Safety & Health

15,000 Workplaces Receive Letters from OSHA

 in Safety & Health  tagged DART / OSHA / Safety

OSHA recently sent out 15,000 letters to workplaces with the highest DART (days away, restricted, transferred) rates.  (For a DART calculator, see OHShub.com’s post HERE).  For every 100 full-time workers, the 15,000 employers had 4.5 or more injuries or illnesses which resulted in days away from work, restricted work or job transfer. The national average is 2.0.

Suggestions provided by OSHA to reduce the DART rate included:

  • Hiring an outside safety and health consultant
  • Talking with your insurance carrier, or
  • Contacting your state’s workers’ compensation agency for advice

A copy of the letter is available HERE.

osha_letter_high_dart

For a list of the 15,000 workplaces, click HERE.

Source: OSHA.gov

Video Replay: OSHA Listens Public Meeting

 in Safety & Health  tagged OSHA / Politics / Safety / Video

On Thursday, March 4, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) held a public meeting, “OSHA Listens,” to solicit comments and suggestions from OSHA stakeholders on key issues facing the agency, including:

  1. What can the agency do to enhance and encourage the efforts of employers, workers and unions to identify and address workplace hazards?
  2. What are the most important emerging or unaddressed health and safety issues in the workplace, and what can OSHA do to address these?
  3. How can the agency improve its efforts to engage stakeholders in programs and initiatives?
  4. What specific actions can the agency take to enhance the voice of workers in the workplace, particularly workers who are hard to reach, do not have ready access to information about hazards or their rights, or are afraid to exercise their rights?
  5. Are there additional measures to improve the effectiveness of the agency’s current compliance assistance efforts and the on site consultation program, to ensure that small businesses have the information needed to provide safe workplaces?
  6. Given the length and difficulty of the current OSHA rulemaking process, and given the need for new standards that will protect workers from unaddressed, inadequately addressed and emerging hazards, are there policies and procedures that will decrease the time to issue final standards so that OSHA may implement needed protections in a timely manner?
  7. As we continue to progress through a new information age vastly different from the environment in which OSHA was created, what new mechanisms or tools can the agency use to more effectively reach high risk employees and employers with training, education and outreach? What is OSHA doing now that may no longer be necessary?
  8. Are there indicators, other than worksite injuries and illness logs, that OSHA can use to enhance resource targeting?
  9. In the late 1980s, OSHA and its stakeholders worked together to update the Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) (exposure limits for hazardous substances; most adopted in 1971), but the effort was unsuccessful. Should updating the PELs be a priority for the agency? Are there suggestions for ways to update the PELs, or other ways to control workplace chemical exposures?

Video replays of this event are available below: (more…)

Free Seminar: OH&S Virtual Event 2010

 in Safety & Health  tagged Politics / PPE / Safety / Training / Webinar

Information provided by OHSonline.com

Register today to attend one of the most comprehensive health & safety events of the season – from the convenience of your own office!

Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to experience our free virtual expo area and learn firsthand from leaders in the health and safety industry about the key trends and technologies that will help you save money, improve efficiency, and ensure compliance in 2010 and beyond.

Presentations will include:

  • “Inside OSHA Politics” presented by Government Affairs Directors Aaron Trippler (left), American Industrial Hygiene Association, and Dave Heidorn, American Society of Safety Engineers. Aaron and Dave will discuss this year’s important federal and state safety and health legislation and the political landscape ahead of the 2010 midterm elections.
  • “World’s PPE Markets in 2010” presented by Sanjiv Bhaskar, Global Director, Personal Protective Equipment for Frost & Sullivan. Sanjiv will discuss trends in the PPE industry, global PPE markets in 2010, where growth areas can be found, and the outlook in the markets for 2011.

Plus more presenters to be announced soon!

Each presentation will be followed by a LIVE Q&A session. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity!

Register HERE

More information HERE

Ask the Expert: Ventilation and Fan Requirements

 in Safety & Health  tagged Ask the Expert / Safety / Ventilation

Ask the ExpertD. Jeff Burton, PE, CIH, noted author and OH&S contributor, lends a hand on this “Ask the Expert” question.

Q: How do I go about taking measurements for an old, underperforming laboratory fan for specification of a new fan?

A: When specifying a fan, the two basic numbers you need are Q and SP — called the “System Operating Point,” SOP.

There are two ways of determining “SP.” According to AMCA , one is the Fan Total Pressure (FTP) and the other is Fan Static Pressure (FSP).

FTP represents all energy requirements for moving air through the ventilation system. FTP is calculated by adding the absolute values of the average total pressures found at the fan. If the normal sign convention is followed, then a formula for FTP is:

FTP = TPoutlet – TPinlet

substituting for TP gives

FTP = SPout + VPout – SPin – VPin

If VPout equals VPin, i.e., if the average inlet and outlet velocities are equal, then the VP terms in the above equation cancel, leaving:

FTP = SPoutlet – SPinlet

The fan static pressure (FSP) is defined as the fan total pressure minus the average velocity pressure out of the fan.

FSP = Fan TP – VPout

(The fan static pressure is not defined as the static pressure out minus the static pressure in.)

Substituting the value of FTP into the FSP equation:

FSP = SPout + VPout – SPin – VPin – VPout

The VP (out) terms cancel, leaving

FSP = SPout – SPin – VPin

FSP represents the system losses, i.e., the amount of static pressure converted to useless heat or noise. (more…)

Fact Sheet: Aligning HAZCOM with GHS

 in Safety & Health  tagged HAZCOM / OSHA / Safety

OSHA is proposing modifying the Hazard Communication Standard (HAZCOM) with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).  Over 40 million workers in more than 5 million workplaces are expected to be impacted at a total cost of approximately $97 million per year to implement (costs to decrease to $42 million per year after initial period of familiarization).

HAZCOM currently:

  • Requires chemical manufacturers and importers to label containers and prepare MSDS’s
  • Requires employers to have a HAZCOM program for workers who have exposures or potential exposures

GHS will:

  • Adopts a standardized method of hazard classification leading to an increase in quality and consistency of information provided to employees and employers
  • Classifies chemicals by their health and physical hazards
  • Specifies hazard communication specifics for labelling and MSDS’s
  • Agreement at an international level

Major changes to HAZCOM:

  • Specific criteria for classification of health and physical hazards of chemicals and mixtures
  • Manufacturers and importers must use standardized labelling methods that include signal word, pictogram, and hazard statement
  • MSDS’s will have a specific 16-section format
  • Workers must be trained within 2 years of the final rule on the recognition and understanding of the GHS labelling and MSDS system

Benefits of GHS:

  • Prevent 43 fatalities per year
  • Prevent 585 illnesses per year (more…)

Worksheet: Analyzing Lifting Operations

 in Safety & Health  tagged Calculations / Ergonomics / NIOSH / Safety

Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has created a worksheet based upon the NIOSH Lifting Equation to determine if a lift operation exceeds the recommended limits.  A copy of this worksheet can be found here:

  Worksheet: Ergonomics Calculations (40.8 KiB, 1,783 hits)

.  If you are unfamiliar with the NIOSH Lifting Equation, a good resource is the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation Document.

LI = the relative estimate of the physical stress associated with a manual lifting job

 

Sources:  eLCOSH & NIOSH

CIH Exam Prep Questions – February 2010, Part I

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH / CIH Exam Prep / Safety

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The latest CIH exam prep questions have been posted to OHShub.com. You can find these 25 questions covering a wide range of IH topics HERE.

We told you to sharpen those math skills, this entry in the OHShub.com bi-monthly CIH Exam Preparation Questions is all math. Sharpen those pencils, bring out the calculator, grab a cup of coffee and get going!

Please note: OHShub.com has made the questions and solutions much easier to read. Check out our improvements!

Please leave your results in the poll in the left sidebar. Thanks & Good Luck!!!

Interim Guidance on Homes with Problem (read: Chinese) Drywall

 in Safety & Health  tagged Chinese Drywall / CPSC / Safety

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have issued an interim guidance document on the best approach to identifying problem (a.k.a. Chinese) drywall.  The document states that the guidance is based primarily on the presence of metal corrosion in homes.

Prerequisite (must meet both criteria) to warrant further consideration:

Visual inspection must show:

  1. Blackening of copper electrical wiring and/or air conditioning evaporator coils, and
  2. Drywall must have been installed between 2001 and 2008

Additional corroborating evidence (must have at least 2 of the following conditions for drywall installed between 2005-2008 and at least 4 conditions for drywall installed between 2001-2004):

  1. Corrosive conditions in home, as evident by the formation of copper sulfide on copper metal test strips placed in the home for 14-30 days, or the confirmation of sulfur in the blackening of grounding wires or condensation coils.
  2. Confirmed markings of Chinese origin for drywall in the home.
  3. Strontium levels in drywall samples greater than 1200 ppm.
  4. Elemental sulfur levels in drywall samples exceeding 100 ppm.
  5. Elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide and/or carbon disulfide emitted from drywall samples tested using ASTM Standard Method D5504-08.
  6. Corrosion of copper metal to form copper sulfide when copper is placed in test chambers with drywall samples collected from the home.

A copy of the document can be found HERE

MSD’s to be Added Back to OSHA 300 Log?

 in Safety & Health  tagged Ergonomics / OSHA / Safety

OSHA is proposing to revise its Recordkeeping regulation (29 CFR part 1904) to restore a column to the OSHA 300 Log that employers would use to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The 2001 Recordkeeping final regulation included an MSD column, but the requirement was deleted before it became effective. The proposed rule would require employers to place a check mark in the MSD column, instead of the column they mark now, if the case is an MSD and meets the general recording requirements of the Recordkeeping rule. The rule also proposes, for this recordkeeping purpose only, a definition of MSD that is identical to the one contained in the 2001 final Recordkeeping rule. In addition, OSHA proposes an entry for the total number of MSDs on the OSHA 300A form, the form that employers use to annually summarize their work-related injuries and illnesses (see 29 CFR 1904.32).

In 2003 OSHA deleted the MSD provisions (column and definition) from the 2001 Recordkeeping rule. However, after further consideration and analysis, the Agency believes that information generated from the MSD column will improve the accuracy and completeness of national occupational injury and illness statistics; will provide valuable and industry specific information to assist OSHA in effectively targeting its inspection, outreach, guidance and enforcement efforts to address workplace MSDs; and will provide useful establishment-level information that will help both employers and employees readily identify the incidence of MSDs.

OSHA stresses that the purpose of this rulemaking is solely to improve data gathering regarding work-related MSDs. The proposed rule does not require employers to take any action other than to check the MSD column on the OSHA 300 log if a work-related MSD case occurs that meets the general recording requirements of the Recordkeeping regulation. Unlike OSHA standards, the proposed rule does not require employers to implement controls to prevent and control employee exposure to an identified occupational hazard.

Source:  OSHA.gov

CIH Exam Prep Questions – January 2010, Part II

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH / CIH Exam Prep / Safety

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The latest CIH exam prep questions have been posted to OHShub.com. You can find these 36 questions covering a wide range of IH topics HERE.

This entry is math free!  Better sharpen those math skills for February!

Please note: OHShub.com has made the questions and solutions much easier to read. Check out our improvements!

Please leave your results in the poll in the left sidebar. Thanks & Good Luck!!!

(Almost) Free Webinar: The Changing Face of Indoor Air Quality

 in Safety & Health  tagged IAQ / Safety / Webinar

The University of North Carolina, Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center, is offering an almost free (only $6) webinar on “The Changing Face of Indoor Air Quality.”  The webinar will be conducted Wednesday, February 3, 2010 from 1:00pm to 2:30pm ET.  Guest speaker will be Dr. Wayne Thomann, Director Occupational and Environmental Safety at Duke Univesity/Medical Center in Duraham, North Carolina.

Click HERE to access the seminar (2/3/2010 @ 13:00 ET).  Log in as a guest. Type in your first and last name and click the “Enter” button. The OSHERC meeting space will open. There will be an interactive question and answer session.

CE & CM Credits are available.  Cost is only $6.00.  Contact Susan Randolph for information on where to send the check and CE/CM credits.

(more…)