OSHA

OSHA Notifies Over 13,500 Employers Regarding High Injury Rates

 in Safety & Health  tagged DART / OSHA / Safety

osha-logoOSHA notified over 13,500 employers in April 2009 regarding their higher than average injury and illness rates. OSHA stated that the letter was an attempt to make the employers aware of their rates and to encourage them to work to lower the rates and improve their overall health and safety via:

  • hiring an outside safety and health consultant
  • talking with their insurance carrier, or
  • contacting the workers’ compensation agency in their state for advice

    • A copy of the letter can be found HERE.

    The employers are those whose establishments are covered by Federal OSHA and reported the highest “Days Away from work, Restricted work or job Transfer injury and illness” (DART) rate to OSHA in a survey of 2007 injury and illness data. For every 100 full-time workers, the 13,500 employers had 5.0 or more injuries or illnesses which resulted in days away from work, restricted work or job transfer versus the national average is 2.1.

    “Employers whose businesses have injury and illness rates this high need to take immediate steps to protect their workers,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. “Our goal is to make employers aware of their high injury and illness rates and to get them to eliminate hazards in their workplace. To help them in this regard, OSHA offers free assistance programs to help employers better protect the safety and health of their workers.”

    Click HERE to download a copy of the list of employers receiving the letter.

    Combustible Dust Bill Introduced

     in Safety & Health  tagged Combustible Dust / OSHA / Safety

    A summary of H.R. 849

    osha-logoWorker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2009 – Requires the Secretary of Labor to promulgate an interim final standard regulating combustible dusts, which shall apply to manufacturing, processing, blending, conveying, repackaging, and handling of combustible particulate solids and their dusts (including organic dusts, plastics, sulfur, wood, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fibers, dyes, coal, metals, and fossil fuels), but shall not apply to processes already covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) standard on grain facilities.

    Requires such standard to provide requirements for:
    (1) a hazard assessment to identify, evaluate, and control combustible dust hazards;
    (2) a written program that includes provisions for hazardous dust inspection, testing, hot work, ignition control, and housekeeping;
    (3) engineering controls, administrative controls, and operating procedures;
    (4) housekeeping to prevent accumulation of combustible dust in places of employment in depths that can present explosion, deflagration, or other fire hazards, including safe methods of dust removal;
    (5) employee participation in hazard assessment, development of and compliance with the written program, and other elements of hazard management; and
    (6) providing safety and health information and annual training to employees.
    Provides an exemption from otherwise applicable rulemaking requirements for the interim standard but not for the final standard.
    Provides that such interim standard shall have the legal effect of an occupational safety and health standard and shall apply until a final standard becomes effective.

    Requires the Secretary of Labor to promulgate a final occupational safety and health standard regulating combustible dust explosions that has the same scope and worker protection provisions as the interim rule and provides requirements for:
    (1) managing change of dust producing materials, technology, equipment, staffing, and procedures;
    (2) building design, such as explosion venting, ducting, and sprinklers; and
    (3) explosion protection, including separation and segregation of the hazard.

    Requires the final rule to include relevant and appropriate provisions of the National Fire Protection Association combustible dust standards.

    Requires the Secretary to revise the hazard communications standard to amend the definition of “physical hazard” to include “a combustible dust” as an additional example of such a hazard.

    aihaAIHA offered the following recommendations: 1) “for the periodic inspection and maintenance of engineering controls and equipment, recordkeeping of the results of the inspections, and correction of any problems found during the inspections within a reasonable time.” 2) “determine whether or not it is possible for OSHA to promulgate a final standard within 18 months of enactment of the legislation.”

    The letter stressed that while AIHA does not wish to delay a final standard, the association recognizes it could be difficult for OSHA to promulgate a final standard within the 18-month time frame.

    New Guidance Document – Assigned Protection Factors

     in Safety & Health  tagged Guidance Document / OSHA / Respiratory Protection / Safety

    apfOSHA has issued a new guidance document for employers who may need to establish and implement a respiratory protection program due to potential exposures to contaminants in workplace air.  The document focusues on the mandatory selection provisions of the assigned protection factors (APFs), maximum use concentrations (MUCs) and the use of the APF Table 1 of 29 CFR 1910.134.  A limited number of copies are available for ordering from:

    1. OSHA’s publications page

    2. Calling 202-693-1888, or

    3. Download HERE

    table-1-apf

    OSHA Announces new Deputy Assistant Secretary

     in Safety & Health  tagged OSHA / Politics / Safety

    From OSHA

    image from congress.nsc.org

    (image from congress.nsc.org)

    OSHA announces that Secretary Solis has selected Jordan Barab to be Deputy Assistant Secretary for OSHA and Acting Assistant Secretary, effective Monday, April 13. Jordan comes to us from the House Education and Labor Committee where he is the Senior Labor Policy Advisor for Health and Safety to Chairman George Miller. Prior to that, from 2002 through 2007, Jordan worked at the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

    Jordan was with OSHA, where he was Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary from 1998-2001.

    OSHA Revises Field Operations Manual

     in Safety & Health  tagged Field Operations Manual / OSHA / Safety

    From OSHA

    osha-field-operation-manual

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its Field Operations Manual to provide OSHA compliance officers with a single comprehensive resource of updated guidance in implementing the agency’s mission to more effectively protect employees from occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

    “The manual will be a resource for workers and employers, giving them a consolidated reference on how OSHA expects workplaces to be safe and healthful,” said OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Donald G. Shalhoub. “This document is part of OSHA’s continuing commitment to make its standards and enforcement activities transparent and understandable to all parties.”

    The Field Operations Manual, formerly called the Field Inspection Reference Manual, constitutes OSHA’s general enforcement policy and procedures for use by the agency’s field offices in conducting inspections, issuing citations and proposing penalties. It is the guiding document for OSHA’s compliance officers, whose mission is to assure the safety and health of America’s working men and women.

    The manual assists compliance officers in scheduling and conducting inspections, enforcing regulations, and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health. It also offers guidance on how to inform employers about OSHA’s free On-Site Consultation Service and compliance assistance.

    The manual is available online at: http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_02-00-148.pdf.

    Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA’s role is to promote the safety and health of America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.