“Workers who take care of us when we are sick or hurt should not be at such high risk for injuries—that simply is not right. Workers in hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities have work injury and illness rates that are among the highest in the country, and virtually all of these injuries and illnesses are preventable,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
“The most recent statistics tell us that almost half of all reported injuries in the healthcare industry were attributed to overexertion and related tasks. Nurses and nursing assistants each accounted for a substantial share of this total,” added Dr. Michaels. “There are feasible solutions for preventing these hazards and now is the time for employers to implement them.”
New Exclusions for Solvent Recycling and Hazardous Secondary Materials
EPA’s new definition of solid waste rule will present new opportunities for waste recycling outside the scope of hazardous waste regulation. Environmental Resource Center will present a webcast on the new Definition of Solid Waste rule on Monday, June 29th at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. This rule, which goes into effect on July 13, 2015, will maintain critical environmental protections while streamlining the regulatory burden for wastes that are legitimately recycled.
The first of the two exclusions is an exclusion from the definition of solid waste for high-value solvents transferred from one manufacturer to another for the purpose of extending the useful life of the original solvent product by keeping the materials in commerce to reproduce a commercial grade of the original solvent product.
The second, and more wide reaching of the two exclusions, is a revision of the existing hazardous secondary material recycling exclusion. This exclusion allows you to recycle, or send off-site for recycling, virtually any hazardous secondary material, and it will not meet the definition of solid waste. Provided you meet the terms of the exclusion, the material will no longer be hazardous waste.
Learn how to take advantage of these exclusions at Environmental Resource Center’s live one-hour webcast. You will learn:
- Which of your materials qualify for the exclusion?
- What is a secondary material?
- Which solvents can be remanufactured, and which cannot?
- What is a tolling agreement?
- What is legitimate recycling?
- What are the generator storage requirements?
- What documentation must be maintained?
- What are the off-site shipping requirements?
- What are the training and emergency planning requirements?
- Can the recycler be outside the US?
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), 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 safety data sheets.
Raleigh RCRA, DOT, and EHS Regulations Training
Macon RCRA and DOT Training
Cleveland RCRA and DOT Training
GP Roofing & Construction LLC Fined $195,000 for Failing to Comply with OSHA Standards
Guillermo Perez and Elma Maldonado are the president and vice president respectively of GP Roofing & Construction, LLC, based in Palm Coast, Florida. On June 12, 2015, the 11th Circuit ordered the arrest of Perez and Maldonado, because the company failed to comply with a March 30 civil contempt order. Perez and Maldonado were taken into custody on June 16, 2015, and appeared before magistrate judge James Klindt, US District Court, Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville.
In May 2013, the Department of Labor filed a petition for summary enforcement pursuant to Section 11(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to enforce nine final orders of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.On August 7, 2013, the court granted the department’s petition, enforcing the final orders of the commission.
A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists. 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.
On September 12, 2014, the department filed a Petition for Civil Contempt against GP Roofing, alleging that the company had failed to comply with the court’s August 2013 order, based on evidence that the company continued to violate OSHA standards and failed to pay the penalties assessed. On March 30, 2015 the circuit court held the company and its officers in civil contempt; ordered the company to pay the outstanding penalties of $195,170 plus interest and fees; and also required the company to certify that it had corrected the violations. The court’s contempt order notified Mr. Perez and Ms. Maldonado that any noncompliance with the court’s order would result in coercive sanctions, including incarceration.
Perez and Maldonado were held in custody until their June 23, 2015, hearing. At the hearing they were released on signature bonds to make progress on purging the contempt. Conditions of their release included surrendering Perez’s passport and limiting their travel to the state of Florida. Perez and Maldonado were also given 30 days to work on paying all outstanding penalties or demonstrating inability to pay and certifying that they have abated the OSHA violations cited in prior inspections. The final hearing is scheduled for August 26, 2015.
“This enforcement action demonstrates that OSHA can and will take action to ensure that standards are followed and that companies like GP Roofing that ignore multiple court orders requiring correction of violations and payment of penalties will be held accountable,” said Kurt Petermeyer, the regional administrator for OSHA in Atlanta.
Allen Harim Foods Exposes Workers to Serious Hazards, Musculoskeletal Injuries
Workers cutting chicken fat, bone, and cartilage eight hours a day at a Delaware poultry plant are suffering musculoskeletal injuries caused by their jobs, an inspection by OSHA found.
The agency determined that workers performed prolonged, repetitive, and forceful tasks without controls in place to prevent injuries.
“Musculoskeletal injuries caused by these hazards in poultry plants are too common,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “These types of injuries can be prevented by implementing appropriate engineering and administrative controls in the workplace, and when they occur, they must be treated early with appropriate medical care to prevent the illness from progressing.”
In addition to the serious citation for the company’s failure to address the musculoskeletal disorder hazards, OSHA issued serious citations for failing to designate emergency exits properly and to ensure employees received training related to machinery that could unexpectedly start up during service and maintenance. OSHA cited Allen Harim Foods for a total of nine violations. Proposed penalties total $38,000.
“The combination of musculoskeletal disorder hazards, lack of proper medical treatment for musculoskeletal disorders and underreporting of injuries at this plant must be addressed by the company,” said Erin Patterson, director of OSHA’s Wilmington office. “Workers should not have to work in pain, especially when these injuries are preventable.”
Headquartered in Seaford, Allen Harim Foods has a total of 1,600 employees, with 960 workers at the Harbeson plant. In addition to the Harbeson facility, the company operates a poultry-processing plant in Cordova, Maryland; breeding operations in Liberty, North Carolina; and hatcheries and a feed mill in Dagsboro and Seaford, Delaware.
FTA Proposes Rule to Improve Testing Safety, Reliability of New Transit Buses
In addition, the proposed rule would clarify and improve verification of two Departmental regulations: the Buy America requirements that have stimulated American manufacturing of transit vehicles, components and related technology; and the rules that support businesses owned by women and minorities (Disadvantaged Business Enterprises) throughout the supply chain.
“Millions of riders depend on transit buses every day to get to work, school, healthcare, and home again,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “While buses are already a very safe mode of travel, transit customers deserve to know that the buses they ride on are as safe and reliable as possible.”
The proposed rule would require new buses meet minimum thresholds in structural integrity, safety, maintainability, reliability, fuel economy, emissions, noise, and performance. The rule would refine and streamline the existing standardized procedures used by the FTA Bus Testing Facility at Pennsylvania State University’s Larson Transportation Institute in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
“When the FTA helps local transit agencies purchase new buses, it is imperative that those vehicles are a high-quality investment,” said FTA Acting Administrator Therese McMillan. “This proposed rule would help ensure buses are long lasting and low maintenance, saving transit agencies valuable resources and reducing the frustrating delays that riders endure when buses have to be removed from service unexpectedly.”
The proposed bus testing rule was developed following extensive outreach to FTA’s partners across the transit industry, including transit vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers, public transit agencies, and state departments of transportation. Public outreach efforts will continue throughout the comment period to solicit feedback from these and other stakeholders.
The proposed rule was directed by Congress in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). As FTA continues to implement its statutory safety authority under MAP-21, the proposed bus testing rule will be coordinated with FTA’s other safety initiatives.
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