Although employers were given up to five years to comply with OSHA’s adoption of the Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Communication (GHS-Hazcom), the first deadline looms before year-end. By December 1, 2013, all employees at your site that work with or are exposed to hazardous chemicals must be trained to understand the new classification system, labels, warning statements, precautions, pictograms, and safety data sheets for chemicals at your worksite. Over the next two years, most of the other GHS standards become effective. By June 1, 2015, employers must update their hazard communication plans and chemical manufactures and importers must update their labels and safety data sheets.
OSHA Establishes Alliance to Improve Health and Safety on Illinois Construction Sites
OSHA has established an alliance with the Builders Association that will focus on sharing information on OSHA's emphasis programs and occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
"This alliance is an opportunity for OSHA and the Builders Association to work together to train employers and workers about the unique hazards of the construction industry," said Diane Turek, OSHA's area director for the Chicago North Office in Des Plaines. "Our focus is to continue to improve the safety and health of workers on Illinois construction sites."
OSHA and the Builders Association will provide information and guidance to employers and workers, and develop training and education programs to reduce injuries and improve overall safety and health, promote understanding of workers' rights and deliver training programs quarterly on common hazards in the construction industry. Additionally, the alliance will provide a forum for OSHA personnel to appear and speak at events sponsored by the Builders Association.
Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with businesses, trade associations, unions, consulates, professional organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, and educational institutions to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities.
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OSHA Revises Lab Safety Guidance
When the OSHA Laboratory Standard was published in 1990, the non-mandatory Appendix A was based on the 1981 edition of “Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories” and the 1983 edition of “Prudent Practices for Disposal of Chemicals from Laboratories,” both published by National Academy Press. Since then, there have been many changes in the culture of safety in laboratories. The National Academies of Science (NAS) recognized these changes and has revised and updated its earlier “Prudent Practices,” reflected in the 2011 edition of “Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Management of Chemical Hazards” (National Academies Press).
BNSF Railway Co. Signs Accord with OSHA
OSHA has signed an accord with BNSF Railway Co., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, announcing BNSF's voluntary revision of several personnel policies that OSHA alleged violated the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act and dissuaded workers from reporting on-the-job injuries. FRSA's Section 20109 protects railroad workers from retaliation for, among other acts, reporting suspected violations of federal laws and regulations related to railroad safety and security, hazardous safety or security conditions, and on-the-job injuries.
"Protecting America's railroad workers who report on-the-job injuries from retaliation is an essential element in OSHA's mission. This accord makes significant progress toward ensuring that BNSF employees who report injuries do not suffer any adverse consequences for doing so," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "It also sets the tone for other railroad employers throughout the US to take steps to ensure that their workers are not harassed, intimidated or terminated, in whole or part, for reporting workplace injuries."
The major terms of the accord include:
- Changing BNSF's disciplinary policy so that injuries no longer play a role in determining the length of an employee's probation following a record suspension for a serious rule violation. As of August 31, 2012, BNSF has reduced the probations of 136 employees who were serving longer probations because they had been injured on-the-job.
- Eliminating a policy that assigned points to employees who sustained on-the-job injuries.
- Revising a program that required increased safety counseling and prescribed operations testing so that work-related injuries will no longer be the basis for enrolling employees in the program. As part of the negotiations leading up to the accord, BNSF removed from the program approximately 400 workers.
- Instituting a higher level review by BNSF's upper management and legal department for cases in which an employee who reports an on-duty personal injury is also assessed discipline related to the incident giving rise to the injury.
- Implementing a training program for BNSF's managers and labor relations and human resources professionals to educate them about their responsibilities under the FRSA. The training will be incorporated into BNSF's annual supervisor certification program.
- Making settlement offers in 36 cases to employees who filed whistleblower complaints with OSHA alleging they were harmed by one or more of the company's previous policies.
"Ensuring that employees can report injuries or illnesses without fear of retaliation is crucial to protecting worker safety and health," said Michaels. "If employees do not feel free to report injuries or illnesses, the employer's entire workforce is put at risk because employers do not learn of and correct dangerous conditions that have resulted in injuries."
Between August 2007, when OSHA was assigned responsibility for whistleblower complaints under FRSA, and September 2012, OSHA received 1,206 FRSA whistleblower complaints. The number of FRSA whistleblower complaints that OSHA currently receives surpasses the number of whistleblower complaints that OSHA receives under any of the other 21 whistleblower protection statutes it enforces except for Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. More than 60% of the FRSA complaints filed with OSHA involve an allegation that a railroad worker has been retaliated against for reporting an on-the-job injury.
OSHA Finds 58 Safety and Health Violations at Hoover Dam Hydroelectric Power
OSHA found 50 alleged serious and eight repeat safety and health violations during a comprehensive investigation at the Hoover Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. The US Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation maintains and operates the power plant.
"We are concerned to have found this number of serious safety and health violations at the Hoover Dam plant," said Ken Atha, OSHA's regional administrator in San Francisco. "We expect to work closely with the agency to rectify these deficiencies and provide a safe and healthful work environment for employees."
The 50 serious safety and health violations include fall and electrical hazards, a lack of required guards on machinery, inadequate personal protective equipment, lead contamination, and the potential for overexposure to hexavalent chromium. OSHA also identified violations for failing to properly maintain and inspect firefighting equipment, provide unobstructed access to emergency exits, and insufficient lockout/tagout procedures for energy sources that could lead to amputations. 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.
The eight repeat violations include failing to anchor a drill press, implement proper machine guarding, correct multiple electrical violations and properly mount and maintain portable fire extinguishers. A violation is designated as a repeat violation when OSHA has previously notified an employer of the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any of its facilities within the last five years. OSHA inspected 25 Bureau of Reclamation facilities nationwide over the past five years, including a previous investigation at the Hoover Dam in October 2010.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires federal agencies to comply with the same health and safety standards as private sector employers. Under Section 19 of the OSH Act and Executive Order 12196, the head of each agency is responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for his or her employees.
The federal agency equivalent of a private sector citation is a notice of an unhealthful or unsafe working condition, which informs agency officials of violations. OSHA cannot propose monetary penalties against another federal agency for failing to comply with its standards. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for all federal employees by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance.
Rochester Roofing Contractor Cited for Fall Hazards
OSHA has cited A.M. Stern, Inc., for alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards while workers installed a roof on O'Connor Road in Fairport, New York. The Rochester-based roofing contractor faces a total of $159,250 in proposed fines, chiefly for fall hazards identified during an inspection by OSHA's Buffalo Area Office that began on July 10.
On two occasions during the investigation, OSHA inspectors observed Stern employees exposed to falls of 15 to 30 feet while working at the unprotected edges of the building's roof. The designated safety monitor on-site was not positioned close enough to employees working in unprotected sections, so that he could warn them about the fall hazards. As a result, OSHA issued A.M. Stern one willful citation with a $70,000 fine for the lack of fall protection and one repeat citation, also with a $70,000 fine, for the improperly located safety monitor. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. A similar violation was issued in August 2008 at a Geneseo worksite.
The contractor was also issued five serious citations, carrying $19,250 in fines, for not providing medical evaluations and training for employees required to wear respirators, allowing an untrained employee to operate a forklift, not providing employees with information and training on hazardous chemicals, and for the safety monitor's failure to warn employees of fall hazards.
"Unfortunately, our inspectors all too often encounter job sites where fall protection is inadequate or absent, exposing workers to the number one killer in construction work," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's Buffalo area director. "It's imperative that employers in western New York and elsewhere provide effective fall protection for their employees and ensure that their workers are trained to recognize and address fall hazards."
The page offers fact sheets, posters, and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.
"This is about saving lives," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator for New York. "When employees lack effective fall protection, they are just one slip, trip, or misstep away from a deadly or disabling injury. We urge employers to take their responsibility for providing a safe workplace seriously. One means of doing so is to develop and maintain an effective safety and health management system to systemically address hazards."
OSHA Cites Guardian West for Failing to Protect Workers from Exposure to Hazardous Materials
OSHA has cited Flex-N-Gate Corp., which operates as Guardian West in Urbana, Illinois, with six serious safety violations for failing to protect workers from exposure to hazardous materials and provide adequate emergency response plans and training at the company's bumper manufacturing plant. The inspection was initiated in July 2012 after OSHA received a complaint alleging workers were being exposed to high levels of hydrochloric acid following a release of the acid during refilling operations. Proposed fines total $41,200.
"Manufacturers such as Guardian West, which are the subject of repeat complaint inspections, need to demonstrate a commitment to properly training and protecting workers from exposure to hazards," said Tom Bielema, OSHA's area director in Peoria. "OSHA is committed to protecting workers on the job, especially when employers fail to do so."
Three of the violations involve failing to ensure workers used protective equipment when exposed to hazards capable of causing injury and impairment. These included a lack of hand, eye, and face protection for workers exposed to liquid chemicals, acids, or caustic liquids.
The remaining violations involve failing to include evacuation routes and procedures in the company's emergency response and contingency plan and to ensure workers engaged in emergency response involving inhalation hazards were provided with breathing apparatus for respiratory protection and trained on adequate emergency response.
Urbana-headquartered Flex-N-Gate employs more than 12,450 people at 50 manufacturing and nine product development and engineering facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. The Urbana plant was previously cited by OSHA in May 2012, which resulted in six serious violations. In December 2010, the inspection resulted in two serious violations.
OSHA Cites Massachusetts Wholesale Food Manufacturer/Distributor for Multiple Hazards
OSHA has cited Progressive Gourmet, Inc., for alleged repeat and serious safety violations at a Wilmington, Massachusetts, production facility. The wholesale food manufacturer and distributor for food service and catering industries faces a total of $73,400 in fines following inspections, which started in September 2012 by OSHA's Andover Area Office in response to employee complaints.
OSHA found that the facility lacked adequate procedures to prevent the unintended startup of machinery, such as cookers, ovens, and conveyors, while employees performed service and maintenance on the equipment. The company also failed to provide all affected employees with information and training on how to power down and lock out the machines' power sources before performing maintenance. As a result of these latest conditions, the company was cited for two repeat violations with $55,000 in proposed fines. Similar violations were cited at this location in 2008.
OSHA also issued Progressive Gourmet three serious citations with $18,400 in fines for lack of routine inspections and maintenance to ensure safe operation of the plant's anhydrous ammonia refrigeration system, insufficient space between stored materials and overhead piping containing ammonia to allow for safe access to stored materials, and slipping and tripping hazards from wet work floors.
"Left uncorrected, these conditions expose employees to a release of ammonia, slips and falls and to being caught in unexpectedly activated machinery," said Jeffrey A. Erskine, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties in Massachusetts. "Prompt, effective, and ongoing corrective action is necessary to eliminate these hazards and prevent their recurrence."
OSHA Cites Riddell All-American Sports Co. with Eight Serious Safety and Health Violations
OSHA has cited Riddell All-American Sports Co., with eight alleged serious violations following an investigation that began in August 2012 from a complaint for exposing workers to multiple safety and health violations at its Alamo Downs Parkway facility in San Antonio, Texas. Proposed penalties total $44,000.
The serious violations include failing to ensure electrical equipment was free from recognized hazards, provide adequate machine guarding while operating industrial sewing machines, provide a fall protection program to prevent fall hazards from the basket of a powered industrial truck, and implement a respiratory program.
"It is the employer's responsibility to assess the hazards in the workplace and provide a safe and healthful environment for its workers," said Kelly Knighton, OSHA's area director in San Antonio. "In this case, it is fortunate that no one was hurt."
Elyria, Ohio-based Riddell, which employs about 25 workers at the San Antonio site, paints helmets for various sports, such as football and hockey.
OSHA Finds Seven Safety Violations at Medical Center for Veterans
OSHA has issued seven notices of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions found at the Battle Creek Veterans Administration Medical Center in Michigan, following a safety inspection conducted in July as part of OSHA's Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program.
"The Battle Creek Veterans Administration Medical Center failed to properly ensure the facility was in compliance with established safety and health procedures," said Robert Bonack, director of OSHA's Lansing Area Office. "All employers, including federal employers, are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their facilities and taking appropriate precautions by following OSHA standards so workers are not exposed to such hazards."
Three repeat safety violations involved failing to evaluate the workplace to identify if permit-required confined spaces were present and label such spaces with danger signs; failing to adequately guard automated laundry equipment to prevent employees from entering the work area, and failing to fully guard the belt and pulley of an air compressor. To issue notices for repeat violations, OSHA must have issued at least one other notice for the same violation at one of the agency's establishments within the same standard industrial classification code, commonly known as the SIC code. US Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in Danville and North Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, have been cited for the same safety and health violations.
Three serious safety violations involved unguarded floor openings in the general repair shop; failing to inspect powered industrial trucks prior to placing them in service, and failing to remove trucks from service in need of repair. Additionally, a circuit breaker panel was found not to be mounted correctly. One other-than-serious violation involved failing to close unused openings on electrical cabinets and junction boxes. 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.
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