In the aftermath of this incident, U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso highlighted the importance of creating a national fire code for hazardous waste facilities...
COSH Releases List of 2011's Most Notable Occupational Fatalities
While 2011 can't compete with 2010 in terms of high-profile occupational disasters such as the Upper Big Branch Mine and the Deepwater Horizon explosions, the year featured its own preventable workplace tragedies that expose the need for safety improvements. From the half-dozen workers who lost their lives in a Kansas grain elevator explosion to the electrocution of two teenage agricultural workers, these recent fatal occupational events reveal that American workers must be better protected, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH)...
Inspector General: EPA's Unapproved Asbestos Removal Methods May Put Workers, Public at Risk
In a Dec. 14 report, EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr. addressed EPA's authorization of unapproved methods of asbestos removal at its own sites. Elkins called for a halt to these unapproved methods, which may violate OSHA requirements and potentially expose workers to carcinogens, and said the agency should notify any workers or residents who may have been exposed to asbestos as a result...
MSHA Says Corporate Culture Led to Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion, Issues $10 Million Fine
MSHA issued the largest fine in its history – $10,825,368 – against the former Massey Energy Co. in connection to the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion. In its Dec. 6 fatal accident investigation report, MSHA attributed the root cause of the disaster to a corporate culture that valued production over safety...
OSHA Settlement Requires N.Y. Facility to Commit to Safeguarding against Workplace Violence
OSHA has reached a settlement with the Renaissance Project regarding a workplace violence citation issued under the General Duty clause to the Ellenville, N.Y., treatment facility, which agreed to enhance employee safety...
10 Things Chemical Plant Operators Need to Know About OSHA's New Chem NEP
On Nov. 30, OSHA announced the launch of its PSM National Emphasis Program for chemical facilities (Chem NEP). The new Chem NEP expands nationwide a previous 2009 Pilot Chemical Facilities Process Safety Management NEP, which had covered only a few OSHA regions, and established policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces covered by the PSM Standard...
Haasbach Agrees to Pay $200,000 to Resolve Citations Connected to Teen Grain Worker Fatalities
In July 2010, two teens employed at a grain bin facility lost their lives when they were engulfed by corn. Now, the Department of Labor (DOL) has resolved the citations brought against Haasbach LLC following that fatal incident. The Illinois-based company, which no longer is in business, has agreed to pay $200,000 in penalties...
Miami, Fla., Contractor Cited by OSHA following Carbon Monoxide Incident
General contractor Trans Florida Development Corp. of Miami has been cited by OSHA for one willful health and one serious safety violation following an incident that occurred in June at a work site at Ocean Drive and First Street, where workers were installing a new drain system. A worker using a powered saw to cut a hole in a storm drain box was overexposed to carbon monoxide from the saw and had to be taken to a hospital for treatment. OSHA’s proposed penalties total $66,990...
Criminal Investigation of Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster Yields $209 Million Settlement
The criminal investigation of the April 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, which claimed the lives of 29 miners in Montcoal, W.Va., in the nation's deadliest mine disaster in 40 years, has resulted in a $209 million settlement. The agreement encompasses the corporate criminal liability of the former Massey Energy Co., which owned the mine, and not potential criminal charges for any individual. The criminal investigation of individuals associated with Massey remains ongoing...
OSHA NEP Strives to Protect Workers from Chemical Releases
According to OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels, "Far too many workers are injured and killed in preventable incidents at chemical facilities around the country." OSHA set out to address this concern by announcing a National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Nov. 30 to protect workers at these facilities from releases of highly hazardous chemicals...
NSC 2011: OSHA Compliance Officers Discuss Fatality Cases Involving Falls, Heat Stress
At the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and Expo in Philadelphia on Nov. 1, OSHA compliance officers shared some of their most notable workplace safety investigations. The following cases involved preventable workplace fatalities – heat stress and falls from height...
OSHA's Top 10 Citation List Highlights Fall Protection, Hazcom Violations
Every year at the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and Expo, NSC and OSHA partner to reveal OSHA's top 10 most commonly cited violations. While the specific violations may jockey for position from year to year, the list tends to feature the same players year in and year out. For FY 2011, fall protection, scaffolding and hazcom topped the list...
NSC 2011: Michaels Makes Case for OSHA
During the occupational keynote at the National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and Expo, OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels asserted that OSHA regulations don’t kill jobs – they prevent jobs from killing workers...
MSHA’s Special Impact Mine Inspections Result in Hundreds of Citations
When MSHA conducted special impact inspections at 20 mines in September, the agency uncovered safety concerns that included accumulations of combustible dust, an open and unsupported excavation hole, nonworking self-contained self-rescuer units, inadequate pre-shift examinations, inadequate testing of electrical grounding systems and more. The inspections resulted in a spate of citations, orders and safeguards against the mines...
Corpus Christi Grain Co. Stands Knee-Deep in $258,900 in OSHA Fines
When a Corpus Christi Grain Co. employee was engulfed by grain, he was able to escape with his life. The company, however, now faces $258,900 in proposed OSHA fines for not providing PPE, performing lockout/tagout procedures or having a competent person present with rescue equipment when workers entered grain storage bins...
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