NHCA Addresses “Misperceptions” Regarding OSHA’s Interpretation of Noise Control Enforcement Change
The National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) reiterated its support for OSHA’s announced change in workplace noise control enforcement and seeks to address a number of misperceptions related to this interpretation...
OSHA Releases Fall Regulatory Agenda
OSHA’s fall semi-annual regulatory agenda was published in the Federal Register Dec. 20, featuring updates on regulatory actions including the Injury and Illness Prevention Program, modernizing recording and reporting requirements, infectious diseases, hazard communication, combustible dust and more...
Jim Maddux Named New Head of OSHA’s Construction Directorate
OSHA Administrator David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, appointed Jim Maddux as the new director of the agency’s Directorate of Construction. His appointment is effective Monday, Dec. 20...
Labor Secretary Appoints 5 New NACOSH Members
On Dec. 16, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced the appointment of five new members to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH). The new appointees are leaders in the fields of medicine, academia and safety program development and will serve 2-year terms. The next NACOSH meeting has been set for Jan. 19-20, 2011...
OSHA Fines WRR Environmental Services Co. $787,000 Following June Explosion
OSHA has cited the hazardous waste management processor, WRR Environmental Services Co., for failing to implement measures to prevent potentially catastrophic chemical fires and explosions at its facility in Eau Claire, Wisc...
OMB Watch: Obama Administration Stepping Up Enforcement of Labor Laws
In a report released Dec. 8, OMB Watch examined the regulatory enforcement actions of the Obama administration at its midterm point and revealed that executive branch agencies have stepped up enforcement of a number of important labor, consumer protection and environmental laws and regulations...
Local and Federal Investigators on Scene of Fatal Accident in West Virginia
OSHA investigators, a four-member investigation team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and local police and state fire marshals have deployed to the scene of a fatal accident at the AL Solutions Inc. titanium and zirconium processing facility in New Cumberland, in the northern panhandle area of West Virginia...
OSHA Cites Three Massachusetts Contractors for Cave-In Hazards
OSHA has issued a total of $154,700 in proposed fines against three Massachusetts contractors for exposing workers to cave-in hazards at a Salem, N.H., worksite. Cited were Joseph P. Cardillo & Son Inc. of Wakefield, Majestic Mechanical Contractors Inc. of Tewksbury and Domenick Zanni Sons Inc. of Reading...
OSHA Recommends Safety Measures to Protect Workers from Diacetyl Exposure
A new OSHA Safety and Health Information Bulletin and companion Worker Alert recommend that employers use safety measures to prevent exposing employees to the potentially fatal health effects of butter flavorings and other flavoring substances containing diacetyl or its substitutes...
OSHA Fines U.S. Minerals $396,000 for Alleged Hazardous Dust, PPE and Training Violations
On Dec. 7, OSHA cited U.S. Minerals LLC with willfully exposing its workers to dangerously high levels of hazardous dust and not providing adequate breathing protection and training for workers at its facility in Coffeen, Ill. The company, however, is contesting the violations and called OSHA’s allegations “incomplete, overstated and/or inaccurate.”...
OSHA Announces Stakeholder Meeting, Extends Comment Period on Noise Control Interpretation
On Dec. 6, OSHA announced that it is extending by 90 days the official comment period on the proposed “Interpretation of OSHA’s Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise,” which was published Oct. 19 in the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted through March 21, 2011; the agency will hold a stakeholder meeting before this date to listen to the concerns of businesses and workers...
OSHA Directive Continues Targeting Inspection Program for Federal Workers
OSHA recently updated its Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program (FEDTARG) directive for fiscal year 2011. This directive orders programmed inspections of federal agency establishments that experienced high numbers of lost time injuries...
AIHA Unveils Top EHS Public Policy Issues for 2011-2012
The American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA) biennial membership survey revealed the most pressing public policy issues within the EHS profession over the next 2 years, with PELs and OSHA’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program topping the list...
Experts: Major Issues Facing EPA as it Turns 40
As EPA turns 40, two scientists who have served on research review panels for the agency talk about the challenges facing the agency...
OSHA Cites Wayne, NJ, Stucco Contractor for Fall Hazards
OSHA cited Exterior Stucco Systems Inc. of Wayne with five repeat safety violations involving fall hazards at a Staten Island, N.Y., worksite and has added the company to its Severe Violator Enforcemet Program. Proposed penalties total $61,600...
EPA Identifies Areas Violating Lead Standards
EPA has determined that 16 areas across the country are not meeting the agency’s national air quality standards for lead. These areas, located in 11 states, were designated as “nonattainment” because their 2007 to 2009 air quality monitoring data showed that they did not meet the agency’s health-based standards...
CSB to Hold Hearing on Regulation of Offshore Oil and Gas Safety Practices
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) will hold a public hearing, “Regulatory Approaches to Offshore Oil and Gas Safety,” on Dec. 15 in Washington, D.C., as part of CSB’s ongoing investigation into the April 20 fire and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 workers...
State vs. Federal OSHA – What’s the Difference When It Comes to Lockout/Tagout?
Annual state and federal fines of $8 million for lockout/tagout violations have many employers re-evaluating their lockout/tagout programs...
Managing Safety: BP Learns there IS a New Sheriff in Town
United States Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis is living up to her promise that there is “a new sheriff in town” and that OSHA is back in the business of enforcing workplace safety and health laws. Just ask BP...
EPA Fines Western Refining Southwest Inc. for Illegally Disposing of Hazardous Waste and Improper Sampling
EPA fined Western Refining Southwest Inc. for failing to adequately monitor benzene discharges and illegally disposing hazardous waste. The company is in noncompliance of a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) filed in August 2009...
OSHA Reissues Shipbreaking National Emphasis Program, Updates Shipyard PPE Directive
OSHA issued two directives on Nov. 4 to update its National Emphasis Program on Shipbreaking and its Enforcement Guidance for Personal Protective Equipment in Shipyard Employment...
OSHA Announces Construction Advisory Committee Meeting
OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) will meet Dec. 9-10 in Washington, D.C. In conjunction with the ACCSH, committee work groups, including the newly established Injury and Illness Prevention Program work group, will meet Dec. 7-8. ...
HPI Products Inc. and Owner to Pay $150,000 in Environmental Penalties
HPI Products Inc., of St. Joseph, Mo., along with an affiliated property holding corporation and the owner of both companies, have agreed to pay a total of $150,000 in civil penalties, in addition to covering undetermined cleanup costs at six of their chemical processing and manufacturing facilities, to settle a series of alleged violations of state and federal environmental laws...
Minnesota, Arkansas, Louisiana and Wisconsin Making Greatest Gains in Laws to Promote Roadway Safety
A report released by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) indicates that many states are making progress toward making roads safer, with Minnesota, Arkansas, Louisiana and Wisconsin leading the way. Only two states in the nation, Oregon and Washington, met all the ENA criteria for roadway traffic safety laws and a third state, Tennessee, met all but one criterion...
Two NH Contractors Cited by OSHA after Worker Falls
OSHA has cited North Ridge Contracting Inc. and CMGC Building Corp. for safety violations after a North Ridge worker was injured in a fall at 100 Innovative Way in Nashua, N.H. North Ridge Contracting of Deerfield, N.H., faces a total of $44,000 in proposed fines, following the July 27 incident in which a worker tripped and fell 14 feet during the dismantling of a stairway at the Benchmark Electronics building...
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