The Prevention through Design (PtD) Plan incorporates comments and suggestions from diverse stakeholders, including those offered by participants at two national workshops co-sponsored by NIOSH that examined challenges and opportunities for PtD in designing safe green industries and jobs.
The plan is organized around five overarching areas:
- Research to establish the value of already-adopted PtD interventions, address existing design-related challenges, and suggest areas for future examination.
- Education to help designers, engineers, employers, and others to understand and apply PtD methods.
- Practice of PtD through accessing, sharing, and applying successful strategies.
- Policy initiatives to encourage and endorse a culture that includes PtD principles in all designs affecting worker safety and health.
- A small-business focus to tailor and diffuse successful PtD programs and practices to the needs of small employers.
“In many respects, PtD is a transformative concept for the 21st Century,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “It views investments in worker safety and health as an integral part of business efficiency and quality, rather than as a cost. It is also a practical concept that has already been used successfully in several model applications. We look forward to working further with our partners to advance the goals outlined in the Plan.”
The Plan describes intermediate goals for each focus area. The intermediate goals represent steps through which progress toward each goal can be achieved and measured. The Plan also includes four case studies in which PtD was a principle behind successful safety and health partnerships. NIOSH is the federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing job-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.
Save up to $300 on HAZWOPER Training
For a limited time, you can save up to $300 on the mandatory training you need to maintain your HAZWOPER certification.
Personnel who are expected to stop, contain, and clean up on-site releases are required to have 24 hours of initial training. Personnel who are involved in cleanups at waste sites-including Superfund sites, RCRA corrective action sites, or voluntary cleanups involving hazardous substances must have 40 hours of initial classroom instruction.
Satisfy your training requirements with these comprehensive courses that provide in-depth instruction on how to perform emergency response activities. Topics include hazard recognition, spill control and containment, worker protection, and waste site activities such as site characterization, waste handling, and decontamination. You will have the opportunity to apply your training during a hands-on simulated incident response.
To take advantage of this offer, register by phone at 800-537-2372 and mention this article. These offers can be used by anyone at your facility, however, no other discounts apply.
IATA Update – What’s New for 2011?
Each year, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) updates and revises the regulations for the transportation of dangerous goods (hazardous materials) by air. If you offer dangerous goods for transportation by air, you must follow the new regulations by January 1. A large number of significant changes are being implemented in the 2011 IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR).
At this live webcast, you will learn:
- Changes in the regulations for consumer commodities– new marking and shipping paper entries
- New test authorized to determine classification and packing group of corrosives
- Changes in the classification criteria for magnetized materials
- Revisions to the classification of environmentally hazardous substances, marine pollutants, and aquatic pollutants
- Phase in of new packing instructions for Class 3 flammable liquids, Class 4 flammable solids, Class 5 oxidizers/organic peroxides, Class 8 corrosives, Class 9 miscellaneous, and Division 6
- New entries on the IATA List of Dangerous Goods and new special provisions
- New marking requirements for net quantities, limited quantities, environmentally hazardous substances, and orientation arrows
Advertising Opportunities Available
Environmental Resource Center is making a limited number of advertising positions available in the Safety Tip of the Week™, the Environmental Tip of the Week™, and the Reg of the Day™.
Faces of Distracted Driving
The series features people from across the country who have been injured or lost loved ones in distracted driving crashes. In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died and half a million were injured in accidents involving a distracted driver.
“These videos are dramatic evidence that the lives lost to America’s distracted driving epidemic aren’t statistics. They’re children, parents, neighbors, and friends,” said Secretary LaHood. “These people have courageously come forward to share their personal tragedies in order to warn others against making the dangerous decision to talk or text behind the wheel.”
Faces of Distracted Driving is part of Secretary LaHood’s effort to raise public awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and to support victims. In January, Secretary LaHood joined anti-distracted driving advocate Jennifer Smith to announce the creation of FocusDriven, the first national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending distracted driving.
“Distracted driving can have dangerous and life-altering consequences,” said FocusDriven President Jennifer Smith. “These videos will hopefully help change behaviors behind the wheel and keep our roads safe for everyone.”
Faces of Distracted Driving is being launched with three videos:
- Elissa Schee’s 13-year-old daughter, Margay, was killed in 2008 when a semi-truck crashed into the back of her school bus in Citra, Florida. The truck driver was talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash and said he never saw the bus. Schee is a founding board member of FocusDriven.
- Laurie Hevier’s 58-year-old mother, Julie, was killed when a distracted driver struck her as she walked beside a road in Rudolph, Wisconsin. Crash reconstruction reports showed the driver could not have been looking at the road for 8.75 seconds. Hevier is now an advocate against distracted driving.
- Amos Johnson’s 16-year-old daughter, Ashley, was killed when she lost control of her vehicle, crossed the center line, and hit a pickup truck in Asheville, North Carolina. She was texting at the time of the crash. Johnson now speaks to local teens about the dangers of distracted driving.
DOT’s campaign against distracted driving is a multi-modal effort that includes automobiles, trains, planes, and commercial vehicles.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently issued a rule prohibiting railroad employees from using personal cell phones and other electronic devices on the job, in response to a September 2008 Metrolink crash that killed 25 people in Chatsworth, California.
After a Northwest flight crew distracted by laptop computer usage overshot their destination by 150 miles, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advised air carriers to create and enforce policies that limit distractions in the cockpit and keep pilots focused on transporting passengers safely.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a regulation banning text messaging while operating a commercial motor vehicle in September 2010. A rulemaking proposed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in September 2010 would expand the texting ban to certain drivers carrying hazardous materials that are not covered by the FMCSA regulation.
OSHA Fines Aerospace/Defense Coatings over $300,000 for Exposing Workers to Hazardous Chemicals
OSHA is proposing $300,400 in penalties against Aerospace/Defense Coatings of Georgia Inc., in Macon, Georgia, for 19 health violations.
OSHA began its inspection in May after receiving a complaint concerning personal protective equipment and the handling, storing, and disposing of chemicals. Inspections were conducted at all three Aerospace/Defense Coatings of Georgia plants and followed up on violations from 2005 and 2008.
The company is being cited with four alleged willful violations with a proposed penalty of $224,000. The violations are associated with respirator protection, chromium (VI) overexposure, personal protective equipment, and failing to perform periodic monitoring of chromium (VI) exposure. 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 citations include eight alleged repeat violations with a proposed penalty of $50,400. The violations are related to hazardous waste, emergency response, written programs, personal protective equipment for acids, failing to provide employee information and training, and respirator training and storage. A repeat violation is issued 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.
Additionally, there are seven alleged serious violations with a proposed penalty of $26,000. The violations include failing to train employees to respond to hazardous waste emergencies, failing to post the results of chromium (VI) levels that were above the permissible exposure limit (PEL) in an accessible location, failing to establish a regulated area where employees’ exposure to airborne concentrations was in excess of the PEL, failing to provide a change area to prevent cross-contamination, failing to ensure surfaces contaminated with chemicals were cleaned, failing to institute a medical surveillance program, and not providing information and training for employees exposed to chromium (VI). A serious citation is issued 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 employer had ample information alerting him to the hazards posed by hexavalent chromium, yet allowed his employees to continue to be exposed,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “OSHA will not tolerate this type of inaction.”
OSHA Fines U.S. Postal Service $287,000 for Electrical Hazards
OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service for workplace safety violations found at a mail processing facility located at 3010 East Cumberland Road in Bluefield, West Virginia. Proposed penalties total $287,000.
“These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service’s failure to ensure that the proper safety practices were being used by employees working with live electrical parts, leaving them vulnerable to multiple hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The Postal Service knew that proper and effective training was needed for the safety of its workers but did not provide it.”
OSHA initiated an inspection in May in response to a complaint alleging the hazards. Inspectors cited the Postal Service with four willful violations carrying a penalty of $280,000 and one serious violation with a penalty of $7,000.
The willful violations cite the facility’s failure to label electrical cabinets, properly train employees, use safety-related work practices when exposed to energized electrical parts, and provide proper electrical protective equipment.
The serious citation was issued for allowing an unauthorized employee to perform inspections.
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed an enterprise-wide complaint against the U.S. Postal Service for electrical safety violations. The complaint asks the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to order the Postal Service to correct electrical violations at all its facilities nationwide. This complaint marks the first time OSHA has sought enterprise-wide relief as a remedy.
Precision Production Inc. Fined $149,250 for Lack of Hazardous Energy Procedures and Not Training Workers
OSHA has cited Precision Production Inc., a manufacturer of fabricated components in Cleveland, Ohio, with 15 alleged safety violations. The company faces penalties totaling $149,250.
“Failing to implement procedures to prevent injury from unexpected energization or startup of machinery and equipment is a leading cause of workplace injury,” said OSHA Area Director Rob Medlock in Cleveland. “By not having safety procedures in place, employers such as Precision Production are knowingly putting their workers at risk. OSHA is committed to seeing that workers are provided with a safe and healthy workplace.”
As a result of a May inspection by OSHA, the company was issued four willful citations with proposed fines of $140,000 for failing to establish lockout/tagout procedures of energy sources, train workers on recognizing hazardous energy sources and control methods, and require workers to lock out machinery when performing maintenance and have machine guards in place.
Precision Production Inc., also received 10 serious citations with proposed penalties of $9,250. Alleged violations include failing to develop training programs for working with hazardous chemicals, develop and implement a workplace hazard assessment, train workers in the use of personal protective equipment, and conduct required crane inspections.
The company also received one other-than-serious violation for failing to maintain an OSH 300 log of all recordable occupational injuries. 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.
OSHA Fines Stucco Contractor $61,600 and Adds Company to Severe Violator Enforcement Program
OSHA has cited Exterior Stucco Systems Inc., of Wayne, New York, with five repeat safety violations involving fall hazards at a Staten Island, New York, worksite. Proposed penalties total $61,600.
OSHA initiated an inspection of the site on September 1, as part of a local emphasis program focused on fall hazards in construction. As a result, the company received citations for failing to maintain a safety program, fully plank scaffold platforms, provide a ladder for safe scaffold access, remove and replace damaged scaffold components, and properly brace scaffolds with cross braces.
Due to the number of repeat violations cited, the company has been added to the Severe Violator Enforcement Program ().
Initiated in June 2010, SVEP is intended to focus OSHA enforcement resources on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law by committing willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations in one or more of the following circumstances: a fatality or catastrophe, industry operations or processes that expose workers to severe occupational hazards, employee exposure to hazards related to the potential releases of highly hazardous chemicals, and all egregious enforcement actions.
“Exterior Stucco Systems’ refusal to implement the proper fall protections leaves workers at risk of an accident and possible death,” says Patricia Jones, director of OSHA’s area office in Avenel, New Jersey. “The company needs to take immediate steps to eliminate these hazards.”
Two New Hampshire Contractors Cited by OSHA after Worker Injured in Fall
OSHA has cited North Ridge Contracting Inc., and CMGC Building Corp., for safety violations after a North Ridge worker was injured in a fall at 100 Innovative Way in Nashua, New Hampshire. North Ridge Contracting of Deerfield, New Hampshire, faces a total of $44,000 in proposed fines, following the July 27 incident in which the worker tripped and fell 14 feet during the dismantling of a stairway at the Benchmark Electronics building.
OSHA’s inspection found that North Ridge workers lacked fall protection while dismantling the stairway, exposing them to falls of up to 40 feet. OSHA issued North Ridge one willful citation with a proposed fine of $35,000 for the lack of fall protection.
“This incident is a prime example of the consequences that occur when an employer fails to provide workers with effective and required fall protection,” said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA’s area director for New Hampshire. “Proper safeguards would have prevented this fall and the injury that resulted.”
North Ridge was also issued three serious citations with $9,000 in proposed fines for failing to provide fall protection training to workers, a tripping hazard from unfilled metal pan stair treads, and failing to provide a competent person to inspect the work area in order to identify and correct such hazards.
OSHA also issued two serious citations with $7,200 in proposed fines to the project’s general contractor, CMGC Building Corp., of Bedford, New Hampshire, for lack of fall protection and for not filling in the stairway treads.
OSHA Certifies Chevron Energy Solutions Utility Plant as Star Site
OSHA has certified Chevron Energy Solutions Fort Detrick Central Utility Plant in Fort Detrick, Maryland, as a Star Site, the highest honor in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs ().
OSHA VPP Program Officer, Teresa Penn attended the ceremony held at the plant. “Chevron Energy Solutions’ commitment to a safe and healthful work environment for employees makes it most deserving of this honor,” said Penn.
The company’s utility plant at Fort Detrick supplies steam, chilled water, conditioned electric power, and back-up electrical power to the National Interagency Biodefense Campus.
The VPP recognizes employers and workers in private industry and federal agencies that have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries. In VPP, management, labor, and OSHA work cooperatively and proactively to prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through hazard prevention and control, worksite analysis, training, management commitment, and worker involvement.
To participate in VPP, an employer must submit an application to OSHA and undergo a rigorous on-site evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals. Union support is required for applicants represented by a bargaining unit. VPP participants are re-evaluated every three to five years to remain in the programs. VPP participants are exempt from OSHA programmed inspections while they maintain their VPP status.
OSHA’s Construction Advisory Committee to Meet in DC
OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) will meet December 9–10, 2010, in Washington, D.C. In conjunction with the ACCSH, committee work groups, including the newly-established Injury and Illness Prevention Program work group, which will meet December 7–8.
The agenda for the ACCSH meeting includes remarks from Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels and the Directorate of Construction, updates on Injury and Illness Prevention Program rulemaking and the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, and ACCSH work group reports.
The Injury and Illness Prevention Program work group will hold its first meeting from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., December 7. The other ACCSH work groups that will meet are Silica and Other Construction Health Hazards, Green Jobs, Diversity—Women in Construction, Multilingual Issues, Nailguns, Training and Education, and Prevention by Design.
Established as a continuing advisory committee under the Construction Safety Act of 1969, ACCSH and the Assistant Secretary have consulted for nearly 40 years on construction safety issues such as women in construction, recordkeeping, crane safety, and safety and health resources for Latino construction workers.
ACCSH and its work group meetings are open to the public and will be held in Room N-3437, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20210. The full committee will meet from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., on Thursday, December 9, and from 8:00 a.m. to noon, on Friday, December 10. ACCSH meetings are open to the public.
For general information, contact Mr. Francis Dougherty, OSHA Directorate of Construction, 202-693-2020. Press inquiries should be directed to MaryAnn Garrahan, OSHA Office of Communications, 202-693-1999.
PSC Environmental Services Division of Detroit Receives Gold Award from MIOSHA
PSC Environmental Services Division of Detroit has received the Gold Award from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) for an outstanding safety and health record, with PSC Detroit having gone more than four years without a lost-time accident.
“We are honored to present this award to the PSC Environmental Services Division of Detroit. You are to be applauded for sending your workers home healthy and whole for more than four years,” said DELEG Acting Director Andrew S. Levin. “Your dedication sends the message to Michigan employers that focusing on safety up front is a sound business decision.”
The MIOSHA Consultation Education and Training (CET) Division recognizes the safety and health achievements of Michigan employers and employees through CET Awards, which are based on excellent safety and health performance. The CET Gold Award recognizes an outstanding safety record of two years or more without a lost time accident.
CET Division Director Connie O’Neill presented the Gold Award to PSC Detroit Facility Manager Allen Jones and EH&S Specialist Melanie Frohriep, who accepted on behalf of all employees. Invited guests, management, and employees attended the award presentation.
PSC’s commitment to environmental, health, and safety excellence is unparalleled in the industry. As an operating company, they are fully aware of the challenges facing their clients regarding compliance and they routinely deal with the same issues. PSC has set the industry benchmark for safety. For them, safety is an attitude, not a set of rules.
In addition to going more than four years without a lost-time accident, the company has completed the following criteria to receive the Gold Award:
- Developed and implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system;
- Established a safety and health committee, with both employee and management participation;
- Developed an employee training system, with an emphasis on how to do the work in a safe and healthful manner; and
- Worked diligently to change their workplace culture to reflect the importance of worker safety.
PSC Detroit has worked with the MIOSHA CET Division for several years, and CET Senior Safety Consultant Jeff Kelley recently performed a hazard survey on site, which is a part of the award process. This survey allowed them an opportunity to walk through the facility with a MIOSHA representative and correct any problem areas that were noted.
“Companies that establish an integrated safety and health program reap the benefits of significantly reducing their injury and illness rates,” said O’Neill. “Reducing these rates not only protects employees—it has a healthy impact on a company’s bottom line.”
PSC Environmental Services Division of Detroit employs 40 workers and offers a full range of waste management services. PSC Detroit manages most waste and by-product materials to meet an organization’s commercial and industrial waste management needs. PSC Detroit can analyze, package, transport, treat, recycle, and dispose of most waste in a safe and responsible manner.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, PSC is an integrated industrial and environmental services company with operations throughout North America, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. PSC provides industrial cleaning, environmental, transportation, and container services to all major industry sectors.
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