Effective March 16, 2012, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added methanol (CAS No. 67-56-1) to the list of chemicals known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity for purposes of Proposition 65. The listing of methanol is based on formal identification by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), in a report by the NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, that methanol causes reproductive toxicity (developmental endpoint). The criteria used by OEHHA for the listing of chemicals under the authoritative bodies mechanism can be found in Title 27, Cal. Code of Regs., section 25306.
Proposition 65 requires businesses with ten or more employees to provide warnings when they expose people to chemicals that are known to cause cancer or developmental or reproductive harm. The law also prohibits the discharge of listed chemicals into sources of drinking water. Methanol is listed under Proposition 65, therefore businesses and individuals who manufacture, distribute, or sell products with methanol in the State must provide a warning if their product or activity exposes the public or employees to this chemical.
The documentation supporting OEHHA’s determination that the criteria for administrative listing have been satisfied for methanol is included in the Notice of Intent to List published in the January 2, 2009, issue of the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register 2009, No. 1-Z).
The Proposition 65 Maximum Allowable Dose Levels for methanol is 47,000 micrograms per day for inhalation and 23,000 micrograms per day for ingestion.
How to Prepare for OSHA Adoption of the GHS for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
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How to Author GHS Safety Data Sheets
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How to Label Hazardous Chemicals Using OSHA’s New GHS Hazcom Standard
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Updated No Significant Risk Level for Trichloroethylene
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)is proposing to update the existing regulatory levels posing no significant risk level (NSRL) for trichloroethylene, to 14 micrograms per day for oral exposure and 50 micrograms per day for inhalation exposure, by amending Title 27, California Code of Regulations, section 25705.
The proposed updated NSRLs for trichloroethylene are based on a risk assessment performed by the EPA that OEHHA has reviewed and determined to be consistent with Section 25703. The oral and inhalation cancer potency values developed in the EPA risk assessment provide the basis for calculating the proposed oral and inhalation NSRLs, respectively.
Proposition 65 prohibits a person in the course of doing business from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to a chemical that has been listed as known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity, without first giving clear and reasonable warning to such individual (Health and Safety Code section 25249.6). The Act also prohibits a business from knowingly discharging a listed chemical into water or onto or into land where such chemical passes or probably will pass into any source of drinking water (Health and Safety Code section 25249.5).
For carcinogens, an exemption from the warning requirement is provided by the Act when the exposure for which the person is responsible can be demonstrated to produce no significant risk or that a discharge which otherwise complies with all applicable requirements would not cause any significant amount of the discharged or released chemical to enter any source of drinking water (Health and Safety Code sections 25249.9 and 25249.10). A determination that a level of exposure poses no significant risk may be made utilizing regulations that have previously been adopted by OEHHA (Sections 25701-25721). Section 25701 describes alternative methods for making such a determination. Section 25705 sets forth the process for determining “no significant risk” levels for purposes of Proposition 65 and establishes those levels for certain listed chemicals.
Michigan to Eliminate 611 Safety Requirements
Governor Snyder has reviewed the recommendations and has asked the ORR and Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) to work toward implementing the recommendations.
The ORR made 624 recommendations for changes to 334 separate MIOSHA rules that exceed the federal standards. The recommendations contemplate the rescission of over 611 distinct MIOSHA requirements (this includes entire rules or parts of rules). The ORR made nine other distinct recommendations separate from the review of existing MIOSHA rules.
“Elimination of duplicative and unnecessarily burdensome rules will reduce costs for businesses and allow MIOSHA to focus on enforcing rules that are core to their mission of workplace safety,” said Steven H. Hilfinger, Chief Regulatory Officer and Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Director. “None of the rescinded requirements are present in federal OSHA regulations. Eliminating these Michigan‐specific amendments will result in less complex and more efficient regulations and will make Michigan more competitive in attracting and growing businesses.”
The ORR formed recommendations after a comprehensive review process, including convening an Advisory Rules Committee (ARC) of stakeholders that included representatives from manufacturers, unions, utilities, construction companies, pharmaceutical companies, municipal organizations and more, as well as senior officials from MIOSHA.
ARC Committee Member Delaney Newberry, who is director of Human Resource Policy for the Michigan Manufacturers Association said, “Unnecessary administrative rules can impose billions of dollars in costs on Michigan job providers, negatively affecting our state’s competitiveness in the global economy. We look forward to being an active partner in the next steps of implementation of the recommendations. Our state’s economic vitality is at stake.”
The ORR worked closely with MIOSHA in reviewing existing administrative rules and developing the recommendations through the Workplace Safety Advisory Rules Committee.
“The ORR project has provided the opportunity for a much-needed update of MIOSHA regulations by eliminating rules that are duplicative, obsolete, or seldom used,” said MIOSHA Director Martha Yoder.
“When completed, the project will improve MIOSHA effectiveness by reducing the number of rules employers must consider when creating their workplace safety and health systems.”
The recommendations will streamline government. For instance, the ORR has recommended the elimination of the Construction Safety, General Industry, and Occupational Health Standards Commissions, which no longer have any rulemaking authority, in favor of more specialized ad hoc advisory committees.
“There are a number of workplace safety regulations that are decades old that no longer apply to the modern work environment,” said ARC Committee Member Pat Kresnak, who is director of Environmental Health & Safety at the IAC Group. “By eliminating unnecessary regulations, businesses can spend more time on meaningful workplace safety measures, enhancing workplace safety overall.”
The Workplace Safety Advisory Rules Committee which was composed of a number of health and safety professionals, was unanimous in its recommendations to the ORR, and concurred that these recommendations would help build a more simple, fair, efficient, and transparent regulatory system, while still providing the necessary safeguards for workers.
Over Half of Low-Cost Jewelry Ranks HIGH for Toxic Chemicals Including Lead, Cadmium, Nickel and Chromium
Researchers tested for chemicals—including lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, bromine and chlorine (PVC)—which have been linked in animal and some human studies to acute allergies and to long-term health impacts such as birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, and cancer.
Over half (57%) of the products tested had a high level of concern due to the presence of one or more hazardous chemicals detected at high levels. Four products contained over 10% cadmium, a known carcinogen. Fifty percent contained lead, with over half of these containing more than 300 ppm of lead in one or more components, exceeding the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) limit of lead in children’s products.
“There is no excuse for jewelry, especially children’s jewelry, to be made with some of the most well studied and dangerous substances on the planet,” said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center and founder of HealthyStuff.org. “We urge manufacturers to start replacing these chemicals with non-toxic substances immediately.”
Ninety-nine pieces of jewelry were tested from 14 different retailers, including: Ming 99 City, Burlington Coat Factory, Target, Big Lots, Claire’s, Glitter, Forever 21, Walmart, H&M, Meijers, Kohl’s, Justice, Icing, and Hot Topic. Samples were collected from 6 different states, including Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont.
HealthyStuff.org measured the presence of these chemicals with an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer—a proven, accurate indicator of elements in products. Anyone concerned about these jewelry products can visit www.HealthyStuff.org and search by brand, jewelry type, and chemical detected.
Highlights of Study Results:
- 59% of products tested were rated as having HIGH level of concern due the presence of one or more hazardous chemical detected at high levels.
- 27% of jewelry contained greater than 300 ppm lead in one or more components. 300 ppm is the CPSC limit of lead in children’s products.
- 10% of jewelry contained greater than100 ppm cadmium in one or more components.
- 93% of jewelry contained greater than 100 ppm chromium.
- 30% of jewelry contained greater than 100 ppm nickel.
- BROMINATED FLAME RETARDANTS—7% of jewelry contained brominated flame retardants (greater than 1,000 ppm bromine).
- 12% of jewelry contained PVC (greater than 25,000 ppm chlorine).
Other chemicals analyzed included mercury and arsenic.
According to the CPSC, parents and caregivers should not allow young children to be given, or to play with, cheap metal jewelry, especially when unsupervised. The CPSC states that: “Swallowing, sucking on or chewing a metal charm or necklace could result in exposure to lead, cadmium or other heavy metals, which are known to be toxic at certain levels of exposure.”
However, in 2010 the CPSC declined to regulate cadmium in children’s products, and instead has supported an industry-developed voluntary standard. In response, six states have moved to regulate cadmium in the absence of federal leadership, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington State. In addition, a wave of consumer pressure is pushing a rewrite of the Toxics Substance Control Act (TSCA), the federal law that regulates chemicals in commerce. The TSCA reform bill, the Safe Chemicals Act (S. 847), was introduced by Senator Lautenburg in 2011 and now has 15 co-sponsors.
“Toxic jewelry is a symptom of the complete failure of our federal chemical regulatory system,” said Gearhart. “Our children will never be safe until we reform our chemical laws to ensure products are safe before they arrive on store shelves.”
Since 2007 researchers at the Ecology Center have performed over 20,000 tests on 7,000 consumer products, including pet products, vehicles, women’s handbags, jewelry, back-to-school products, children’s toys, building products, and children’s car seats.
OSHA Fines Dollar Tree $121,000 for Repeat Violations
OSHA opened an inspection in response to a complaint alleging blocked fire exits and the unsafe storage of items in stock. Proposed penalties total $121,000.
The first violation is permitting exit routes to be obstructed by boxes and product carts. OSHA previously cited Dollar Tree Stores for the same violation at its Bergenfield and Dover, New Jersey, locations in 2010 and 2008, respectively. The second violation is storing materials in an unsafe manner. OSHA cited this violation at the company’s Commack, New York; Watchung, New Jersey; and Dover, New Jersey locations in 2011, 2010 and 2008, respectively. 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.
“These violations are often found at retail stores and can pose a serious risk to workers,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “It is imperative that Dollar Tree Stores evaluate all of its locations for these and other potential workplace hazards, and take the appropriate steps to protect workers.”
“The company can prevent these types of hazards by establishing an injury and illness prevention program in which it works with its employees to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
OSHA Fines Agro Farma $178,000 for 34 Violations
OSHA has cited Agro Farma Inc., for 34 alleged violations of workplace safety and health standards at its New Berlin, New York, facility. The manufacturer of Chobani Greek Yogurt faces a total of $178,000 in proposed penalties following inspections by OSHA’s Syracuse Area Office that were prompted by a complaint.
“Our inspections identified a wide range of mechanical, chemical, electrical, and health hazards that, left uncorrected, expose the plant’s employees to being caught in moving machine parts or unexpectedly energized machinery, electrocution, falls, being overcome in toxic or oxygen-deficient atmospheres, and hearing loss,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse.
The inspection also identified deficiencies in the plant’s process safety management program, which prevents the unexpected release of toxic, reactive, or flammable liquids and gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals, including unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals; failing to provide audiometric testing for employees exposed to excess noise levels; and failing to refit and retrain employees who experienced a hearing loss. These conditions resulted in the issuance of 33 serious citations, with $177,000 in proposed fines. 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.
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.
“An effective illness and injury prevention program is one way of preventing workplace hazards such as these,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional director in New York.
OSHA Fines Olde Atlanta Recycling $69,000 for 23 Violations
OSHA has cited Olde Atlanta Recycling LLC, with 23 safety and health violations for exposing workers to a variety of hazards at the company’s Cumming, Georgia, facility. An inspection was initiated in November based on a complaint. Proposed penalties total $69,200.
Fifteen serious safety violations with penalties of $55,800 involve failing to provide an energy control program for workers who maintain and service equipment to keep machines from accidentally starting up, require workers who operate powered industrial trucks to wear seat belts, properly use PVC piping to transport compressed air, provide signage to mark exits, formally train powered industrial truck operators, install a chip guard on the end of an air nozzle, guard a conveyor belt, correct electrical deficiencies, and ensure that the ceiling height of an exit route was a minimum of 84 inches.
Four serious health violations with penalties of $10,800 include failing to develop and implement a noise monitoring program, implement a training program for workers exposed to noise, perform a hazard assessment for workers exposed to laceration hazards to determine necessary personal protective equipment, and identify a baler that workers entered to remove jams as a permit-required confined space.
Two other-than-serious health violations include failing to provide workers using respirators with information on the related OSHA standard, and to develop and implement a written hazard communication program. Two other-than-serious safety violations have been cited for failing to maintain the OSHA 300, 301, and 300-A logs as required, and to provide an emergency action plan for employee accountability in the event of an emergency. These four violations carry combined penalties of $2,600.
“This inspection has identified several safety and health deficiencies that need to be addressed by Olde Atlanta Recycling in order to protect its workers,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “It is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace.”
IFCO Systems North America Fined Nearly $164,000 for Serious and Repeat Violations
OSHA has cited Houston, Texas-based, IFCO Systems North America Inc., with 10 serious, three repeat, and six other-than-serious violations for exposing workers to safety and health violations at its facility on Tacco Drive in San Antonio. OSHA’s San Antonio Area Office initiated an inspection as part of the agency’s Site-Specific Targeting program, which directs enforcement activity to work sites with higher-than-average injury and illness rates. Proposed penalties total $163,900.
“Serious and repeat violations compromise worker safety,” said Jeff Funke, the agency’s area director in San Antonio. “This employer has not exercised its responsibility to ensure workers are not exposed to hazards.”
In February and June of 2010, the company’s San Antonio facility was cited for similar violations with penalties totaling $17,500 and $4,620, respectively. Additionally, OSHA cited the company’s Henderson, Colorado, facility in March 2011 for machine guarding and other violations with penalties of $67,765.
The other-than-serious violations at the San Antonio site include failing to adequately describe occupational injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log, and record a case on the log when an employee experienced a work-related hearing loss.
OSHA Cites G & J Enterprises After Worker Injured During Trench Collapse
OSHA has cited Morrow, Ohio-based G & J Enterprises with three safety—including one willful—violations, after a worker suffered a back injury when a trench caved in during the installation of an 8-foot-deep sewer line on January 19 in Loveland, Ohio. Proposed penalties total $49,200.
The willful violation was for failing to provide workers with cave-in protection. 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.
Two serious violations include failing to require workers to use head protection as well as to train workers to recognize the hazards involved in excavation work.
“G & J Enterprises is responsible for ensuring that its employees are properly protected from known workplace hazards such as trench cave-ins, a leading cause of injuries and deaths in excavation work,” said Bill Wilkerson, OSHA’s area director in Cincinnati. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
OSHA standards mandate that all excavations 5 feet or deeper be protected against collapse.
The company was cited by OSHA in 2011 and 2009 for violations of trench protection standards.
OSHA Cites Piping Technology and Products for Noise and Other Safety Hazards
Proposed penalties total $118,000.
“This is the not the first time Piping Technology and Products has jeopardized the safety of its workers,” said John Hermanson, OSHA’s regional administrator in Dallas. “Employers have a responsibility to safeguard workers from hazards. Failing to adhere to OSHA’s safety and health standards exposes workers to serious injuries and illnesses.”
OSHA’s Houston South Area Office initiated a health inspection at the company’s facility on Holmes Road after receiving a referral following a safety inspection that OSHA conducted in June 2011, which resulted in fines totaling more than $1 million for willful and serious violations.
The willful violation now being cited is for failing to establish and maintain a hearing conservation program for workers exposed to noise levels exceeding 85 decibels.
Some of the serious health violations include failing to ensure the use of hearing protection, ear plugs, or ear muffs to prevent hearing loss; failing to perform a personal protective equipment assessment; failing to identify and evaluate respiratory hazards; failing to ensure emergency eye wash was used and showers were taken; and failing to properly label containers stored with chemicals.
The program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations.
OSHA Fines Two Florida Companies Over $59,000
OSHA has cited two Davie, Florida, companies owned by the Maurer family, Merlin Industries Inc., and Thermal Concepts Inc., with 17 safety violations. OSHA began an inspection in September at Merlin Industries as part of the agency’s National Emphasis Program on Amputations and then expanded the inspection to include Thermal Concepts once it was determined that both companies share the same building. Proposed penalties for the companies’ violations total $59,100.
OSHA cited Merlin Industries for 11 serious violations with $48,300 in proposed penalties for failing to certify periodic inspections of energy control procedures, certify that training on energy control procedures was completed, anchor machines to the floor, guard gears and chains on fabrication equipment, properly store oxygen and acetylene cylinders, provide machine guarding, and repair a variety of electrical deficiencies. Thermal Concepts has been cited for two serious violations with $10,800 in proposed fines for failing to guard open-sided floor areas as well as to store oxygen and acetylene cylinders away from combustible materials.
Thermal Concepts also has been cited for four other-than-serious violations with no monetary penalties for failing to keep areas in the facility clean and orderly, not having floor load place cards available and posted in the warehouse, failing to mount a portable fire extinguisher, and not removing a powered industrial truck from service that had broken tail lights.
“Employers need to be proactive in addressing workplace hazards rather than waiting for OSHA inspectors to identify them,” said Jaime Lopez, OSHA’s acting director in Fort Lauderdale. “Employers are responsible for ensuring that their employees have a safe and healthful work environment.”
Merlin Industries fabricates metal ductwork and equipment mainly used by Thermal Concepts, which installs heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
OSHA Cites Stella-Jones Corp. Following Fatality
Proposed penalties for the citations total $120,600.
OSHA’s Birmingham Area Office initiated an inspection September 12, in response to the fatality. The willful violation is failing to install guards to prevent access to the rotating and moving parts of a pre-plate boring machine used to drill holes into railroad ties.
“Management failed to install the protections designed by the machine’s manufacturer to prevent entrapment,” said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA’s area director in Birmingham. “This incident could have been avoided if the company had followed OSHA standards and the machine manufacturer’s specifications.”
Twelve serious violations involve failing to cover openings in the conveyor where employees could step into the machinery, provide machine guards on a conveyor or saw, conduct inspections of energy control procedures, develop lockout/tagout procedures to prevent unplanned energizing of the pre-plate machine when it was being serviced, mark permit-required confined spaces, evaluate the ability to respond to a rescue if needed, and provide railings on a platform so workers were not exposed to fall hazards. The violations also include electrical deficiencies such as a receptacle lacking a cover plate, wiring and equipment in the treatment plant that were not approved for wet locations, and electrical cords lacking strain relief.
Three other-than-serious violations include failing to mark exits, using damaged electrical cords, and using a flexible cord instead of fixed wiring.
NIH Seeking Thousands More Oil Spill Workers to Find Potential Health Effects of Spill
Nearly two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 10,000 cleanup workers and volunteers have enrolled in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up (GuLF) STUDY, a national effort to determine if the oil spill has led to physical or mental health problems. Reaching the GuLF STUDY’s target goal of 55,000 participants would make it the largest health study of its kind.
The study is being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.
“Ten thousand people have stepped forward to help find answers for their community and for the health concerns that linger after the oil spill,” said Dale Sandler, Ph.D., chief of the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch and principal investigator of the study. “I encourage anyone who helped in the cleanup effort to make the call today to enroll in the GuLF STUDY. We want to hear everyone’s story. Everyone is important to this study.”
NIEHS was in the Gulf at the beginning of the oil disaster that occurred on April 20, 2010, and offered safety training to more than 150,000 cleanup workers. Now, some of these workers have concerns about their health as a result of participating in the cleanup. The GuLF STUDY was designed to answer some of these questions and will generate important data that may help guide policy decisions on health care and services in the Gulf region. Findings may also influence responses to future oil spills.
The GuLF STUDY staff reached out to the 150,000 people who took the cleanup worker safety training, but volunteers have been hard to find. Many have moved to new residences or changed telephone numbers, so the study has been using a range of approaches to invite people to join the study, including billboards, radio and TV, Facebook and Twitter, and community meetings. Individuals may be eligible for the study if they:
- Are at least 21 years old
- Did oil spill cleanup work for at least one day
- Supported the cleanup effort in some way or completed oil spill worker training
When volunteers join the GuLF STUDY, they are asked to complete a survey over the telephone. Most participants will also get a medical exam at home, and provide blood, urine, and other samples. When the medical visit is complete, participants will receive a gift card worth $50.
“We are grateful to have the support of more than 100 community and professional groups across the Gulf that represent workers who believe in the GuLF STUDY and who have endorsed it,” said Sandler. “The study was developed to make participation as easy and convenient as possible and participation is confidential. We protect the identity of every participant.”
CSB Develops Policy on Employee Participation in Investigations
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has developed a new policy on employee participation in investigations that the Board hopes will enhance the vital role played by plant workers in determining root causes of incidents and promoting facility safety. The policy, which was approved by a unanimous 3-0 vote of the Board on February 27, follows a roundtable involving accident victims, family members, and worker representatives the CSB convened in 2011.
The new policy implements a key provision of the CSB enabling statute at 42 U.S.C. § 7412(r)(6)(L), which provides that employees and their representatives have similar rights in CSB accident investigations as they do during OSHA inspections under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
CSB Chairperson Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso said, “The new employee participation guidance is an important milestone for the CSB, as we continue to strengthen our investigative processes. The CSB has already been following a number of the elements of the policy in past and ongoing investigations, but the new policy will assure uniformity and increased employee participation at sites across the country.”
Key elements of the new policy include:
- If the CSB initiates an investigation at a union-represented site, the CSB will promptly identify and notify facility unions of its plans to investigate. At non-union sites, the CSB will seek to identify other employee representatives, such as employee members of any established Health and Safety Committee, or other employee representatives, if possible.
- The CSB will seek participation by contract employees and their representatives, similar to facility employees.
- The CSB will establish direct, face-to-face communications with employee representatives from the outset of its investigations.
- The CSB will take measures to avoid interference by any party with the proper exercise of employee participation.
- CSB investigators will allow and encourage employee representatives to accompany the CSB team during site inspections and tours. Such participation is often critical for understanding complex processes and learning of important safety concerns and hazards.
- Where necessary to obtain information, CSB investigators will conduct separate meetings with employee representatives.
- During CSB interviews, any non-supervisory employee may be accompanied by another non-supervisory employee, a personal attorney, or a family member as described in 40 CFR 1610.
- The CSB will provide employee representatives with the opportunity to review and comment upon evidence and equipment testing protocols and to observe testing, similar to the opportunities for companies and other parties. Employee representatives will also have access to any test results, to an extent equivalent to other parties.
- The CSB will provide employee representatives with the opportunity to review and comment on the factual accuracy of CSB reports, recommendations, and interim statements of findings prior to public release, to a degree equivalent to any opportunities provided to company representatives.
- The CSB will monitor the implementation of the policy to ensure that participation by facility employees and representatives in CSB investigations does not result in prohibited whistleblower retaliation under 42 USC ? 7622. Documented instances of retaliation will be referred to appropriate federal enforcement agencies.
“Over the next few months, the CSB plans to develop a brochure for employees as well as a new web page summarizing the new policy,” Dr. Moure-Eraso said. “Our goal is effective employee participation from the first day of an investigation right through to our final report. No one knows more about the day-to-day operations at a plant than the workers who go there every day in the hope of safely earning a living. We cannot fully succeed in our mission without their help.”
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents. The agency’s board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
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