U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis named House Education and Labor Committee senior policy advisor Jordan Barab as deputy assistant secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Barab will also serve as acting assistant secretary for OSHA beginning April 13.
Barab has worked for the House Education and Labor Committee for more than two years, specializing in worker health and safety issues. Barab is a well-known advocate for worker safety through the Confined Space blog he managed prior to joining the Committee.
George Miller, Charmain of the House Committee on Education and Labor said, “I congratulate Jordan for being named as the acting head of OSHA. Jordan will bring a tremendous amount of valuable health and safety experience to an agency that has been neglected for far too long. Throughout his career, Jordan has demonstrated the specialized knowledge of health and safety issues needed to revamp the agency and strengthen its efforts to protect Americans while on the job. I look forward to working with Jordan and Secretary Solis to ensure that the agency works to protect the health and safety of our nation’s workers.”
Peg Seminario, the AFL-CIO’s director for safety and health, says Barab is an “excellent choice” for OSHA deputy assistant secretary.
Prior to joining the committee, Barab worked for four years at the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. He served as special assistant to the assistant director of Labor for OSHA from 1998 to 2001, and directed the safety and health program for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees from 1982 to 1998. A native of Palos Verdes Estates, California, Barab is a 1975 graduate of Claremont McKenna College in California and received a Master's degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University in 1978.
Primary Metal Products Industries Targeted by OSHA
The goal of this REP is to help reduce the overall rate of workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities through outreach activities and targeted inspections.
NIOSH Recommends Reopening Comment Period for Respiratory Protection Rules
The comment period for these proposed rules closed on April 10, 2009. However, NIOSH is recommending the reopening of the comment periods for both Notices of Proposed Rulemaking in response to stakeholders’ comments requesting additional time to formulate responses to the proposals. New comment period closing dates will be announced in upcoming Federal Register Notices.
Mower Safety is a “Must” This Time of Year
With mowing season having arrived, businesses and homeowners should take special precautions to ensure that safe work practices are being followed. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that hospital emergency rooms treated 37,000 consumer injuries related to riding mower incidents annually from 2003 through 2005.
General safety measures that should be followed for mower safety include:
- Protective clothing should always be worn, including sturdy shoes and eye protection
- The operator presence control (dead man switch or kill switch) that shuts off the mower when the grip on the handle is released for push mowers, or the switch that is deactivated when the operator leaves the driver’s seat on a riding mower, should be maintained in good working order
- The gasoline tank should never be filled when the mower is hot
- Adjustments to the mower should never be made when it is running
- Children should never be allowed on or near a mower
- Debris should be picked up from the area prior to beginning to mow
The following information was presented in the form of a case study by the North Carolina Division of Labor in the March/April Issue of the “Labor Ledger.”
On May 16, 2008, a 28-year-old grounds maintenance quality control supervisor was killed when the lawnmower he was riding went over a retaining wall and into a lake. The victim was found by his co-workers under the water with the mower on top of him.
The victim was in charge of a landscaping team whose responsibility included mowing, trimming and other yard maintenance activity. He was also responsible for maintenance and repair of the lawn equipment. On the day of the accident, the victim was involved in the mowing process using a 27 horsepower riding lawn mower with a 60-inch cutting radius.
The victim had used the mower involved in the accident at least 100 times on the hilly terrain of the accident site. The company used various mowers, but operators usually selected a mower based on personal preference. The mower involved in the accident did not have rollover protection in place, and the victim did not use a seat belt while operating the equipment. Employees interviewed had a perception that they were safer without the rollover protection or seatbelt use. The slope of the lawn being mowed was 18 degrees, but the mower was not designed to be stable when mowing slopes greater than 15 degrees. The company had been in business since 1992 and had never had a mower roll over before the fatal accident.
Accidents relating to the operation of equipment are a leading cause of death among workers in North Carolina. These accidents include being struck by equipment operated by someone else and accidents in which the equipment operator is the victim. Fatalities involving riding lawn mowing equipment are also more common than one might imagine, with two deaths reported in 2008 and one in 2007. As evidenced by this event, the fact that you have never had an accident does not mean that an accident could not occur especially if unsafe practices are being employed. Even the most experienced individual can be the victim of an accident if safe work practices are not followed.
Recommendations from the NC Department of Labor based on this case study include:
- Equipment designed for a specific job condition should be used
- Rollover protection and seatbelts should be utilized when operating riding mowers
- Employees should be trained in the proper use of safety devices equipped on lawn mowing equipment.
- Care should be taken when operating mowers on slopes or near drop-offs, ditches or embankments.
House of Representatives Landmark Bill to Regulate Tobacco Products
This legislation grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the advertising, marketing, and manufacturing of tobacco products in order to protect the public health.
“This is truly a historic day in the fight against tobacco, and I am proud that we have taken such decisive action,” said Chairman Waxman. “Today we have moved to place the regulation of tobacco under FDA in order to protect the public health, and now we all can breathe a little easier. I have every hope for firm and certain action by the Senate to pass this legislation so we can at long last send it to the President and better protect the American people from tobacco with the full force of our public health laws.”
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will provide FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. FDA will have authority to require changes in current and future tobacco products to protect public health, such as the reduction or elimination of harmful ingredients, additives and constituents, including menthol. The new tobacco program will be funded entirely through user fees on tobacco product manufacturers.
FDA will have the authority to prevent the dangerous and all-too prevalent marketing and sales of tobacco to kids. This legislation will also empower FDA to prevent tobacco companies from making false and misleading claims about their products and to require that all product claims be based on scientific evidence.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will reinstate FDA’s 1996 rule aimed at reducing underage smoking, which includes provisions that will ban outdoor advertising of tobacco within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, ban all remaining tobacco-brand sponsorships of sports and entertainment events, and restrict vending machines to adult-only facilities.
The legislation will also prohibit the use of misleading terms such as “light,” “low-tar,” and “mild” and require larger, more specific health warnings. Finally, the bill provides FDA access to data about tobacco product ingredients that can be used in designing new product standards and new disclosure requirements.
April is Alcohol Awareness Month
In recognition of Alcohol Awareness Month, OSHA is reminding employers to develop and implement a drug- and alcohol-free workplace program.
OSHA Orders UPS to Rehire and Compensate Terminated Driver
OSHA has ordered United Parcel Service (UPS) to immediately rehire and pay back wages, benefits, compensatory damages, and $50,000 in punitive damages to a former San Francisco area driver who was wrongfully terminated after he refused to drive after raising safety concerns.
A whistleblower investigation by OSHA found that UPS terminated the employee in retaliation for his refusal to work in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, 49 U.S.C. Section 31105 (STAA). OSHA determined that the driver was terminated after refusing to drive his vehicle because he felt it was unsafe to operate due to vision problems and poor weather conditions resulting in visibility concerns. Although the driver notified UPS management of the unsafe conditions, UPS management continued to order the unsafe operation of the vehicle. Either party in the case can file an appeal to the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
“It is vital that employees be able to raise safety concerns to their employers without fear of retaliation,” said Ken Nishiyama Atha, OSHA’s regional administrator in San Francisco, whose office investigated the complaint. “This order reaffirms both the right of drivers to refuse to operate vehicles when they reasonably believe it is unsafe and the Labor Department’s commitment to taking the necessary steps to protect that right.”
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of 17 statutes, including STAA, designed to protect employees who report violations of various trucking, airline, railroad, nuclear power, pipeline, consumer protection, environmental and securities laws.
OSHA Settles Whistleblower Case against Commercial and Industrial Steam Cleaning Company in Houston
OSHA has entered into a settlement with Triple B Cleaning Inc. in Houston to resolve findings that the company illegally terminated an employee because of complaints about safety issues.
OSHA whistleblower investigators found that an employee of Triple B Cleaning requested personal protective equipment (PPE) while performing dry cleaning duties. The request was denied by the company. The employee notified the media, and after a reporter contacted the employee’s supervisor, the employee was demoted and assigned remedial tasks. Following the airing of the employee’s complaint by local news, the employee was terminated.
After being terminated, the employee filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that Triple B acted in retaliation for contact to the media about unsafe working conditions. OSHA investigated the complaint and determined that Triple B Cleaning’s decision to terminate the employee was in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.
The company entered into a consent judgment after OSHA referred the case to the Labor Department’s Office of the Solicitor for enforcement. Pursuant to the terms of the consent judgment, Triple B Cleaning has paid the employee $30,000 for lost wages, agreed to an injunction prohibiting future discrimination, and posted a notice advising its employees of their rights under OSHA’s whistleblower protection provision.
OSHA Orders Southern Air Inc. to Withdraw Retaliatory Lawsuit and Pay More than $7.9 Million to Nine Whistleblowers
OSHA has ordered Southern Air Inc., a Norwalk, Connecticut-based air cargo carrier, to withdraw a lawsuit it filed against nine former employees and pay them more than $7.9 million in wages, damages, and legal fees.
Southern Air filed a defamation lawsuit against the former employees in Connecticut Superior Court in May 2008 after some of the workers raised air carrier safety concerns with Southern Air, OSHA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The workers, all former flight crew members, subsequently filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA.
As a result of its investigation, OSHA issued a notice of findings and order to Southern Air directing the airline to do the following:
- Withdraw its lawsuit
- Pay the complainants $6,004,000 in lost future earnings, $1,800,000 in compensatory damages, and $129,789 in legal fees and costs
- Purge each complainant’s personnel file and other records of all warnings, reprimands, or derogatory references resulting from protected whistleblower activity
- Refrain from mentioning the complainants’ protected whistleblower activity or conveying any damaging information in response to third party inquiries
- Provide all Southern Air crew members with copies of the FAA Whistleblower Protection Program poster and OSHA’s notice to employees, and post these in each Southern Air facility
The complainants and the airline have 30 days from receipt of the findings to file an appeal with the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
Fall and Drowning Hazards Prompt More than $180,000 in OSHA Fines
OSHA has cited a contractor rebuilding a bridge over the Housatonic River in the Falls Village section of Canaan, Connecticut for 13 alleged willful and serious violations of construction safety standards. The Brunalli Construction Co. of Southington, Connecticut, faces $180,950 in proposed fines for allegedly failing to protect its employees against fall, drowning, and other hazards at the Route 7 jobsite.
A December 2008 OSHA inspection found employees exposed to falls of up to 43 feet into the river while working without fall protection on unprotected or inadequately guarded sections of the bridge and using an access ladder of inadequate height. They also were exposed to drowning hazards due to the lack of life jackets, ring buoys, and a lifesaving skiff that are required to be used and readily available on site when employees work over water.
“The significant hazard of a four-story plunge was exacerbated by the lack of required lifesaving rescue equipment,” said C. William Freeman III, OSHA’s area director in Hartford. “While it’s fortunate no fall or drowning occurred, the potential for a fatal or serious accident was real and present at this jobsite.”
As a result, OSHA issued Brunalli Construction three willful citations, with $147,000 in proposed fines, for the fall, drowning, and ladder hazards and 10 serious citations, with $33,950 in proposed fines, for additional fall-related hazards, puncture and laceration hazards from a damaged cable guardrail system, no hardhats for employees exposed to overhead hazards, amputation and laceration hazards from unguarded grinders, and no trained emergency responders on site.
OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
New Center Stamping Fined Over $100,000 by Michigan OSHA
Following a site reinspection by Michigan OSHA (MIOSHA), New Center Stamping, Inc., of Detroit has received 33 citations alleging the company failed to adequately protect employees from serious safety hazards, with proposed penalties totaling $102,060.
New Center Stamping, Inc. is an after-market parts supplier to General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler Corporation. It provides stamped fenders, doors, bumpers, and other items used in collision work on out-of-production models.
MIOSHA uses planned or scheduled inspections to target establishments with high injury/illness rates and a high incidence of lost workday cases, based on Michigan data. The intent of the scheduled inspections is to identify hazardous conditions, so that the hazards can be corrected before injuries and illnesses occur.
In 1997, MIOSHA conducted a planned, wall-to-wall inspection at New Center Stamping that resulted in 39 Serious, 10 Repeat Serious, and 38 other than serious (OTS) violations. The inspection had a total assessed penalty of $119,925. This inspection case was resolved and closed, with all items abated, on December 15, 2004.
In December 2006, MIOSHA conducted another planned, wall-to-wall inspection of this facility that resulted in 19 Serious, 1 Repeat Serious, and 13 OTS violations, with an assessed penalty of $24,700. This case file was closed, with all items abated, on April 25, 2007.
Between September 23 and October 29, 2008, MIOSHA conducted a comprehensive reinspection at this facility. MIOSHA reinspects workplaces where a comprehensive planned inspection has taken place, with at least five serious hazards identified and corrected. The objective is to determine whether safety and health measures put in place are being maintained.
A review of the company’s operating procedures revealed previous abatements were not being maintained in the facility. The safety officer observed many repeated serious violations. A review of the company’s 2007 MIOSHA 300 Log revealed an amputation, four lacerations, and other serious injuries. The 300 Log was not properly maintained.
The alleged Willful violations include:
- Failure to provide properly functioning brake monitors on presses
- Failure to train employees in hazards associated with power lockout procedures
The alleged Repeat Serious violations include:
- Failure to guard belts and pulleys
- Failure to train power press operators
- Failure to fix in place two hand controls on power presses
- Failure to use hand tools to remove scrap from dies
- Failure to check for safeguards during die setting procedures on presses
- Failure to guard employees against accidental contact with live parts of electrical equipment
MIOSHA defines violations as follows:
- A willful violation is one committed with an intentional disregard of the requirements of MIOSHA regulations, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
- A repeat violation is a violation of the same rule within three years.
- A serious violation exists where there is a substantial probability that serious physical harm or death can result to an employee.
- An other-than-serious (OTS) violation is a condition that would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have a direct and immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees.
The company has appealed the violations.
OSHA Cites JD Manufacturing for Failing to Abate Safety Violations Following Worker Death
OSHA has issued failure-to-abate citations to JD Manufacturing Inc., doing business as Arrow Waste, in Houston for a follow-up inspection that revealed previous violations had not been abated. The initial inspection was conducted on January 29, 2008 following the electrocution death of a worker. Upon re-inspection on October 9, 2008, OSHA’s investigation found that the six violations, four alleged serious and two alleged other-than-serious, originally cited had not been corrected by the company.
“The employer completely ignored abating the violations while continuing to expose employees to a hazardous working environment. That kind of practice will not be tolerated,” said Dean McDaniel, OSHA’s regional administrator in Dallas. “OSHA standards must be followed to prevent injuries and fatalities.”
The serious failure-to-abate violations include failing to have a written program for the control of hazardous energy, not installing the required wiring in accordance with OSHA regulations, and failing to adequately mark branch circuits to indicate their purpose. The other-than-serious violations the company failed to correct are not having a hazard communications program in place and not maintaining the required recordkeeping.
The initial inspection carried proposed penalties totaling $25,500. The re-inspection carries $108,000 in proposed penalties. JD Manufacturing, a manufacturing and repair facility for mechanized equipment and roll-off containers such as dumpsters or debris containers, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Houston North area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
General Electric Shows Effectiveness of VPP Program on Improving Job Safety and Health
GE’s 2008 annual evaluation demonstrated that its VPP facilities had an average total recordable case incidence rate of 22% below GE’s non-VPP facilities, and an average days away from work, job transfer, or restriction rate of 61% below GE’s non-VPP facilities.
OSHA Recognizes Owens Corning Trumbull Asphalt in Denver for Excellence in Occupational Safety and Health
OSHA has designated Owens Corning Trumbull Asphalt in Denver as a Voluntary Protection Programs () star site, the agency’s highest recognition for meeting or exceeding workplace safety and health standards. The company, which manufactures asphalt for roofing applications, earned VPP recognition after implementing a comprehensive employee safety and health management system in accordance with VPP standards, which exceed minimum OSHA standards.
“Owens Corning is a shining example of what can be achieved in the workplace when employees and managers work together with a significant focus on safety and health excellence,” said Greg Baxter, OSHA’s regional administrator in Denver. “Their program includes a highly involved frontline employee workforce, an excellent medical program and energy control procedures. Safety is valued from the bottom up.”
The VPP offers employers the opportunity to move beyond traditional safety programs by recognizing participants who successfully incorporate comprehensive safety and health programs into their total management systems.
More than 2,160 worksites nationwide, representing more than 270 industries, have earned entry into OSHA’s VPP. Requirements include a high degree of management commitment and employee involvement; a high-quality worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control program; and comprehensive safety and health training for all employees. Each of these elements must be effective, in place and in operation for at least one year before a company can apply to join the VPP. Companies in the VPP achieve average injury and illness rates 50 percent below the Bureau of Labor Statistics average for other companies in their respective industries.
Blue Grass Cooperage Receives Tennessee Governor’s Safety Award with Safety Record Dating Back to 2007
Blue Grass Cooperage in Waynesboro, Tennessee has been chosen to receive the Governor’s Award of Excellence for Workplace Safety. The Governor’s Safety Award honors Tennessee employers and employees who meet a required number of hours without workplace injuries serious enough to cause an employee to miss a day of work or restrict normal job activities. The number of hours required to qualify for the award is based on the size of the company.
Blue Grass Cooperage employs 34 people and is a sawmill that manufactures casks for use by the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg. The facility has qualified for the Governor’s Award by working more than 100,000 hours without a lost time or restricted duty injury. The site’s injury-free record dates back to May 2007.
CONN-OSHA to Conduct Work Zone Safety Session on May 5
It’s an important message too often ignored. Those orange and black signs are strategically located in advance of a roadway or highway work area to warn motorists to slow down, prepare to adjust their travel pattern, and proceed with the utmost caution.
Work Zones and the safety precautions road construction companies are required to take to keep their workers safe will be discussed in depth during a May 5 workshop sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CONN-OSHA). The session will take place at the agency’s Wethersfield Central Office, located at 200 Folly Brook Boulevard and will run from 10 a.m. to noon.
“Moving vehicles from existing lanes of travel to temporary traffic patterns expose construction workers to life-threatening situations every day,” explains John Able, CONN-OSHA Safety Training Specialist. “The implementation of a simple Work Zone Safety plan, however, can reduce employee exposure, increase productivity and save lives. We can’t stress strongly enough the importance of this issue, either. According to statistics compiled by the Federal Highway Administration, 835 work zone fatalities were recorded in 2007, the most recent year for which statistics were available. In addition, there were more than 40,000 injuries in work zones that year.”
According to Able, adequate time for questions will be allotted during the workshop. While admission is free, pre-registration is required.
Remember to Check Clothes Dryer Vents
The State Fire Marshal’s Office in South Carolina is encouraging people to pay particular attention to lint build-up in clothes dryer vents and in the exhaust ducts. “Oftentimes, lint build-up blocks the flow of air, causing excessive heat which can result in fires,” said John Reich, South Carolina State Fire Marshal.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that 15,500 fires associated with clothes dryers occur annually. These fires account for an average of 10 deaths, 310 injuries, and more than $84.4 million in property damage annually.
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