The Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee (DARTIC) of California’s Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) Science Advisory Board has selected xylene and deltamethrin for the DARTIC’s review for possible listing under Proposition 65. OEHHA is initiating the development of hazard identification materials on these chemicals.
OEHHA selected these chemicals from those prioritized by the DARTIC in 2011. Hazard identification materials for these chemicals will be presented at future meetings of the DARTIC for Committee review for possible listing under Proposition 65.
OEHHA is giving the public an opportunity to provide information relevant to the assessment of the evidence of developmental and male and female reproductive toxicity for deltamethrin and xylene. Interested parties or members of the public wishing to provide such information should send it to the address given below.
Hazard identification materials are made available to the public for comment prior to the DARTIC’s consideration of the chemical for possible listing. The availability of the hazard identification materials will be announced in the California Regulatory Notice Register and on OEHHA’s website. The time, date, location, and agenda of the DARTIC meeting where a chemical will be considered for listing will be published in the California Regulatory Notice Register and will also be posted on OEHHA’s website.
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DEP Fines Radiographer $33,000 for Radiation Protection Act Violations
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has received $33,000 from NVI LLC, based in Gray, Louisiana, as a result of a consent assessment of civil penalty for violations of the Radiation Protection Act in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania.
NVI conducts radiographic testing at temporary job sites in Pennsylvania to determine if there are flaws in building materials and welded pipelines.
“Companies that operate radiological equipment in Pennsylvania must be accountable to the provisions of the Radiation Protection Act,” DEP South-central Regional Director Rachel Diamond said. “Its regulations protect the safety of workers, and the department is committed to their enforcement.”
NVI notified DEP on November 1, 2011, that an employee had received radiation exposure above the annual occupational dose due to a radiation source being unlocked and unshielded. Although the worker presented no immediate health effects following the incident, the employee was restricted from working around radiation sources to prevent additional exposure.
DEP reviewed a 30-day report submitted by NVI that revealed the company had also failed to check survey equipment to ensure proper functioning, did not conduct a visual inspection of the survey equipment at the job site, and failed to follow proper emergency procedures. DEP issued a notice of violation on December 20, 2011.
The report documented corrective actions taken by NVI to address the violations and verified that NVI is now in compliance.
Advance Notification of Federal Mine Inspectors Still a Serious Problem
Despite stepped-up enforcement efforts over the past two years by the US Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), some mine operators continue to tip off their employees when federal inspectors arrive to carry out an inspection. The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 specifically prohibits providing advance notice of inspections conducted by MSHA.
There have been several recent instances in which MSHA has been able to detect the occurrence of advance notice. For example, on March 22, agency inspectors responded to a hazard complaint call about conditions at Gateway Eagle Coal Co. LLC’s, Sugar Maple Mine in Boone County, West Virginia. A truck driver with J&N Trucking reportedly alerted mine personnel by citizens band radio of the inspectors’ arrival. The inspection turned up 14 violations for advance notification, accumulations of combustible material, and inadequate preshift and on-shift examinations, as well as a failure to comply with the current ventilation plan, maintain the lifeline, maintain permissibility of mobile equipment, and maintain fire fighting equipment.
As a second example, during a February 29 inspection at Rhino Eastern LLC’s, Eagle No. 2 Mine in Wyoming County, West Virginia, a dispatcher’s decision to shut down the belts prompted a call from the section foreman about his actions. The dispatcher responded that an MSHA inspector was at the mine. During this inspection, three citations were issued for failure to comply with the roof control and ventilation plans. In addition, a citation was issued to Applachian Security, a contractor, for providing advance notification of the MSHA inspection. Rhino Eastern’s Eagle No. 1 Mine was placed on potential pattern of violations status in November 2010 and again in August 2011 after a miner was killed in a rib collapse, and the mine’s compliance record deteriorated.
A third example is from February 13, when the dispatcher for Metinvest B V’s Affinity Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, notified the belt foreman over the mine telephone that federal and state inspectors were headed underground. The mine operator was issued a citation and, to abate it, MSHA required that all certified foremen and dispatchers be trained in the requirements of the Mine Act regarding advance notification, and that a notice be conspicuously posted in the mine office to ensure future compliance with the Mine Act.
“Providing advance notice of an inspection is illegal,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “It can obscure actual mining conditions by giving mine employees the opportunity to alter working conditions, thereby inhibiting the effectiveness of MSHA inspections. Furthermore, it appears that current penalties are not sufficient to deter this type of conduct.”
Upper Big Branch Mine superintendent Gary May recently entered into a plea agreement with the US Department of Justice, admitting to conspiracy to give advance notification of mine inspections, falsify examination of record books, and alter the mine’s ventilation system before federal inspectors were able to inspect underground. May testified that, through these unlawful practices, the mine operator was able to avoid detection of violations by federal and state inspectors.
“Despite the attention to the issue that has resulted from the Upper Big Branch investigation and recent testimony from Gary May, advance notice continues to occur too often in the coalfields,” said Main. “Upper Big Branch is a tragic reminder that operators and miners alike need to understand advance notice can prevent inspectors from finding hazards that can claim miners’ lives.”
OSHA Seeks Comments on How to Prevent Worker Injuries and Deaths from Reinforcing Concrete Activities and Vehicle Backovers
OSHA has issued a Request for Information () that seeks comments on how to prevent injuries and deaths from reinforcing concrete activities in construction, and from vehicles and mobile equipment backing into workers in construction, general industry, agriculture, and the maritime industry. OSHA will use the comments received to learn more about how workers get injured and what solutions exist to prevent injury and death, including possible regulatory action.
Workers in the concrete industry use reinforcing methods to strengthen concrete. These workers face potentially life-threatening hazards including impalement, collapsed walls, and slips, trips, and falls. OSHA data indicate that more than 30 workers died while performing these activities from 2000-2009. Safety issues relating to these operations were brought to OSHA’s attention in a 2010 petition from the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental & Reinforcing Iron Workers and an industry coalition of stakeholders including the Concrete Steel Reinforcing Institute, the Western Steel Council, and the Center for Construction Research and Training.
Workers also face fatal injuries when struck by vehicles backing up or when caught between backing vehicles and an object, such as a loading dock. OSHA found that about 360 workers died from backover incidents from 2005-2010. OSHA’s request for information is consistent with other agencies’ regulatory actions, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requiring cameras in certain vehicles under 10,000 lb to prevent people from getting backed over.
Comments on this RFI must be submitted by June 27, 2012. Interested parties may submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov, the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Comments may also be submitted by mail or facsimile.
OSHA Cites Magnablend after Facility Burns to the Ground
OSHA has cited Magnablend Inc., with seven serious safety and health violations following an October 2011 chemical fire at the company’s blending plant in Waxahachie, Texas, on West Highway 287 Bypass that burned the facility to the ground. Proposed penalties total $45,000.
OSHA’s Fort Worth Area Office found that employees were exposed to fire hazards due to inadequate ventilation, which can create an accumulation of flammable vapors that lead to a fire or explosion. The violations are failing to conduct a hazard assessment, install a sufficient ventilation system, train workers in specific hazardous chemical protection procedures, evaluate respiratory inhalation hazards, ensure that the fire sprinkler system was adequate, use electrical equipment in accordance with its labeling, document the classification of hazardous locations for electrical purposes, and ensure that electrical equipment was considered safe for the location where it was used. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
“Magnablend exposed its workers to fire hazards by failing to provide adequate ventilation that would have removed flammable hydrogen and other vapors,” said Jack Rector, OSHA’s area director in Fort Worth. “OSHA’s standards must be followed to prevent injuries and illnesses. It is fortunate that no one was injured.”
Magnablend specializes in the blending and manufacturing of chemicals for industrial and consumer markets, and is now operating at a new location in Waxahachie.
OSHA Cites Sanoh America for Exposing Workers to Fire, Other Hazards
OSHA has cited auto parts manufacturer Sanoh America Inc., with 13 violations, including one repeat, for exposing workers to fire hazards, dangerous fumes, and other safety hazards at the company’s Findlay, Ohio, plant. Proposed penalties total $83,000.
An October 4, 2011, inspection, initiated based on a complaint, determined that the facility’s plating line had caught fire during production earlier in the year. OSHA cited the repeat violation for failing to develop, document, and utilize procedures to control potentially hazardous energy in relation to the incident. No injuries were reported. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited in 2009 at the company’s Mount Vernon, Ohio, facility.
Twelve serious violations involve failing to install energy-isolating devices where needed, isolate energy sources, conduct periodic inspections, develop and implement safety-related work practices, provide necessary personal protective equipment and periodically test electrical protective equipment, and provide a heat-actuated, shut-off device on a paint pumping system.
The company has been inspected by OSHA 10 times since 1990, resulting in various citations for failing to provide machine guarding and personal protective equipment as well as to implement and utilize lockout/tagout procedures.
“Sanoh America is responsible for ensuring that its employees are properly protected from fire and inhalation hazards associated with painting and plastics processes, and ensuring procedures are in place to control hazardous energy,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
Sanoh America, which employs about 700 workers, manufactures automotive parts such as brake tubes, fuel tubes, and brazed products at plants in Findlay and Mount Vernon, Ohio; Scottsboro, Alabama; Carthage, Mississippi; and the Canadian city of Orangeville, Ontario.
OSHA Fines Bridgford Foods $118,000 for Repeat, Serious, and Other Violations
OSHA cited Anaheim, California-based Bridgford Foods Corp., with 22 safety and health—including four repeat—violations at its Chicago meat processing plant. Proposed penalties total $118,700.
OSHA’s Calumet City Area Office began an inspection September 29 at the Chicago plant as part of the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates follow-up inspections of recalcitrant employers that have endangered workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations. Bridgford Foods was placed in the program after being cited for willful and repeat safety violations based on a July 2010 inspection at the Chicago plant for exposing workers to energized equipment by failing to implement and provide training on lockout/tagout procedures.
Three repeat health violations involve failing to mark chemical containers with their contents and hazardous warning labels, as well as to provide an emergency eyewash station for employees working with corrosive chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite and anhydrous ammonia. One repeat safety violation is having an obstructed emergency exit. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar safety violations were cited in 2010 and similar health violations were cited in 2008 and 2010 at the Chicago facility.
Seven serious health violations include failing to conduct annual respirator fit tests and training, provide an emergency response plan and first responder awareness training, provide annual hazardous material technical-level training, conduct hazard assessments for employees exposed to eye and skin hazards, and use electrical equipment approved for a hazardous location.
One other-than serious safety violation is failing to have floor hole covers and one other-than-serious health violation is failing to have material safety data sheets for the chemical sodium hypochlorite. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
“Bridgford Foods Processing has the responsibility to ensure that its employees are properly trained and protected from workplace hazards such as falls and chemical use,” said Gary Anderson, OSHA’s area director in Calumet City. “Employers cited for repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to employee safety and health. OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
This OSHA inspection was the fifth since 2007 of the Chicago facility, where about 150 workers are employed. Bridgford Foods Processing, which employs about 535 workers companywide, operates two facilities in Dallas, Texas, and one in Statesville, North Carolina.
Eight safety violations carrying $174,500 in penalties were cited in February 2012 at the facility on Chancellor Row, and 27 safety and health violations carrying $422,600 were cited in October 2011 at the facility on South Good Latimer Expressway.
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