OSHA recently updated its Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program (FEDTARG) directive for fiscal year 2011. FEDTARG directs programmed inspections of federal agency establishments that experienced high numbers of lost time injuries during FY 2010.
The directive outlines the procedures for carrying out programmed inspections at some of the most hazardous federal workplaces. OSHA will inspect all establishments reporting 100 or more lost time cases (LTCs) during FY 2010; 50% of those establishments reporting 50 to 99 LTCs; and 10% of those reporting 20 to 49 LTCs.
Changes to this directive include defining lost time case to mean a worker who loses time from work beyond the date of the injury. Other changes include updates to OSHA’s recordkeeping violation policy, and guidance for the inspection of a federal worksite with multiple operations.
FEDTARG11 continues OSHA’s nationwide inspection targeting program for federal worksites. This program began in 2008 in response to a Government Accountability Office audit report that recommended the agency develop a targeted inspection program for federal worksites. Executive Order 12196, Occupational Safety and Health Programs for Federal Employees, Paragraph 1-401(i) requires Federal OSHA to “conduct unannounced inspections of agency workplaces when the Secretary determines it necessary if an agency does not have occupational safety and health committees; or in response to reports of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions.”
OSHA’s Office of Federal Agency Programs (FAP) represents the federal sector regarding occupational safety and health issues. The FAP provides leadership and guidance to the heads of federal agencies to assist them with their occupational safety and health responsibilities.
Under Section 19 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and Executive Order 12196, the head of each agency is responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for all Federal employees by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance.
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
Burbank RCRA and DOT Training
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™.
OSHA Reissues Shipbreaking National Emphasis Program and Updates Shipyard PPE Directive to Include PPE Payment
The Shipbreaking national emphasis program (NEP) was initiated in 2000 in support of a 1999 agreement between OSHA, the U.S. Navy, the Maritime Administration, and the EPA. The November 2010 Shipbreaking NEP replaces the update of March 2005. Inspections of shipbreaking operations will focus on 20 worker safety and health issues, including asbestos and lead exposure, polychlorinated biphenlys, confined spaces, heavy metals, powered industrial trucks, guarding of deck edges, oil/fuel removal and tank cleaning, hearing conservation, fire prevention, scaffolds, cutting and welding, and personal protective equipment.
The revised NEP directive supports the agency’s goal to reduce injuries and illnesses among Latino workers, who comprise a significant part of the shipbreaking workforce. This revised NEP is available in a Web-based format with links to shipyard employment safety and health information.
OSHA also issued a shipyard employment directive on personal protective equipment that includes employer requirements to pay—that is, provide at no cost to the worker—for certain PPE. Steel-toed rubber boots, goggles, hard hats, hearing protection, and respirators are some of the protective items employers must provide free of charge. This revised Web-based directive also describes equipment that employers do not have to pay for, such as ordinary clothing used as protection from weather, non-specialty prescription safety eyewear, and PPE that a worker already owns and is allowed to use instead of the employer-provided PPE.
It sets forth enforcement policies that OSHA inspectors should use when citing employers for failing to provide the necessary PPE to their workers.
DOT Proposes Rear View Visibility Rule to Prevent Low-Speed Back-Up Accidents
The proposed rule was required by Congress as part of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007. Two-year old Cameron Gulbransen, for whom the Act is named, was killed when his father accidentally backed over him in the family’s driveway.
“There is no more tragic accident than for a parent or caregiver to back out of a garage or driveway and kill or injure an undetected child playing behind the vehicle,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The changes we are proposing today will help drivers see into those blind zones directly behind vehicles to make sure it is safe to back up.”
The proposal, issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), would expand the required field of view for all passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans, buses, and low-speed vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds so that drivers can see directly behind the vehicle when the vehicle’s transmission is in reverse. NHTSA believes automobile manufacturers will install rear mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays to meet the proposed standards. To meet the requirements of the proposed rule, 10% of new vehicles must comply by September 2012, 40% by September 2013 and 100% by September 2014.
“The steps we are taking today will help reduce back-over fatalities and injuries not only to children, but to the elderly, and other pedestrians,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “And while these changes will make a difference, drivers must remember that no technology can, or should, replace full attention and vigilance when backing up. Always know where your children are before you start your car and make sure you check that there is no one behind you before you back up.”
NHTSA estimates that, on average, 292 fatalities and 18,000 injuries occur each year as a result of back-over crashes involving all vehicles. Of these, 228 fatalities involve light vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less. Two particularly vulnerable populations—children and the elderly—are affected most. Approximately 44% of fatalities involving light vehicles are children under five—an unusually high percentage for any particular type of crash. In addition, 33% of fatalities involving light vehicles are elderly people 70 years of age or older.
NHTSA is providing a 60-day comment period on this rulemaking that begins when the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
$52,250 Fine for Failing to Provide Forklift Training
OSHA has cited Frio Distributing Co., with one alleged willful, nine alleged serious, and two alleged other-than-serious violations following a safety and health inspection at the company’s facility in Hondo, Texas. Proposed penalties total $52,250.
“This company jeopardized the safety of its workers by failing to provide forklift training,” said Jeff Funke, OSHA’s area director in San Antonio, Texas. “It’s imperative that employers adhere to OSHA’s safety and health standards to prevent injuries and fatalities by properly training their workers.”
OSHA began its inspection on September 10 and has cited the employer with a willful violation for failing to properly train workers in the use of forklifts. 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 serious violations pertain to failing to provide guardrails on elevated working areas; failing to provide proper housekeeping by placing miscellaneous items on the stairway, creating a trip hazard; and electrical deficiencies, including lack of enclosures or guards to prevent damage to electrical components, exposed live conductors, and blocked and unlabeled electrical disconnects. OSHA issues a serious citation 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.
Other-than-serious violations were cited for failing to record injuries in the OSHA 300 log and to keep fire exits clear. 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 Cites Home Depot for Lack of PPE, Improper Recordkeeping
OSHA has issued serious and repeat citations to Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., at 9115 North Loop 1604 in San Antonio, Texas, for lacking adequate personal protective equipment and deficient injury recordkeeping. Proposed penalties total $70,500.
“As a large, national employer with a history of OSHA inspections and citations at other facilities, we are disappointed to find so many of the same or similar hazards at this facility,” said Jeff Funke, OSHA’s area director in San Antonio. “It’s imperative that this company and all employers adhere to safety and health standards to prevent worker injuries.”
OSHA began its inspection on July 30, and found that an employee had sustained chemical burns due to lack of appropriate personal protective equipment and training for protective equipment.
Serious violations cited include failure to train employees on the proper use of protective equipment, failure to teach employees how to safely clean up spills, and not assessing respiratory hazards.
Repeat violations cited include failure to ensure eye protection was utilized; failure to provide adequate eye wash and quick drenching facilities; failure to properly record and describe injuries on the OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping form; and improper certification of the form. 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. However, at the time this inspection began, the current repeat violation policy was within the last three years.
OSHA fines Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. over $213,000 for Willful, Serious and Repeat Violations
OSHA cited Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., a manufacturer of automotive and truck tires, with 10 alleged safety and health violations for failing to provide proper hazardous chemical protection to its workers, unnecessarily exposing them to fire and explosion hazards, and failing to provide fall protection from distances of more than 9 feet. Proposed penalties total $213,500.
“The lack of employee protection from fire, explosions and hazardous chemicals is completely unacceptable,” said Jule Hovi, OSHA’s area director in Toledo, Ohio. “OSHA is committed to ensuring workers have a safe and healthful workplace, and failing to follow proper safety and health procedures puts workers at unnecessary risk.”
Cooper Tire has been cited with two alleged willful violations for failing to protect workers from fire and explosion hazards by not providing fire suppression controls on processing equipment that contains explosive combustible dust, and failing to limit the accumulation of combustible dust on equipment and the building superstructure. The violations carry proposed fines of $140,000.
The company also has been cited with six serious violations, with proposed fines of $38,500, for failing to assure flammable liquids were safety dispensed; ensure proper electrical tools were used in areas where flammable vapors and liquids were present; provide proper eye and face protection to workers handling flammable liquids; protect workers from electrical shock hazards; and train workers on combustible dust hazards.
OSHA also has issued two repeat violations, with a proposed penalty of $35,000, for failing to provide workers with chemical protective equipment when exposed to contact with flammable liquids and to provide required fall protection.
NIH Study Identifies Ideal Body Mass Index
A study looking at deaths from any cause found that a body mass index (BMI) between 20.0 and 24.9 is associated with the lowest risk of death in healthy non-smoking adults. Investigators also provided precise estimates of the increased risk of death among people who are overweight and obese. Previous studies that examined the risks from being overweight were inconclusive, with some reporting only modestly increased risks of death and others showing a reduced risk. Also, the precise risks for different levels of obesity were uncertain. The research team included investigators from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and collaborators from a dozen other major research institutions worldwide. The results appear in the December 2, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
BMI, the most commonly used measure for body fat, is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of his/her height in meters (kg/m2). Current guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization define a normal BMI range as 18.5 to 24.9. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9; obesity is defined as a BMI over 30.0; and severe obesity is defined as BMI 35 or higher.
Obesity has emerged as a leading public health concern in the United States. It has been well-established that people who are obese face increased risks of death from heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. Currently, two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Even more worrisome, 17% of women and 11% of men are severely obese.
In this large analysis, investigators pooled data from 19 long-term studies designed to follow participants over time, from 5 to 28 years, depending on the study.
They found that healthy women who had never smoked and who were overweight were 13% more likely to die during the study follow-up period than those with a BMI between 22.5 and 24.9. Women categorized as obese or severely obese had a dramatically higher risk of death. As compared with a BMI of 22.5 to 24.9, the researchers report a 44% increase in risk of death for participants with a BMI of 30.0 to 34.9; an 88% increase in risk for those with a BMI of 35.0 to 39.9; and a 2.5 times (250%) higher risk of death for participants whose BMI was 40.0 to 49.9. Results were broadly similar for men. Overall for men and women combined, for every five unit increase in BMI, the researchers observed a 31% increase in risk of death.
“By combining data on nearly 1.5 million participants from 19 studies we were able to evaluate a wide range of BMI levels and other characteristics that may influence the relationship between excess weight and risk of death,” said NCI’s Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, D.Phil., lead author of the study. “Smoking and pre-existing illness or disease are strongly associated with the risk of death and with obesity. A paramount aspect of the study was our ability to minimize the impact of these factors by excluding those participants from the analysis.”
The investigators observed similar patterns of risk even after accounting for differences in alcohol consumption, physical activity, and education level. The increased risk of death for a BMI of 25 or greater was also seen in all age groups, although it was more prominent for those who were overweight or obese before age 50.
The investigators gathered information about BMI and other characteristics from questionnaires participants completed at the beginning of each study. Causes of death were obtained from death certificates or medical records. This analysis was restricted to non-Hispanic whites aged 19 to 84. The investigators noted the relationship between BMI and mortality may differ across racial and ethnic groups. Other efforts are underway to study the effect of BMI on mortality in other racial and ethnic groups.
OSHA Cites Huntsman Petrochemical for PSM and Lockout/Tagout Violations
OSHA has issued Huntsman Petrochemical LLC, headquartered in Houston, 12 serious citations for an inadequate process safety management program and deficient lockout/tagout procedures to prevent the accidental start-up of machinery. The violations were found at the company’s facility on Jefferson Chemical Road in Conroe, Texas. Proposed penalties total $75,600.
“The health and safety of its employees should be a high priority for this company,” said David Doucet, area director of OSHA’s Houston North Area Office. “Failure to implement safe procedures is unacceptable.”
OSHA began its investigation June 7 in response to an incident in one of the company’s process units.
Alleged serious violations include failing to incorporate operating procedures for all safety devices in the company’s operating guide; adequately train employees in safe operating procedures; properly shut down process equipment; identify and isolate all energy sources to the equipment; and to ensure lockout/tagout energy isolating devices such as line valves prior to employees performing maintenance on the equipment.
Huntsman Petrochemical, which employs about 150 workers at its Conroe facility, is a unit of Huntsman International LLC. That company is a subsidiary of Huntsman Corp., which employs more than 11,000 worldwide.
OSHA Cites Next Step Burwell LLC for Exposing Workers to Serious Electrical Hazards
OSHA has issued biofuel company Next Step Burwell LLC, of Burwell, Nebraska, five serious citations and one willful citation for exposing employees to electrical hazards and failing to adequately train workers.
OSHA cited the company following an investigation of an incident in which two workers were subjected to electric shock. A Next Step employee was shocked after being instructed to clean out a charged electrical wiring cable tray in which a combination of rain water and corn stalk dust had been allowed to accumulate. Subsequently, a subcontracted employee was fatally electrocuted after being asked to check the cable tray.
“Hazards associated with handling live electrical wiring must be addressed and mitigated,” said Charles Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Missouri. “It is imperative that employers take all necessary steps to de-energize and lock out equipment, and provide proper training for workers so easily preventable incidents like this don’t happen.”
Serious citations were issued for failing to inform subcontracted employees of lockout/tagout procedures to prevent accidental start-up of machinery; failing to ensure that an adequate group lockout system was employed; allowing an unqualified person to work on or around energized circuits or equipment; a lack of guardrails on the floor area where the cable tray was accessed; and failure to guard or cap a rotating shaft end that presented an entanglement hazard.
The willful violation relates to the employer’s failure to de-energize live parts when an employee may have been working in the vicinity. Next Step Burwell LLC, faces $60,000 in penalties.
OSHA Fines Theater $51,000 for Asbestos, Fall and Crushing Hazards
OSHA has cited the David H. Koch Theater, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan, for alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace health and safety standards. The theater faces a total of $51,000 in proposed fines, primarily for asbestos, fall, and crushing hazards identified during an OSHA inspection prompted by worker complaints.
OSHA’s inspection found that employees of the theater and of outside contractors had not been informed of the presence of asbestos-containing and potentially asbestos-containing materials in the theater’s promenade area and in nearby electrical closets. The materials had not been labeled and asbestos warning signs had not been posted.
In addition, an exit door was stuck and unable to be used, and a portable fire extinguisher was not mounted. As these conditions were similar to those cited by OSHA during a 2009 inspection of the theater, they resulted in the agency issuing the theater four repeat citations with $45,000 in proposed fines.
“The recurrence of these conditions is disturbing,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s Manhattan area director. “For the health and safety of its employees as well as outside contractors, the theater must take effective steps to identify and permanently eliminate these and other hazards identified during this latest OSHA inspection.”
OSHA also found that, due to a lack of guarding, theater employees were exposed to falls into the orchestra pit when the stage was raised above the pit, and to being struck or crushed by the stage when it descended into the pit. These conditions, plus the use of temporary wiring in place of permanent lighting in the promenade area, resulted in OSHA also issuing the theater three serious citations with $6,000 in proposed fines. 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.
“One means of eliminating hazards such as these is for employers to establish an illness and injury prevention program, in which workers and management jointly work to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions on a continual basis,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Radioactive Gauge Stolen, Return Sought
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)has issued a public alert that a gauge containing a small amount of radioactive material has been reported to have been stolen from a job site at Fort George G. Meade.
A Troxler Model 3430 surface moisture density gauge, serial number 37672, was last seen at a temporary job site at Fort Meade. The owner and licensee of the device reported to MDE Thursday, December 2, that the device, along with other contracting equipment, had been stolen.
The gauge was last seen during an inventory taken November 29. The theft was noted by a company employee about 2 p.m. Thursday, December 2. The theft was also reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Fort Meade police were notified.
The missing device is used at construction sites to measure moisture and compaction in soils, concrete, and other aggregates. The device is not a hazard to the public as long as the radioactive material remains locked in the device. An extendable rod that contains radioactive material was locked in the shielded position and the device was locked in its case when last seen, according to the device’s user.
The gauge is yellow in color, and its case is approximately 30 inches by 14 inches by 17 inches in size. The radioactive material it contains is Cesium-137 on its extendable rod and Americium-241 encased inside the device. A padlock is normally used to secure the Cesium-137 source in its shielded position when not in use.
Anyone finding the device should report it immediately to MDE’s Radiological Health Program at 866-MDE-GOTO (866-633-4686), Police at 911, or the licensee and owner, GeoConcepts Engineering, at 703-726-8030.