OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels told the House Committee on Education and Labor that OSHA needs greater enforcement power to provide workers with the safety and health protection they deserve. This legislation provides critical amendments to the OSH Act that would increase OSHA’s civil and criminal penalties, enhance whistleblower protections and victims’ rights, and give OSHA the authority to require abatement of serious hazards even if and while the employer contests citations issued for them. This legislation would also expand the rights of workers and victims’ families. Michaels told the committee what he learned from his experiences talking to children, spouses, and parents of workers killed on the job. “The only thing they want; the only thing they ask you to do is pass laws that contain the best possible protections, that prevent any other workers—whether mine workers, refinery workers, construction workers, or hospital workers—from losing their lives, from leaving their loved ones behind.”
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™.
Knowledge Gaps for 20 Suspected Carcinogens
A new report from the American Cancer Society and other world-leading health groups identifies gaps in research for 20 suspected carcinogens whose potential to cause cancer is as yet unresolved. The report is designed to prioritize agents for additional research, and to lead to well-planned epidemiologic or mechanistic studies leading to more definitive classification of these agents.
The agents are generally in IARC Groups 2A, 2B, and 3. The project originated as part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to enhance occupational cancer research, and involved collaboration with IARC, the American Cancer Society, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The effort was co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society. The agents prioritized as needing additional study are:
- Lead and lead compounds
- Indium phosphide
- Cobalt with tungsten carbide
- Titanium dioxide
- Welding fumes
- Refractory ceramic fibers
- Diesel exhaust
- Carbon black
- Styrene-7,8-oxide and styrene
- Propylene oxide
- Formaldehyde
- Acetaldehyde
- Dichloromethane, methylene chloride (DCM)
- Trichloroethylene (TCE)
- Tetrachloroethylene (perc, tetra, PCE)
- Chloroform
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
- Atrazine
- Shift work
“There is significant concern among the public about substances or exposures in the environment that may cause cancer, and there are some common occupational agents and exposure circumstances where evidence of carcinogenicity is substantial but not yet conclusive for humans,” said Elizabeth Ward, Ph. D., vice president, Surveillance and Health Policy Research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report. “The objectives of this report are to identify research gaps and needs for 20 agents prioritized for review based on evidence of widespread human exposures and potential carcinogenicity in animals or humans.” Dr. Ward, one of the organizers of the meeting and lead author of a version of the report that appears in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, added that the report highlights the importance of research in occupational settings for the identification of human carcinogens as well as the need for funding and access to populations for this work to continue.
Amputation Leads to $130,500 in OSHA Penalties
OSHA has cited Rexnord Industries LLC with $130,500 in proposed penalties for violating federal workplace safety standards after a mechanical power press operator, removing parts from a parts dumper, had her arm amputated when the machine unexpectedly began to operate.
As a result of a January 2010 inspection, OSHA has issued Rexnord one willful, six serious, and one repeat citation. The willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $70,000, is for failing to provide proper guarding on the mechanical power presses to prevent an amputation. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
Some of the six serious citations, with proposed penalties of $25,500, include failing to provide proper machine guarding and to conduct regular, periodic, and weekly inspections of mechanical power presses and electrical hazards. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.
The company also received a $35,000 proposed fine for a repeat violation because it failed to provide proper protection to its employees working on metal cutting band saws and lathes. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously was cited for the same or similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facilities in federal enforcement states within the last three years.
“There is no excuse for a company to disregard the safety and welfare of its workers by not following OSHA safety standards,” said OSHA Area Director George Yoksas in Milwaukee. “Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
$221,000 Penalty for Exposing Workers to Fall Hazards
OSHA has cited Clint Horn, doing business as Sturgis Tuckpointing, in St. Louis with alleged safety violations for repeatedly exposing workers to fall hazards while working on scaffolding structures. Proposed penalties total $221,600.
“Falls remain the number one killer of workers in the construction industry,” said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Missouri. “OSHA will not tolerate employers who repeatedly fail to provide and ensure the use of fall protection, continuing to place their workers’ lives at needless risk.”
OSHA’s inspection, which began in February 2010, resulted in Sturgis Tuckpointing receiving two alleged serious and five alleged repeat citations. The serious violations address hazards associated with the misuse of portable ladders.
The repeat violations address hazards associated with a lack of worksite inspections, no protection from overhead hazards, unsafe scaffold access, lack of fall protection on a scaffold and a lack of or deficient scaffold training.
Hospital Cited for Inadequate Workplace Violence Safeguards
OSHA’s action follows an inspection begun in January 2010, in response to worker complaints.
OSHA’s inspection identified several instances during the past 18 months in which employees in the hospital’s psychiatric ward, emergency ward, and general medical floors were injured by violent patients. In addition, there have been about 25 cases over the past five years in which hospital employees lost workdays or were put on restricted duty after being injured by patients. OSHA found that the hospital’s workplace violence program was incomplete and ineffective at preventing these incidents.
As a result, OSHA has cited the hospital for an alleged serious violation of OSHA’s general duty clause for failing to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious injury to workers, in this case the hazard of employees being injured by violent patients.
“This citation points to the need for the hospital to develop a comprehensive, continuous and effective program that will proactively evaluate, identify, prevent and minimize situations and conditions that place workers in harm’s way,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator.
OSHA’s citation encompasses several suggested means of abatement that the hospital can pursue to address the workplace violence issue. These include:
- Creating a stand alone written violence prevention program for the entire hospital that includes a hazard/threat assessment, controls and prevention strategies, staff training and education, incident reporting and investigation, and periodic review of the program.
- Ensuring that the program addresses specific actions employees should take in the event of an incident and proper reporting procedures.
- Ensuring that security staff members trained to deal with aggressive behavior are readily and immediately available to render assistance.
- Ensuring that all patients receiving a psychiatric consultation are screened for a potential history of violence.
- Using a system that flags a patient’s chart any time there is a history or act of violence and training staff to understand the system.
- Putting in place administrative controls so that employees are not alone with potentially violent patients in the psychiatric ward.
“Workplace violence is a serious issue affecting many workers and employers across this nation, but it is one that can be addressed within the workplace if employers take systemic, thorough and continual action,” said Kent. “The safety and health of employees depends on this action.”
$279,000 Fine for Inadequate Process Safety Management Program
OSHA cited American Seafoods International LLC, for 15 alleged willful and serious violations of safety and health standards at its New Bedford, Massachusetts, processing facility. The seafood company faces a total of $279,000 in proposed fines, chiefly for deficiencies in its process safety management (PSM) program.
A PSM program encompasses a detailed set of requirements and procedures employers must follow to proactively address hazards associated with processes and equipment that use large amounts of hazardous chemicals. In this case, the chemical was anhydrous ammonia in the Bedford plant’s refrigeration system.
OSHA’s inspection found that the plant’s PSM program was incomplete, lacked operating procedures, and did not provide for adequate inspections of process equipment. These conditions resulted in the issuance of three willful citations with $195,000 in proposed fines.
“The requirements of OSHA’s PSM standard are stringent and comprehensive because an ammonia leak could have a severe or catastrophic effect on the plant’s workers,” said Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. “In this case, American Seafoods International knew that aspects of its PSM program were incomplete or inadequate and did not take steps to address those deficiencies. It is imperative that this employer scrutinize, update and properly maintain each element of the process to minimize hazards and protect its workers’ safety and health.”
The inspection identified other PSM hazards that resulted in 12 serious citations, with $84,000 in proposed fines. These conditions included failing to update process safety information, conduct an incident investigation of a January 2001 ammonia leak, certify or evaluate the PSM program every three years as required, establish and implement procedures to maintain changes in the process, and provide and document employee training.
$214,500 in Penalties Issued to Kenton Iron Products for 29 Safety and Health Violations
OSHA cited Kenton Iron Products LLC, with $214,500 in proposed penalties for 29 alleged serious, willful, and repeat safety and health violations for unsafe working conditions at the company’s iron casting facility in Kenton, Ohio.
As a result of a January 2010 inspection, OSHA has issued three alleged willful citations with proposed penalties of $156,000 for failing to ensure that some equipment was de-energized and shut down properly, and lockout/tagout procedures were in place before workers conducted maintenance on the equipment to prevent accidental start-up of machinery.
Twenty-two serious citations with proposed penalties of $50,700 also have been issued. These include excess amounts of flammable liquids stored in a fire area; lack of or improper capacity labeling on equipment; malfunctioning back up alarms and hydraulic leaks on equipment; failure to have and enforce electrical lockout/tagout procedures; lack of employee fall protections; lack of proper personal protective gear for workers, and unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals.
Additionally, OSHA has issued $7,800 in proposed fines for three repeat violations, including failing to provide proper grounding and bonding of flammable liquids, failing to provide safety latches on material handling hooks, and using compressed air over the 30 lb per square inch limit.
The company also has received one other-than-serious citation for using damaged electrical testing equipment. Other-than-serious citations are given when the violation would not directly cause a death or serious physical harm, but would affect the safety and health of employees.
“There is no excuse for a company to disregard the safety and welfare of its workers by not following OSHA safety standards,” said OSHA Area Director Jule Hovi in Toledo, Ohio. “Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
Kenton Iron Products manufactures iron castings at its two foundries located in Kenton and has more than 80 employees. The company has been inspected by OSHA 10 times since 1981 and has received 49 previous citations.
OSHA Proposes $69,000 in Penalties Against Roll-Kraft for Exposing Workers to Hazards
OSHA has cited Mentor-based RKI Inc., which operates the Roll-Kraft steel manufacturing facility, with 12 alleged safety violations carrying proposed penalties of $69,650. The company has been cited for failing to properly protect workers against electrical and machine hazards, and for not providing required safety training.
OSHA has cited the company with one willful and seven serious safety violations following an inspection in January. Some of these violations include the company’s failure to provide adequate guarding on lathes, grinding and other dangerous machines; to develop and implement training on locking a machine’s energy source, and alerting others about the state of that power source; and to provide proper fire response training.
The company also has received four other-than-serious violations for failing to properly record past workplace injuries.
“It is the responsibility of employers to ensure workers are provided with proper safety protection against electrical and machine hazards, and that they receive proper emergency training,” said OSHA Area Director Rob Medlock in Cleveland, Ohio. “Those who ignore these safety and health regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
OSHA Cites Krestmark Industries for Safety and Health Violations
OSHA has cited Krestmark Industries LP, with one alleged willful and 10 alleged serious violations following a safety and health inspection at the company’s worksite in Dallas. Penalties total $129,500.
“This employer clearly knew that workers at this facility were exposed to hazardous levels of noise,” said Stephen Boyd, OSHA’s area director in Dallas. “The company ignored its responsibility under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and continued to jeopardize the health and safety of its workers.”
OSHA’s Dallas Area Office began its inspection in January at Krestmark’s Bastille Road facility after receiving a complaint alleging employees were being exposed to safety hazards. A willful violation has been issued for the company’s failure to institute an effective hearing conservation program when workers were exposed to noise levels at or above 85 decibels.
The company also has been cited with 10 serious violations for failing to protect workers from being struck by flying objects, the unexpected release of energy while servicing and maintaining equipment, exposure to blood and hazardous chemicals, and failing to train workers on the safe operation of forklift trucks.
Tips on How to Protect Eyes, Skin from the Sun’s Harmful Rays
Overexposure to the sun can cause skin cancer and eye damage during any time of the year, regardless of skin color.
This application provides Americans with a new way to check the sun’s intensity and plan outdoor activities accordingly. The app provides users with a numeric index ranging from 0 to 11+ (higher numbers indicate greater amounts of skin-damaging UV radiation), and tips to protect the skin and eyes.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More people were diagnosed with skin cancer in 2009 than with breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer combined. One American dies every hour from skin cancer. Overexposure to UV radiation may suppress proper functioning of the body’s immune system and skin’s natural defenses. All people, regardless of skin color, are vulnerable to the effects of UV radiation.
Sun safety tips:
- Do not burn—overexposure to the sun is the most preventable risk factor for skin cancer
- Seek shade, especially between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. when UV radiation is most intense
- Wear wide-brimmed hats, protective clothing, and sunglasses that block 99-100 percent of UV radiation
- Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 15 on all exposed skin
- Check the UV Index
- Avoid sun tanning and tanning beds
The program is now in more than 25,000 schools and 4,500 camps, science and children’s museums, daycare centers, and other community-based organizations nationwide. SunWise schools and communities receive materials that encourage sun-safe infrastructures, including shade structures (e.g., canopies, trees) and policies (e.g., using hats, sunscreen, sunglasses) to promote sun protection.
Job Opening for Safety Technician in Miami Lakes, Florida
Job responsibilities include:
- Inspect work areas and equipment to ensure compliance with company, state, and federal safety policies and regulations
- Documenting safety inspections, citing dangerous areas/procedures and recommending corrective procedures, and maintaining safety equipment supply and availability
- Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors
- Conduct H&S training
- Conduct machine guarding assessments
- Develop specific lockout/tagout procedures
- Conduct ergonomic assessments
- Conduct weekly inspections of hazardous waste areas