As a result, employers that manufacture, distribute, or use any of the eight chemicals with new or updated listings in the 12th RoC need to determine if the changes have any impact on their existing hazard communications programs. The 12th RoC added two substances—formaldehyde and aristolochic acids—to its list of known human carcinogens, and six substances—captafol, cobalt-tungsten carbide (in powder or hard metal form), certain inhalable glass wool fibers, o-nitrotoluene, riddelliine (a botanical, not be confused with the drug Ritalin), and styrene—to its list of chemicals and biological agents that are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens. For chemicals like styrene and formaldehyde, which are already listed as carcinogens by the NTP or other organizations, the impact of the listings in the 12th RoC is likely to be minimal because many of the HCS requirements have already been triggered by the previous listings.
Chemicals listed in the RoC are considered carcinogens under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard. Therefore, manufacturers and importers of a chemical or a product containing a chemical listed in the RoC must list the chemical on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) if it is present at a concentration of 0.1% or greater when the product has not been tested as a whole, and they must include warning information about cancer in the MSDS. Chemicals listed on the RoC that are present at less than 0.1% must also be listed if they could be released from the product in concentrations that could present a health risk to workers. The MSDS must also indicate that the NTP lists the chemical as a carcinogen.
Employers that use chemicals with new or updated cancer listings in the RoC or products that contain these chemicals should review incoming MSDSs for new information and must train workers about any new chemical or product hazards. Employers must also look at how the chemical or product is used in their workplaces and make sure that the precautions and protective equipment they require are sufficient to protect workers from anticipated exposures.
Most hazard communication plans and employee training programs will also need to be updated to reflect the changes in OSHA’s hazard communication standard when the Globally Harmonized System for the classification, labeling, and packaging of hazardous chemicals is adopted in August.
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. Dates for the upcoming webcasts include:
- July 15
- July 29
Advertising Opportunities Available
OSHA Tool Helps You Comply with Recordkeeping Rule
OSHA recently unveiled a new interactive web tool to help users determine whether injuries and illnesses are work-related and recordable under the OSHA Recordkeeping rules.
The Advisor relies on the users’ responses to questions and automatically adapts to the situation presented. Responses put into the program are strictly confidential and the system does not record or store any of the information. The Advisor helps employers determine:
- Whether an injury or illness (or related event) is work-related
- Whether an event or exposure at home or on travel is work-related
- Whether an exception applies to the injury or illness
- Whether a work-related injury or illness needs to be recorded
- Which provisions of the regulations apply when recording a work-related injury or illness
“The Recordkeeping Advisor was developed to better help employers understand and comply with their responsibilities to report and record work-related injuries and illnesses,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels.
The OSHA Recordkeeping Advisor is one of a series of elaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) Advisors developed to help employers and workers understand federal employment laws.
Bisphenol A in Children’s Containers Banned
No bottles, cups, or other containers for children under age 3 that contain the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) can be made, sold or distributed in Washington as of July 1, 2011. This is the first step in a law passed by the state Legislature in 2010 banning the sale of certain products containing BPA.
Beginning July 1, 2012, sports bottles up to 64 ounces with BPA will also be banned. However, cans designed to hold or pack food will still be allowed to contain BPA.
BPA is used primarily to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastic is used to make products such as compact discs, eyeglass lenses, water bottles, and baby bottles. Many food and drink cans are lined with epoxy resins that contain BPA. According to the EPA, 2.4 billion pounds of BPA was produced in 2007.
A number of national and international scientific organizations have expressed concerns that BPA can interfere with the body’s hormonal system.
Recent studies suggest some children may be exposed to enough BPA in their diet to be harmful. Most of these studies used laboratory animals, but the levels of BPA were similar to those that many children have today. BPA can affect brain development, behavior, and the prostate gland.
New OSHA Directive on Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreements
The new guidelines are part of the agency’s emphasis on using corporate-wide or enterprise-wide settlement agreements as part of its strategy for leveraging limited resources to accomplish the broadest possible compliance.
“OSHA has made limited use of CSAs in recent years,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels. “However, we believe that the revised directive will be an effective tool to secure worker safety and health protections. Through an employer’s formal agreement to abate serious hazards at multiple facilities, CSAs are an improvement over traditional enforcement measures that could take much longer.”
The new directive emphasizes CSAs as a strategy for leveraging the agency’s resources to accomplish the greater compliance. OSHA has used CSAs as a compliance tool to more effectively address specific topics for employers who have a significant pattern of non-compliance with the OSH Act across multiple site locations including cases that fall under the increased scrutiny of the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). Agreements are now required to include a termination date or sunset clause with a maximum of two years from the settlement date.
OSHA and FDA to Improve Cooperation
OSHA signed a memorandum of understanding June 16 with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizing the importance of close cooperation and collaboration between the FDA and OSHA—two enforcement agencies responsible for preventing injuries and illnesses. To better protect both workers and consumers, the two agencies have agreed to share relevant information obtained during inspections of facilities where food is produced, processed or held.
Both agencies developed and implemented formal communications procedures and processes, including staff training. The training covered each agency’s mission and responsibilities, what each agency regulates and how to identify the types of situations each agency would like employees to watch for and report. “The intent of the training program was to share information that may assist each agency. This is not an attempt to make OSHA inspectors become FDA Investigators or vice-versa. This training is intended to raise everyone’s awareness level so that information can be shared,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels. “Our combined efforts to share information on possible violations of OSHA and FDA standards will help minimize the potential for injuries, illnesses and deaths.”
NOAA Extreme Heat Weather Alerts Contain Worker Safety Information
OSHA is partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on weather service alerts to incorporate worker safety precautions when heat alerts are issued across the United States. Each year, thousands of outdoor workers experience heat illness, which often manifests as heat exhaustion. If not quickly addressed, heat exhaustion can become heat stroke, which killed more than 30 workers last year.
To bring greater awareness to this issue, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels participated in a June 21 conference call with meteorologists and other television and radio reporters who cover the weather to discuss how to alert outdoor workers and their employers about the dangers of extreme heat.
OSHA Cites Springs Transmission and Automotive for Workplace Hazards
OSHA cited Springs Transmission and Automotive Inc., for 18 safety and health violations following an inspection that began in May at the company’s facility at 3310 Chelton Loop North in Colorado Springs. Proposed fines total $76,000.
“This employer has been cited for many of these conditions before and has failed to take any meaningful action,” said John Healy, OSHA’s area director in Englewood. “OSHA will not tolerate such negligence.”
One willful violation addresses employee exposure to unstable and unsafe vehicle lifts. 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.
Nine repeat violations address hazards associated with chemical handling, improper electrical systems, unstable storage of materials and improper machine guarding. Springs Transmission and Automotive was cited for these same hazards in 2010. 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.
Six serious violations were cited for improper fire control during welding operations, inadequate personal protective equipment and a broken garage door. 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.
Two other-than-serious violations relate to deficient record keeping and first-aid supplies. 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.
All Feed Processing and Packing Fined $167,090 for Respirator Violations
OSHA cited All Feed Processing and Packing Inc., with five health violations, including four willful violations, for repeatedly failing to provide respirators to workers and monitor their exposure to respirable dust at its Galva, Illinois, pet food research and packaging facility. The company faces $167,090 in proposed fines following an investigation in January.
“All Feed is well aware of OSHA’s health regulations but has irresponsibly ignored them and put its employees in harm’s way,” said Tom Bielema, OSHA’s area director in Peoria. “Employers have a responsibility to ensure work environments are healthful and safe, which includes providing appropriate equipment and training to protect workers from respiratory hazards.”
Four willful violations, with proposed fines of $161,700, were cited for two instances of allegedly failing to provide a respirator to protect workers exposed to total dust in the production facility; exposing workers to total dust at concentrations in excess of the permissible exposure limits; and failing to implement adequate engineering controls when employees performing work activities were exposed to total dust.
One serious violation, with a proposed fine of $5,390, was cited for failing to identify and evaluate respiratory hazards in the workplace and make a reasonable estimate of employees’ exposure to respiratory hazards.
Prior to this inspection, All Feed Processing and Packaging had been inspected by OSHA nine times since 2000, resulting in a significant enforcement action on four occasions. The nine inspections led to citations for 42 serious, 15 willful, five repeat, and 10 other-than-serious violations, many of which related to failing to monitor and limit employees’ exposure to hazardous dust.
OSHA has placed All Feed Processing and Packaging in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. Initiated in June 2010, the program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations. All Feed Processing and Packaging was placed in the program due to its previous violations as well as the egregious violations cited in the January inspection. A violation is deemed egregious when a company is cited for instance-by-instance violations of the same standard, such as failing to provide respirators.
Company and Owner Agree to Stop Manufacturing Explosives Following Fatal Accident
As part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Black Mag LLC, doing business as BMI and as Black Mag Industries, and Craig Sanborn, the company’s president, managing member and primary owner, have surrendered Black Mag LLC’s explosives manufacturing license and will permanently refrain from employing workers in any explosives-related business enterprise.
“What we seek in all cases is for the employer to eliminate hazardous conditions and take effective action to prevent their recurrence,” said Marthe Kent, New England regional administrator for OSHA. “This resolution accomplishes those goals by ensuring that neither Black Mag LLC nor Mr. Sanborn will ever again place employees at risk in any kind of business that uses or makes explosives.”
OSHA cited Black Mag LLC, in October 2010 for more than 50 willful, egregious, and serious violations of safety standards in connection with a May 14, 2010, explosion at the company’s Colebrook, New Hampshire, facility in which two employees died while manufacturing a gunpowder substitute. The employer contested the citations and fines to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Black Mag LLC, since has withdrawn its notice of contest and agreed to entry of an order that it violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The company has certified that the violations have been abated by termination of all production operations, which occurred when the 2010 explosion destroyed its facility and put it out of business. Because it was licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the company was required by OSHA to execute ATF’s Notice of Discontinuance of Business, which the department has turned over to the ATF.
Black Mag LLC, and Sanborn also agreed to the entry of a summary enforcement order in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Violation of such an order would permit the department to initiate proceedings for contempt of court, in which potential sanctions could include incarceration to secure compliance.
In the resolution papers, Sanborn agrees that he will not conduct, establish, own, or manage by himself, with or through others, any current or future business that is covered anywhere under OSHA’s explosives or process safety management standards if that business employs workers or independent contractors. Additionally, he will have no involvement in any enterprise that has employees if it is located within 1,000 yards of another business that is covered under OSHA’s explosives or process management safety standards.
“While nothing can ever bring Jesse Kennett or Don Kendall back to their loved ones, this resolution is designed to prevent future deaths or injuries,” said Michael Felsen, the Labor Department’s regional solicitor for New England. “It includes a provision that will allow the Labor Department to charge Mr. Sanborn with contempt in federal court if he violates the terms.”
The settlement agreement has been filed with the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and will become the Commission’s final order on July 21, 2011. After that, the department will file the papers for an enforcement order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit against both Black Mag LLC, and Sanborn.
Lumber Company Fined Following Fatal Electrocution at Mississippi Sawmill
OSHA cited Graham Lumber Co., for 15 safety and health violations following the March death of a worker who was electrocuted at the company’s Fulton, Mississippi, sawmill while troubleshooting a malfunctioning starter inside a motor power control center. Proposed penalties total $41,310.
Two serious safety violations related to the fatality include failing to train employees on work safety practices and allowing unqualified employees to work on energized equipment. Eleven other serious safety violations include failing to have protective shields, barriers, or insulating material to protect employees who could come into contact with energized parts; having a damaged electrical cord on a footswitch; not properly grounding a floor fan; failing to adequately protect electrical cables; storing oxygen cylinders less than 20 feet from gas cylinders; failing to separate and store oxygen cylinders away from combustible material; exposing workers to burns and struck-by hazards from unsecured acetylene cylinders; failing to take precautions to protect the propane gas system from vehicular damage; and having an unguarded shaft end.
Two other-than-serious health violations were cited for failing to post and provide employees with a copy of the noise standard, and to include the chemical inventory in the company’s hazard communication program.
“This fatality could have been prevented had the employer provided proper training, procedures and protective equipment to safeguard workers against safety hazards,” said Clyde Payne, OSHA’s area director in Jackson. “It is the employer’s responsibility to assess workplace hazards and ensure corrective measures are taken to protect employees.”
Graham Lumber Co., a subsidiary of Waynesboro, Virginia-based American Hardwood Industries, operates two other sawmills in Linden and Selmer, Tennessee, and has its corporate office in Linden. The company mills hardwood lumber primarily for the flooring industry.
Alabama Lumber Mill Cited for Willful and Serious Violations Following Worker Fatality
OSHA cited KyKenKee Inc., in Vance, Alabama, for 15 safety and health violations after a worker was killed in December 2010 when a log fell 13 feet from a debarker conveyor, striking him in the head.
OSHA cited the lumber mill for one willful safety violation related to the incident for failing to fence the area to prevent access and post warning signs. Employees interviewed indicated that logs rolling off the conveyor were an ongoing hazard, but the company had chosen not to address the problem.
Ten serious safety and health violations include allowing employees to use stairs that lacked standard rails, using platforms that lacked standard rails; allowing a portable fire extinguisher to be blocked by materials; allowing employees to work on a floor that was cracked and uneven; using light switch receptacles that lacked cover plates; not having machine guards on equipment; not guarding sprockets and chains on conveyors; exposing employees to noise hazards; and failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures to prevent unexpected startups of the machinery when workers serviced equipment. Additionally, a 2-inch diameter shaft on a piece of equipment projected 6 inches and was not guarded by nonrotating caps or safety sleeves.
Four other-than-serious violations include not recording a 2010 injury in the required OSHA log; having a poorly maintained, dirty bathroom with trash on the floor; not posting a copy of the noise standard in the workplace; and not conducting a noise monitoring program for those employees exposed to noise exceeding 85 decibels.
“Waiting for an accident to happen before eliminating hazards is a reckless act by management that OSHA will not tolerate,” said Roberto Sanchez, director of OSHA’s Birmingham Area Office. “This tragedy should have been prevented, and it is imperative that the company complies immediately.”
Penalties for the citations total $121,400.
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