OSHA has announced that it will publish a final rule in before the end of this month that will require US employers to begin adoption of the globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every chemical label, MSDS (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 SDSs.
How to Author GHS Safety Data Sheets
OSHA is adopting the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. A cornerstone of GHS is the adoption of a completely revised Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- January 27, 2012
- February 29, 2012
How to Label Hazardous Chemicals Using OSHA’s New GHS Hazcom Standard
Workplace and supplier hazard communication labels are being reinvented as OSHA adopts the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for labeling hazardous chemicals.
- February 3, 2012
- March 1, 2012
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.
- January 20, 2012
- February 28, 2012
Register early to ensure your spot in one of the upcoming sessions. You may register online or call 1-800-537-2372 to register by phone.
Columbia, South Carolina RCRA and DOT Training
Indianapolis RCRA, DOT, and IATA/IMO Training
Atlanta RCRA, DOT, and SARA Title III Training
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Safety Consultant/Trainer
Environmental Resource Center has a new opening for a safety consultant and auditor. We are looking for a former OSHA CSHO, OSHA trainer, or state inspector for this position in our Cary, North Carolina, office. Applicants should have excellent writing and speaking skills and be willing to travel 7–14 days per month. We are looking for an expert in all of the General Industry and Construction standards who is capable of performing audits of industrial facilities as well as conducting on-site training.
Strong consideration will be given to applicants who also have experience providing HAZWOPER, Hazcom, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, and machine guarding training.
The position includes maintenance of training materials (books and presentations), working on consulting projects, development of classes and computer-based training programs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
Chemical Safety Board Encourages OSHA to Include an Unclassified Hazards Category in GHS Hazcom
US Chemical Safety Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso released the following statement, encouraging OSHA to include an Unclassified Hazards category in its final GHS Hazard Communication rule. This would allow for combustible dust and other hazards not specifically identified in the UN recommendations to be a part of OSHA’s revised Hazard Communication Standard. The following is the text of Chairman Moure-Reaso’s statement:
Recently, I wrote the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management of Budget (OMB), to express my strong support for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposal to include an “unclassified hazards” category in its pending Final Rule. Currently OMB is reviewing the Final Rule for adoption of a Globally Harmonized System (GHS) which would align the existing hazard communication standard with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling.
As my letter indicates, the inclusion of an “unclassified hazards” category would substantially improve the ability of the GHS system to provide crucial information to workers and employers about serious hazards that might otherwise not be included in safety data sheets because they do not fit into the current classification categories of the GHS.
Over the past eight years, the CSB has conducted five major investigations and one safety study of fatal combustible dust explosions and flash fires. We have found this hazard to be far too common in industry, yet the GHS would be unable to effectively provide information about its presence or prevention without an “unclassified hazards” category. Indeed, both in its own investigations and in many other instances, the CSB found that a large proportion of safety data sheets for combustible dusts did not warn of their explosion hazards.
Just last week I was in Nashville, Tennessee, to release the CSB’s final investigation into three iron powder flash fires that occurred at the Hoeganaes facility located in Gallatin. These accidents resulted in five worker fatalities and two injuries—it is my hope that improved communication standards will assist in addressing the hazards of combustible dust. We urge OSHA and all the relevant industry and labor stakeholders to support the inclusion of the “unclassified hazards” category in the GHS proposal now before the OMB.
Lead Removal Company Fined $480,000 for Failing to Protect Employees from Lead Exposure
Welch Group Environmental was contracted by Delray Shooting Center in Delray Beach, Florida, to clean the shooting range and reclaim the lead, and OSHA’s inspection found that Welch Group Environmental knowingly neglected to protect workers from overexposure to lead. Proposed fines total $480,000.
“The management of Welch Group Environmental acknowledged awareness of OSHA’s lead standards and the dangers associated with lead exposure but continued to allow hazards to exist, exposing employees to serious health risks,” said Darlene Fossum, OSHA’s area director in Fort Lauderdale.
The inspection, conducted by OSHA’s Fort Lauderdale Area Office, was initiated in July as part of the agency’s national and regional emphasis programs for lead. Eleven willful violations with $462,000 in penalties involve failing to provide employees with a respirator fit test and respirator training, use engineering controls to reduce employee exposure to lead, provide eye or head protection, provide shower facilities and changing rooms, provide monitoring for lead levels in employees’ blood, ensure that employees’ blood level results were reduced before sending them to work in lead-contaminated areas, provide medical removal protection benefits to employees, and train workers on lead exposure. Additionally, the employer allowed workers to shovel and dry sweep lead-contaminated areas, and allowed them to be exposed to lead above the permissible exposure limit. 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.
Four serious violations with $16,800 in penalties involve failing to ensure that employees required to wear tight-fitted respirators did not have facial hair that could interfere with the seal between the respirator and face; provide appropriate respirators when employees were exposed to lead 10 times above the maximum concentration; provide workers with their blood level results and information on medical removal protection benefits in writing; and provide employees with a blood sample analysis that included hemoglobin and hematocrit, zinc protoporphyrin, blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine determinations. 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 with $1,200 in penalties involve failing to label containers of contaminated protective clothing, and develop and implement a written hazard communication program. 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.
Initiated in June 2010, the program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations.
The company, which also operates locations in Fair Play and Anderson, South Carolina, employs about 14 workers who provide range cleaning and lead recovery services for approximately 101 indoor and outdoor shooting ranges in 16 states.
Coleman Natural Foods Fined $142,000 for Eight Violations
OSHA has cited poultry processor KD Acquisition I LLC, doing business as Coleman Natural Foods, for eight safety violations at its KD5 plant in Braselton, Georgia, after receiving a complaint in July about safety hazards.
OSHA has cited the company for three repeat violations with penalties of $121,000 for failing to install machine guards on equipment where employees could come into contact with moving parts, tightly seal electrical enclosures to prevent severe corrosion, and provide adequate strain relief on electrical components. 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. Similar violations were cited in 2006 and 2007.
KD Acquisition also has been cited for four serious safety violations with penalties of $21,150 for failing to provide an ammonia detector that would warn of gas dispersal into the air, provide training to workers acting in the capacity of hazardous materials technicians when accessing equipment during emergency releases of ammonia, repair or contain hydraulic fluid leaks that created slippery floor surfaces, and provide machine guards when operating the shaft ends of the conveyor systems.
One other-than-serious violation with no monetary penalty has been cited for failing to provide an annual maintenance inspection of a fire extinguisher.
“OSHA will not tolerate conditions that endanger employee safety. The company has been cited for similar hazards in the past, and there is no excuse for OSHA finding them again during our latest inspection,” said William Fulcher, director of the agency’s Atlanta-East area office. “Management must correct these violations before a serious injury occurs to one of KD Acquisition’s workers.”
OSHA Fines NuTech Power Coaters $55,000 for 20 Violations
OSHA cited NuTech Powder Coaters LLC, for 20 violations for exposing workers to a variety of safety and health hazards, including combustible dust accumulations, at the company’s Newnan, Georgia, facility. Proposed penalties total $55,200.
After receiving a referral that alleged safety hazards, OSHA began an inspection in August. Eighteen serious violations resulted, involving failing to ensure that employees used eye, face, and hand protection while working with cleaners and products containing phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, and carbon black; not training workers in the use of proper personal protective equipment; not providing an eyewash/shower unit for workers exposed to corrosive materials; failing to develop and implement a confined space program; not posting permit-required confined space signage on equipment such as dryers, ovens, and wash tanks where employees could be exposed to oxygen-deficient atmospheres; allowing powder coating material to accumulate on the floor and equipment due to poor housekeeping; and exposing workers to fall, electrical, and other combustible dust hazards.
Two other-than-serious violations involve failing to develop and implement a written respiratory protection program for employees required to wear half- and full-face respirators while performing powder coating operations.
“Fire and explosion dangers associated with combustible dust do not exist solely at large establishments. Companies of all sizes must take their responsibilities seriously when it comes to workers’ safety and health, and implement controls that ensure all employees are protected from hazards,” said Andre Richards, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-West Area Office.
OSHA Fines Basic Marine Inc. $148,000 for 32 Safety and Health Violations
OSHA cited Basic Marine Inc., a shipyard and boat fabricating facility in Escanaba, Michigan, for 32—including five repeat—violations of safety and health standards. Proposed fines total $147,840.
OSHA began health and safety inspections in July as a follow-up to inspections conducted in March 2008. The 2008 inspections were initiated based on a referral from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, after a worker sustained an amputation injury.
“Basic Marine has demonstrated a total lack of commitment to employee safety and health by repeatedly failing to protect its workers. This situation is particularly egregious as the initial citations were issued after a worker was severely injured on the job,” said Robert Bonack, director of OSHA’s Lansing Area Office. “Whenever workers are injured, we expect that employers should be receptive to re-evaluating their safety and health programs to reduce the likelihood of more injuries, but this has not been the case with Basic Marine.”
A single repeat safety violation represents failing to provide machine guarding to prevent inadvertent contact with an operating vertical band saw. Four repeat health violations are failing to have a written hazard communications program and to train workers in hazard communications; train workers in safety procedures for testing and entering enclosed, confined, and other spaces that may have dangerous atmospheric conditions; and annually fit test workers who wore respirators. Similar violations were cited during the 2008 inspections.
. Four serious health violations are failing to provide an air-line respirator for workers spray painting in a confined space, evaluate confined spaces for environmental hazards, conduct training drills for the designated confined space rescue team and post confined space air monitoring results.
Recycling Company Fined $70,000 After Workers Injured by Rotating Equipment
OSHA has cited Prolerized New England Co., LLC, doing business as Schnitzer Northeast, for 10 alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards at its Everett, Massachusetts, recycling facility, where two workers were injured. Proposed penalties total $70,000.
The employees were performing maintenance work inside a large rotating drum used to sort scrap material for recycling when the drum activated, injuring them. In this case, the procedures were incomplete and not clearly communicated, training was inadequate, and the procedures were not reviewed to ensure that they were effective and understood by the employees.
Finally, the employees were exposed to the hazard of falling into the drum through an unguarded chute opening. OSHA assessed the maximum fine of $7,000 for each of the violations, for a total of $70,000 in fines.
“The unexpected startup of machinery during maintenance can injure or kill workers in seconds,” said Jeffrey Erskine, OSHA’s area director for Essex and Middlesex counties. “Preventing this hazard requires a combination of effective hazard control procedures, training and diligence to ensure that the proper safeguards are in place, in use and understood by workers.”
Go Plastics Fined $55,000 for Exposing Workers to Falls, Shocks, Combustible Dust and Other Hazards
OSHA cited Go Plastics LLC, with 22 safety and health violations for exposing workers to a variety of hazards at its Canton, Georgia, facility following an inspection that was initiated in August based on a complaint. Proposed penalties total $55,755.
Sixteen serious safety violations with penalties of $46,235 involve failing to provide machine guarding on the rotational molding machine, router, bench grinder, and drill press; develop specific lockout/tagout procedures for energy sources; train maintenance workers required to perform lockout/tagout procedures; place fire extinguishers in their designated areas; properly store oxygen and acetylene tanks; inspect powered industrial trucks; and address electrical deficiencies. Additionally, exits were blocked by wooden crates and totes, workers were exposed to fall hazards, and slings were used without safety latches.
Four serious health violations with $9,520 in proposed penalties include allowing combustible dust to accumulate on walls and pipes, failing to ensure that isolation devices were installed on dust collection systems to prevent the dust from spreading, provide noise training, and label spray bottles containing acetone with a hazard warning.
Two other-than-serious violations with no monetary penalties include failing to provide workers using respirators with Appendix D of the related OSHA standard and provide employees using tight-fitting respirators with a medical evaluation.
“This inspection identified a broad range of hazards that, if left uncorrected, expose workers to electric shocks, potential falls and combustible dust hazards,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “Employers cannot wait for an OSHA inspection to identify the hazards that expose their employees to serious injury. It is good business to implement preventive programs to ensure that such hazards are identified and corrected as part of day-to-day operations.”
OSHA Fines American Felt & Filter $146,000 for Repeat and Serious Safety Hazards
OSHA has cited American Felt & Filter Co., for 35 alleged violations of workplace safety and health standards at its New Windsor, New York, plant. The company, which manufactures woolen felt for a variety of products, faces a total of $146,300 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA’s Albany Area Office.
“Our inspections identified numerous safety and health hazards, including several similar to those cited during earlier OSHA inspections of this facility,” said Arthur Dube, the agency’s acting area director in Albany.” Left uncorrected, these hazards expose employees to possible electrocution, crushing and struck-by injuries, being caught in moving machine parts, hearing loss, falls, eye and hand injuries, asbestos and lead.”
In addition to identifying machine guarding and electrical hazards, OSHA found that the plant failed to inspect cranes and lifting devices; remove an unsafe powered industrial truck from service; properly stack materials; monitor noise levels, and test and train employees exposed to excessive noise levels; provide first-aid supplies, eye and hand protection, and an emergency eyewash; ensure appropriate respiratory protection and other safeguards for employees exposed to lead; perform asbestos exposure monitoring; identify and label asbestos-containing materials; and provide training for employees on asbestos hazards. OSHA cited the plant for similar hazards in 2007.
“One means of preventing new and recurring hazards is to implement and maintain an effective illness and injury prevention program in which management and employees work together to proactively identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
OSHA Fines Schneider & Marquard Inc. Nearly $49,000
OSHA has cited retaining ring manufacturer Schneider & Marquard Inc., for 21 workplace safety and health violations. OSHA initiated an inspection in response to a complaint alleging several workplace hazards at the company’s Newton, New Jersey, facility. Proposed fines total $48,840.
Three repeat safety violations with $23,760 in penalties involve obstructed exit routes, lack of proper machine guarding and deficient record keeping for power press inspections. The company was cited for similar violations in 2009.
Twelve serious safety and health violations with $21,120 in penalties involve failing to implement a hearing conservation program that includes noise monitoring, audiometric testing, and training; properly mount and identify portable fire extinguishers; provide powered industrial truck training; implement a hazard communication program that includes training; ensure proper use and listing of electrical equipment; ensure compressed air was reduced to 30 pounds per square inch; and ensure proper functioning and maintenance of mechanical power presses.
Six other-than-serious safety violations with $3,960 in penalties involve failing to record workplace injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log.
“These hazards should be immediately addressed to ensure a safe and healthful workplace for employees,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “OSHA will continue to hold employers responsible when they violate federal laws.”
OSHA Fines Gemini Linen Rental $125,000
OSHA initiated an inspection in response to a referral from New Jersey’s Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health Program. Proposed fines total $126,875.
“These safety and health hazards pose serious risks to Gemini employees and must be addressed immediately,” said Paula Dixon Roderick, OSHA’s area director in Marlton. “Employers are legally responsible for ensuring safe and healthful workplaces.”
The serious violations, which carry $124,775 in penalties, involve failing to provide protection from electrical hazards; develop and implement written respiratory protection, hazard communication and confined space entry programs; provide machine guarding; provide guardrails for stairways and working platforms; conduct a personal protective equipment hazard assessment; ensure the safe use of ladders and forklifts; provide lockout/tagout, respirator, hazard communication and fire extinguisher training; provide an eyewash station; provide mounted fire extinguishers; and ensure aisles and passageways were clear.
The other-than-serious violations, with $2,100 in penalties, involve various electrical hazards as well as incomplete record keeping for the OSHA 300 injury and illness logs.
“One means of preventing hazards such as these is for employers to establish an injury and illness prevention program in which they work with their employees to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Pipeline Construction Company Fined $140,000 for Trenching Violations in Georgia
OSHA is proposing $140,000 in penalties.
“Cave-ins can happen quickly, without warning and with deadly consequences. OSHA will not allow employers to be indifferent to protecting their employees against these hazards,” said Andre Richards, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-West Area Office.
OSHA began its inspection August 12 when an agency investigator noticed that the employer had failed to provide a safe means of egress from a 5-foot-10-inch trench and protect workers from a cave-in hazard. As a result of these conditions, the company was cited for the two willful violations.
Sunland Construction, which provides pipeline construction and related services, has been cited by OSHA three other times since 2010 at locations in Alabama, North Carolina, and Texas. The violations cited in Georgia are similar to ones cited after OSHA inspected the company’s construction site in Deer Park, Texas. Headquartered in Eunice, Louisiana, the company has an eastern district office in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
OSHA standards mandate that all excavations 5 feet or deeper be protected against collapse.
OSHA Fines Interstate Brands $105,000 for Safety Hazards in Biddeford, Maine
The company, which manufactures Hostess products, faces a total of $104,700 in proposed fines following a safety inspection by OSHA’s Augusta Area Office.
“Our inspection identified mechanical, electrical, fall and exit hazards, including some similar to those cited at other Interstate Brands facilities,” said William Coffin, OSHA’s area director for Maine. “Left uncorrected, these violations expose workers to the hazards of electrocution, lacerations, amputation, falls, being caught in operating or unexpectedly activated machinery and being unable to exit the workplace swiftly in the event of a fire or other emergency.”
OSHA’s inspection found an absence of guardrails to prevent workers from falling into and through hoppers; a locked emergency exit door and an exit route blocked by product racks; unguarded moving machine parts on a conveyor belt, band saw blade, drill press, and other equipment; undocumented procedures to prevent the unintended activation of machinery during maintenance; and individuals working on live electrical equipment who were not familiar with the protective equipment needed for such work. These serious violations resulted in citations carrying $42,200 in fines.
The recurring violations involve failing to guard chains and sprockets on a cake alignment conveyor and a packaging machine feeder, and provide personal protective equipment to safeguard employees against electrical shocks, arc flashes, and arc blasts while working with live electrical parts. The citations carry $62,500 in fines. OSHA cited International Brands in 2010 for similar hazards at plants in Columbus, Georgia, and Schiller Park, Illinois.
OSHA Cites Cardell Cabinetry for Combustible Dust and Other Hazards
OSHA has cited Cardell Cabinetry Inc., LLC, for seven serious and four other-than-serious safety and health violations at its San Antonio, Texas, facility. Proposed penalties total $45,000.
OSHA’s San Antonio Area Office initiated a safety and health inspection August 16 in response to a complaint. The serious violations involve failing to provide adequate guarding for keyed and horizontal shafting on molders; cover electrical openings; ensure that the facility was equipped with an evacuation alarm system; ensure that compressed air pressure was less than 30 pounds per square inch; keep surfaces free from combustible wood saw dust; and keep restrooms in a sanitary condition with soap and hot water.
The other-than-serious violations involve record keeping deficiencies on the OSHA 300 log, including failing to list the location of where an injury or illness occurred as well as adequately describe the relevant body part and object that caused the injury or illness.
“Combustible dust accumulation, inadequate guarding of machines and unsanitary working conditions can jeopardize the safety and health of Cardell Cabinetry’s workers,” said Jeff Funke, director of OSHA’s San Antonio office.
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