New laboratory safety materials also include fact sheets that each focus on a specific hazard related to laboratory environments. Practices and precautions to protect laboratory personnel include safety guidance for using autoclaves, use of chemical fume hoods, labeling and transferring chemicals, and latex exposure.
Over the past several years, there have been a number of laboratory incidents caused by fires, explosions, and equipment. These incidents have resulted in debilitating injuries and death.
“The chemicals and equipment that laboratory workers use present a number of serious, sometimes life-threatening hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels. “These educational materials will help employers identify hazards and measures to ensure safe and healthful conditions for their workers and promote a robust safety culture in the workplace.”
The manual has since been revised, and the agencies are working together to update the non-mandatory appendices in OSHA’s Laboratory Standard ) to assure it is consistent with the guidance given in the revised manual.
How to Author GHS Safety Data Sheets
OSHA is adopting the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. A cornerstone of GHS is the adoption of a completely revised Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- November 3, 2011
- November 18, 2011
- December 15, 2011
How to Label Hazardous Chemicals Using OSHA’s New GHS Hazcom Standard
Workplace and supplier hazard communication labels are being reinvented as OSHA adopts the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for labeling hazardous chemicals.
- November 4, 2011
- December 16, 2011
How to Prepare for OSHA Adoption of the GHS for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
This means that virtually every product label, material safety data sheet (soon to be called “safety data sheet”), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on MSDSs.
Environmental Resource Center is offering webcast training courses where you will learn how the new rule differs from current requirements, how to implement the changes, and when the changes must be implemented.
- November 10
Register early to ensure your spot in one of the upcoming sessions. You may register online or call 800-537-2372 to register by phone.
Cary, NC 40-Hr and 24-Hr HAZWOPER Training
Mobile RCRA and DOT Training
Williamsburg RCRA and DOT Training
Safety Consultant/Trainer
Environmental Resource Center has a new opening for a safety consultant and auditor. We are looking for a former OSHA CSHO, OSHA trainer, or state inspector for this position in our Cary, North Carolina, office. Applicants should have excellent writing and speaking skills and be willing to travel 7–14 days per month. We are looking for an expert in all of the General Industry and Construction standards who is capable of performing audits of industrial facilities as well as conducting on-site training.
Strong consideration will be given to applicants who also have experience providing HAZWOPER, Hazcom, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, and machine guarding training.
The position includes maintenance of training materials (books and presentations), working on consulting projects, development of classes and computer-based training programs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
EnPro Safety Summit
EnPro Industries, one of America’s safest companies, is opening the doors to its annual safety conference to the readers of Environmental Resource Center’s Safety Tip of the Week. Until now, this conference has only been open to EHS managers from this leading manufacturer of sealing products, engineered products, and engine products. Enpro has about 3,600 employees in the US, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. At this meeting, you’ll learn how EnPro achieved an accident and employee lost time rates that are amongst the safest among similar industries. You’ll also learn how your employees can empower your safety machine, how to get the best in class workers compensation rate, key policies and procedures, and you’ll get to feel and touch a true safety culture.
The conference will be held October 24–25 in Houston. For more information, contact Rick Rudy at 303-433-3282 and mention that you were invited to attend as a reader of Environmental Resource Center’s Safety Tip of the Week.
Cintas Earns Award for Workplace Safety and Health
With its workplace health and safety incidents more than 20% below the national average, Cintas’ Frankfort, Indiana, site demonstrates what it takes to develop and maintain an effective workplace safety and health management system.
Recently, the Indiana Department of Labor recognized Cintas as an Indiana Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star work site. Cintas celebrated with an employee luncheon on Wednesday, September 28, 2011.
In addition, the facility’s worker injury and illness rates must be below the national average for its industry. Fewer than 60 Hoosier workplaces have achieved certification in VPP. To participate in VPP, a company must develop, implement, and maintain an effective worker safety and health management system.
“Cintas has reduced occupational injuries by approximately 80 percent over the past three years,” said Indiana Department of Labor Commissioner Lori Torres. “This is a considerable achievement, underscoring the impact that focused dedication to worker safety and health displayed by all stakeholders can have.”
Employing more than 100 workers in Frankfort, Cintas processes industrial laundering of rental uniforms, garments, and bulk products for its customers. The rented uniforms and other products are delivered to Cintas’ customers using fleet vehicles and company drivers.
“Businesses throughout America know the VPP Star Award is sterling recognition and they know it is only given to those organizations that have met very rigorous safety requirements and proven that elimination of injuries is a culture value woven into their corporate DNA,” said Dan Braun, Senior Vice President of Value Improvement Initiatives at Cintas. “I’m proud of our partners in Frankfort and proud of how this further establishes Cintas as the only industrial launderer in the country to receive this prestigious recognition.”
The Frankfort location is the first Cintas site in Indiana to achieve VPP Star certification and only the second Cintas site in the country. More than 100 other Cintas facilities nationwide are actively pursuing VPP.
Occupational Hearing Loss Dialogue Scheduled for November 3 in Washington, D.C.
OSHA will host an informal stakeholder meeting to solicit comments and suggestions on occupational hearing loss prevention. The purpose of OSHA’s public meeting is to provide a forum and gather information from stakeholders on best practices for hearing conservation programs, personal protective equipment, and feasible engineering controls. OSHA is holding this meeting as part of its commitment to work with stakeholders on approaches for preventing occupational hearing loss.
The meeting will take place in Washington, D.C., on November 3, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Between 20,000 and 25,000 workers suffer preventable hearing loss every year due to high workplace noise levels,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “In January, OSHA launched an education, outreach and consultation initiative on preventing work-related hearing loss. As part of that initiative, OSHA committed to holding this stakeholder meeting to elicit the views of employers, workers, noise control experts and public health professionals.”
The meeting will be held at the Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-4437 A/B/C/D, at 200 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, DC. . Faxes should be labeled “Attention: OSHA Preventing Occupational Hearing Loss: Stakeholder Meeting” and include the stakeholder’s name, contact information, and company or organization. The deadline for registration is October 27, 2011.
Tenneco Automotive Fined $90,000 for Hexavalent Chromium, Other Hazards
OSHA cited Tenneco Automotive Operating Co., for 20 safety and health violations at its manufacturing plant in Hartwell, Georgia. Several violations involved hexavalent chromium exposure, which can lead to nose, throat, and lung damage. Proposed fines total $90,000.
“There is ample information alerting employers to the hazards posed by hexavalent chromium. OSHA will not tolerate companies that expose employees to this and other well-known workplace hazards,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office.
Seventeen serious safety and health violations were cited. Those related to hexavalent chromium include failing to prevent exposure beyond OSHA’s authorized limits, not developing a plan to limit exposure, not providing a separate storage area or change area for personal protective equipment used by workers, failing to consult a physician about the chromium exposures, not maintaining an eyewash station, failing to provide clean work surfaces free from chromium accumulations, and failing to dispose of waste using a sealed container. The remaining serious violations include failing to evaluate and prevent workers entering confined spaces from doing so without required permits, train workers on lockout/tagout procedures, implement a lockout/tagout program for energy sources to prevent machines from accidentally starting up during servicing and maintenance, provide guards on machines, and provide a cover to an electrical panel. 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.
Three other-than-serious violations involved mounting an outlet and switch box on a structural support column, blocking an electrical disconnect, and failing to require employees to practice entering confined spaces since 2009. 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. No monetary penalties were assessed.
New Brunswick Scientific Co. Fined $122,000 for 29 Violations
OSHA cited New Brunswick Scientific Co., for 29 safety and health violations at its Edison, New Jersey, facility. Proposed penalties total $122,000 following an inspection initiated as part of OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program for industries with high injury and illness rates.
Twenty-eight serious violations involve locked exit doors, obstructed exit routes and unmarked exit routes, an inadequate hazardous energy control program, blocked access to a fire extinguisher, inadequate machine guarding, various electrical and noise hazards, a lack of training on noise hazards, chemical exposure above the recommended limit, use of methylene chloride without determining employees’ exposure, asbestos surface contamination, a lack of asbestos training, ineffective engineering controls, not providing proper personal protective equipment, and the lack of a hazard communication program.
One other-than-serious violation, with no monetary penalty, was cited for failing to provide required information to employees who voluntarily use a respirator.
“These hazards pose a serious risk to the health and safety of workers at the facility and should be corrected as soon as possible,” said Patricia Jones, director of OSHA’s Avenel Area Office. “Employers are required by law to provide employees with a safe and healthful work environment.”
$55,000 Fine for Safety Violations at Georgia Construction Site
OSHA cited general contractor Ganaway Contracting Co. Inc., of Alpharetta, Georgia, for 14 safety violations with $55,440 in proposed fines following an inspection at a restaurant construction site in Tifton, Georgia. OSHA conducted its inspection as part of a local emphasis program on protecting workers from falls in the construction industry.
Four repeat violations with $29,040 in fines involve exposing workers to fall hazards by allowing them to work at heights of about 12-15 feet without requiring the use of fall protection, using ladders that did not extend at least 36 inches past the upper landing surface of a roof, and using an extension ladder with cracks and broken/missing parts. The company also failed to require the use of eye protection for workers using tools such as pneumatic nail guns, electric drills, and circular saws. 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. The company was cited for similar violations in 2010 at locations in Anniston and Trussville, Alabama, and Oakwood, Georgia.
Seven serious violations with $24,420 in fines involve exposing workers to fall hazards by allowing them to work on a wooden platform supported by a forklift, even though the forklift manufacturer’s manual warns against using its forklifts for this purpose; failing to require workers to attach a lanyard from a body belt to a personal fall protection system in order to prevent falls; and failing to require workers to use head protection while exposed to falling building materials and tools.
Three other-than-serious violations with $1,980 in fines involve failing to produce OSHA-mandated injury and illness logs for 2008, 2009, and 2010.
“As the controlling contractor at this work site, Ganaway should have acted to prevent workers from being exposed to these hazards. OSHA will not tolerate violations that threaten workers’ safety,” said Robert Vazzi, director of OSHA’s Savannah Area Office.
Texas Contractor Cited for Serious and Repeat Violations Following Fatality
OSHA cited Fort Worth, Texas-based tunneling company Southland Contracting Inc., for seven violations of workplace safety standards after one of its employees was killed at the Eastside Water Supply Project in Webster, New York.
On April 11, Southland employees were performing tunneling operations in the raw water intake tunnel when a fuse blew after a piece of equipment was plugged into a branch circuit designed for temporary lighting, causing the lights in the tunnel to go out. In the darkness, an employee who was operating a locomotive sustained a fatal head injury when he struck a conveyor on the tunnel boring machine.
OSHA found that the locomotive lacked bumper blocks to stop it as it approached the conveyor, it was pushing an unattached flat car, and it had not been inspected for modifications and repairs. Furthermore, there was no effective means by which the workers in the tunnel could notify the locomotive operator of problems while he was in transit. The welding equipment was plugged into branch circuits meant only for temporary lighting, and the site had not been inspected by a competent person prior to the work beginning. These conditions resulted in citations for six serious violations.
“An unfortunate and unnecessary confluence of conditions placed the workers in the tunnel at risk of being struck, crushed or caught in and between the locomotive and the tunnel boring machine,” said Arthur Dube, OSHA’s area director for western New York. “An inspection by a person with the knowledge to identify and the authority to eliminate these hazards could have prevented this worker’s death.”
One repeat violation was cited for failing to instruct workers in the recognition and avoidance of “struck-by,” “caught-in,” and crushing hazards associated with tunnel boring and locomotive equipment. A similar hazard was cited at this company’s Batesville, Arkansas, worksite in 2010.
“An important means of preventing hazards such as these is for an employer to develop, implement and effectively maintain an illness and injury prevention program in which management and workers proactively and continually identify and eliminate hazardous conditions before they harm workers,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional director in New York.
For the citations, Southland Contracting Inc., faces a total of $55,440 in proposed penalties.
OSHA Cites Sifco Forge Group for 13 Violations
OSHA cited aircraft component manufacturer Sifco Forge Group in Cleveland, Ohio, for one repeat and 12 serious safety violations. Proposed fines total $84,370.
“Employers have a responsibility to maintain safe working environments, which includes ensuring that workers are trained in recommended safety procedures for the daily tasks they perform,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
The repeat violation was cited for failing to complete, document, and certify annual inspections of energy control procedures. Sifco was cited for this violation at the same facility in 2010.
The serious violations involve failing to properly guard machinery, provide training on lockout/tagout procedures to prevent equipment from being unexpectedly energized, develop and maintain a written fire safety program, develop and enforce the use of die setting procedures for mechanical power presses, and examine powered industrial trucks prior to each shift.
$125,300 Penalty for Fall, Struck-by and Other Safety Hazards
OSHA cited Bayonne, New Jersey-based Jay Imports Co., for two willful and eight serious violations for exposing workers to fall, “struck-by,” and other safety hazards at the company’s warehouse. Proposed penalties total $125,300.
The willful violations, carrying penalties of $98,000, are due to the company’s practice of transporting employees throughout the warehouse on the forks of forklifts and raising them to heights of up to 20 feet, while standing, to pick orders. This practice exposed workers to fall and struck-by hazards. 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.
The eight serious violations, with penalties of $27,300, involve failing to provide a written hazard communication program, ensure exit routes and doors were unobstructed, properly post exit signage, provide employees exposed to battery acid with protective gloves as well as an eye wash and eye protection, require employees exposed to hazards that could cause foot injuries to wear appropriate foot protection, provide forklift training, provide refresher training to employees operating forklifts in an unsafe manner, provide hazard communication training, ensure effective closure of unused breaker openings, and provide material safety data sheets for sulfuric acid.
“By disregarding OSHA’s safety standards, Jay Imports is leaving its employees vulnerable to hazards that can cause serious injury and possible death,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “It is imperative that this company takes steps to provide a safe working environment.”
Jay Imports Co., distributes tabletop merchandise and employs 35 workers at its Bayonne warehouse.
Lowe’s Stores Fined $96,000 for Continued Violations at 3 Lowe’s Stores in Pennsylvania
OSHA cited Lowe’s stores in Carlisle, Hanover, and Palmyra, Pennsylvania, for a total of 11 safety and health violations, 10 of those repeat, including exposing workers to chemical and electrical hazards. The inspections were conducted under OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program for industries with high injury and illness rates. Proposed penalties total $96,030.
“Lowe’s stores continue to put employees at risk by not addressing previously cited safety and health violations,” said Kevin Kilp, director of OSHA’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Area Office, which conducted the inspections. “This employer is well aware of OSHA requirements but continues to disregard federal law, which will not be tolerated.”
The Carlisle store was cited for five repeat violations with $61,820 in penalties for permitting employees to use hazardous liquid chemicals without the use of personal protective equipment, improperly modifying powered industrial trucks, using flexible cords and cables as a substitute for fixed wiring, and failing to properly label hazardous chemical containers.
The Hanover store was cited for three repeat violations with $990 in penalties involving several electrical hazards, including failing to properly use listed or labeled electrical equipment, using a flexible cord as a substitute for fixed wiring, and running a flexible cord through a hole in the wall. The store also was cited for one other-than-serious violation with no monetary penalty for having an obstructed fire alarm pull station, which previously was cited at other stores.
The Palmyra store was cited for two repeat violations with $33,220 in penalties for failing to provide personal protective equipment to employees exposed to hazardous liquid chemicals.
$58,800 Penalty for Respirable and Combustible Dust Violations
OSHA cited Karyall Teleday Co., of Brooklyn, Ohio, for 17 serious safety and health violations, including overexposure of employees to respirable dust, and failing to provide them personal protective equipment. The company faces $58,800 in proposed fines following an inspection conducted under OSHA’s local emphasis program on the primary metals industry.
“Failing to provide appropriate personal protective equipment and monitoring workers for exposure to hazards such as respirable and combustible dust puts them at an unacceptable risk for injury and illness,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland. “Employers have a responsibility to ensure that work environments are healthful and safe.”
The violations involve overexposure to respirable dust, exposure to combustible dust, a lack of mandatory respirator training, a lack of fit-testing and medical evaluations for respirator use, various electrical violations, not providing proper guards on various machines to protect employees, failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures for machinery to prevent equipment from becoming energized unintentionally, not providing personal protective equipment, and not providing fork truck training.
Karyall Teleday Co., produces metal containers, wire baskets, and a variety of sheet metal products.
MSHA Audits Uncover Injury, Illness, Underreporting at Kentucky Mine
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has placed Dennis Creg Yonts’ Mine No. 2 in Letcher County, Kentucky, operated by Vision Coal, on potential pattern of violations (PPOV) status based on data gathered during agency audits. MSHA found that 19 out of 39 audited mines either failed to report injuries or underreported the lost time associated with reported injuries, with four of the 19 meeting the criteria for PPOV.
The three operations already on PPOV status include two Alpha Natural Resources Inc., mines in Boone County, West Virginia; Randolph Mine operated by Inman Energy; and Justice No. 1 Mine operated by Independent Coal Co. Inc.; as well as the Maple Eagle No. 1 Mine operated by Maple Coal Co., a Walter Energy Inc., mine located in Fayette County, West Virginia.
“These results expose an unsettling amount of underreporting at mines that already have troublesome compliance records,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “These audits are an important tool as MSHA scrutinizes its system of operators self-reporting accidents and injuries. We cannot simply accept information provided by a mine operator that may be avoiding PPOV enforcement action.”
The 39 audits revealed a total of 76 injuries that were unreported or underreported, including 47 unreported injuries at six separate mines formerly controlled by Massey Energy. A total of 247 citations were issued as a result of the audits, including 98 for failing to accurately report injuries.
Two Peabody Energy mines—Willow Lake Portal operated by Big Ridge Inc., in Saline County, Illinois, and Air Quality No. 1 Mine operated by Peabody Midwest Mining LLC, in Knox County, Indiana—have yet to comply with MSHA’s audit. In late May, an administrative law judge with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission ruled that these mines must turn over documents to MSHA so the agency can complete its audits. After Peabody continued to withhold the records, MSHA notified the company on June 23 that the agency was proposing a daily civil penalty of $4,000 against the Air Quality No. 1 Mine. The proposed daily penalty will continue to accrue until all of the audit information is provided to the agency. The mine operator has appealed the judge’s decision to the commission.
Pursuant to 50 CFR, mine operators are required to file reports pertaining to accidents, occupational injuries, and occupational illnesses, as well as employment and coal production data. In turn, MSHA is authorized to inspect any information the agency thinks may be relevant and necessary to determine compliance with reporting requirements, including medical, employment, and other company records.
Safety News Links
