OSHA Focuses on Protecting Cell Tower Employees

A maintenance worker fell to his death January 31 from a cell tower in Cameron County, Texas. The next day, a cell phone tower collapsed in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Minutes later a second tower at the same Clarksburg site also fell. The collapse of these two towers resulted in the deaths of two workers and a firefighter responding to the scene, and sent two other employees to the hospital with serious injuries.

 

“Tower worker deaths cannot be the price we pay for increased wireless communication,” said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. “Employers and cell tower owners and operators must do everything possible to stop these senseless, preventable tragedies.”

OSHA said that it is concerned about the alarming increase in preventable injuries and fatalities at communication tower worksites. In 2013, thirteen fatalities occurred in this industry, more than in the previous two years combined. This disturbing trend appears to be continuing, with the four worker deaths occurring in the first five weeks of 2014. In an effort to prevent these tragic incidents, OSHA is increasing its focus on tower safety. 

The majority of the 13 communication tower-related fatalities that occurred in 2013 were a result of falls. OSHA requires employers to provide adequate fall protection equipment, train employees how to use the safety equipment, and ensure they use it properly and consistently. In the past few months, tower workers have also been injured or killed by falling objects, the structural collapse of towers, and equipment failures. For example, OSHA issued citations in December 2013 to Custom Tower LLC of Scott, Louisiana, for one willful violation following the death of a worker who fell approximately 125 feet. 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.

OSHA said that it is committed to working with the communications industry to prevent these injuries and fatalities, and it will continue outreach and enforcement efforts to make sure communication tower workers are adequately protected.

EPA’s New Solvent Wipe, Shop Towel Rule Demystified

Beginning this month, this new rule will provide significant new exclusions for shop towels and wipes, provided you manage them correctly.

• Does the rule apply to both cloth and paper wipes and rags?
• What solvents can be on the towels, and which are prohibited?
• Does the rule also apply to towels that contain characteristic hazardous waste?
• Can P or U-listed wastes be on the towels?
• How must the towels be stored on-site?
• Do they need to be tested for anything?
• How long can they be stored?
• How must the containers be marked or labeled?
• How must they be prepared for transportation?
• Where can you ship them and what are the disposal and recycling options?
• What are the documentation requirements?
• How is the new rule impacted by current state regulations?

 

Did You Miss OSHA’s December 1 GHS Hazard Communication Training Deadline? Use Environmental Resource Center’s GHS OSHA Hazard Communication Training PowerPoint

With OSHA’s adoption of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals, virtually every chemical label, MSDS—now called safety data sheet (SDS), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard.

OSHA’s December 1, 2013, deadline under the revised Hazard Communication Standard required that all employees at your site who work with, or are exposed to, hazardous chemicals be trained to understand the new classification system, labels, warning statements, precautions, pictograms, and SDSs for chemicals at your worksite.

Environmental Resource Center is making available a PDF presentation or a customizable PowerPoint that you can use for on-site worker training. The training program, which is designed to cover your site’s GHS Hazard Communication training requirements, is in a format that is easy to understand.

Price and options:

 

Multiple PDF copies can be purchased for $99/copy (1–10), $79/copy (11–20), or $69/copy (21+).

 

Multiple PowerPoint copies can be purchased for $199/copy (1–10), $179/copy (11–20), or $169/copy (21+).

Options*:

1. Customized PowerPoint: Send us your written GHS hazard communication plan and 10–20 safety data sheets. We’ll create a custom training program for your site: $899
2. If you have not updated your hazard communication plan, let Environmental Resource Center update it for you: $799
3. Customized PowerPoint and hazard communication plan: $1600

*Call 800-537-2372 for Spanish pricing

How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard

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, material safety data sheet (now called “safety data sheet” or SDS), 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.

 

Cary 40-Hour HAZWOPER Training

 

Charlotte RCRA, DOT, and Hazard Communication Training

 

Houston RCRA and DOT Training

 

Comment Period Ends March 10 on Proposed Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

OSHA has announced the comment period on the proposed rule to improve workplace safety and health through improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses will close on March 10, 2014. The proposed rule would amend OSHA’s recordkeeping regulations to add requirements for the electronic submission of injury and illness information that employers are already required to keep.

 

California’s Final Refinery Safety Report Calls for Greater Collaboration and Oversight to Protect the Public and Employees

After more than 18 months of working with communities, workers and industry leaders, the state’s Interagency Working Group on Refinery Safety (Working Group) has released its final report outlining recommendations to improve public and worker safety at and near the state’s oil refineries. A task force has already begun overseeing implementation of many recommendations and will continue meeting regularly to ensure the report’s goals are met.

“Our findings and recommendations were shaped by input from refinery workers, community members, industry leaders and local and state agencies,” said Matt Rodriquez, California Secretary for Environmental Protection. “Our goal is improving safety practices at refineries to make them better neighbors and better employers, and developing more reliable and effective emergency response plans.”

Already, new refinery inspectors have been hired to ensure that facilities are complying with health and safety laws. And a new reporting system has been established to help improve oversight and ultimately provide more information to the public. The Governor’s proposed budget for next year will further increase resources for refinery safety and enforcement.

Following the August 2012 explosion at Chevron’s Richmond, California, oil refinery, Governor Brown convened a 13-agency Working Group to examine ways to improve public and worker safety. The Interagency Refinery Task Force, established in August 2013, is overseeing progress on the Working Group’s recommendations, and will meet bimonthly to ensure that the recommendations are implemented.

The report details recommendations to improve emergency response and preparedness, to require inherently safer systems to prevent hazardous events and to improve community awareness and emergency alerts.

 

Specific recommendations include:

• Coordinating regulatory activities to avoid duplication and increase effectiveness
• Establishing clear criteria for unified response during emergencies and aligning radio communications between industry firefighters and local first responders
• Improving information and data flows from refineries to the public and state and local agencies
• Requiring refineries to implement inherently safer systems to prevent emergencies and better protect workers and neighboring communities
• Strengthening enforcement capacity to ensure adequate oversight of refineries
• Assessing operational safety and organizational structures at refineries to reduce human factors such as lack of training, insufficient experience or fatigue that can cause hazards
• Providing greater community access to air quality monitoring information in and around refineries

“These recommendations present an opportunity to make real and lasting improvements in refinery safety and oversight that will benefit everyone: workers and contractors, communities, first responders, the refinery operators themselves and our natural resources,” said Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker. “We’re working hard to implement these recommendations and are more than doubling the staff who enforce refinery safety regulations.”

The final report, “Improving Public and Worker Safety at Oil Refineries,” emphasizes the importance of providing more information to allow communities to better understand safety issues at local refineries. Additionally, the report places a greater emphasis on the importance of inherently safer system design and recommends a clearer hierarchy of safer operations to guide California’s regulatory approach. A draft report was previously issued in July.

 

The report is the product of an 18-month effort by multiple state agencies, including the Air Resources Board; the California Environmental Protection Agency; the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services; the California Technology Agency; the Department of Finance; the Department of Public Health; the Department of Industrial Relations; the Department of Toxic Substances Control; the Division of Occupational Safety and Health; the Labor and Workforce Development Agency; the Office of the State Fire Marshal; and the State Water Resources Control Board.

 

 

 

State Failing Federal Enforcement Standards; Fewer Inspectors than 25 Years Ago

Workers in California have less protection on the job now than at any other time in a generation due to the implosion of its Division of Occupational Safety & Health (Cal/OSHA), according to an in-depth report by a former senior executive. Citing the report, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a formal complaint with OSHA seeking sanction against Cal/OSHA because it has fallen below federal minimum worker protection standards that are a condition of it receiving federal funding.

The report by Garrett Brown (MPH, CIH), a 20-year Cal/OSHA veteran whose career culminated in a period as a Special Assistant to the Chief, documents that under Governor Jerry Brown, support for Cal/OSHA has decreased from levels under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. As a result:

• California has fewer workplace health and safety inspectors than it did 25 years ago, although the workforce is substantially larger now;
• California has one of the worst inspector-to-worker ratios in the country (one inspector to more than 109,000 workers), more than three times lower than Oregon or Washington and nearly twice as thin as federal OSHA staffing in states without their own programs; and
• Cal/OSHA has been forced to cut back on health inspections for exposures to toxic chemicals as well as inspections of dangerous workplaces where low-wage, immigrant or non-union workers rarely file complaints.

“California has substantially more game wardens—253—than it does workplace safety and health inspectors—170,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that occupational exposures kill an estimated 40,000 Americans each year, making it the nation’s 8th leading cause of death. “California likes to pride itself as a national leader in many areas, but its workers are among the least protected in the country.”

Cal/OSHA draws no money from the state General Fund but instead operates on user fees and a federal OSHA grant which pays half of all Cal/OSHA costs, provided that the state meets federal minimum standards. But the report finds that due to unspent funds and low staffing, Cal/OSHA can no longer even come close to meeting federal benchmarks or state law for, among other tasks:

• Responding to worker complaints of unsafe or unhealthy working conditions in a timely fashion;
• Doing follow-up inspections of serious violators; and
• Closing safety and health inspections so that enforcement action may be taken.

“In its last audit, OSHA found that more than 30 inspector positions promised in California’s grant application had disappeared but the federal agency took no action,” added Ruch, whose organization filed a complaint with federal OSHA requesting that the state face financial and other sanctions unless immediate correction of these deficiencies occurs. “Federal OSHA is supposed to make sure the state complies with federal benchmarks and standards, but it appears to have confused oversight with overlook.”

OSHA Partners with Fertilizer Industry to Get Message Out on Chemical Safety

OSHA is partnering with the Agricultural Retailers Association and The Fertilizer Institute to reach more than 7,000 agricultural retailers, distributers, producers, and other facilities in the fertilizer industry to remind employers of the importance of safely storing and handling ammonium nitrate.

This effort follows the devastating April 2013 ammonium nitrate explosion in West, Texas, which killed 15 including 12 emergency response personnel. OSHA cited the owners of the West Fertilizer Company with 24 serious safety violations for exposing workers to fire/explosion hazards of ammonium nitrate and chemical burn and inhalation hazards from anhydrous ammonia storage. 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.

The trade associations will distribute a letter from Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels to fertilizer industry employers throughout the country. In the letter, Dr. Michaels says, “The tragedy in West, Texas, and other incidents underscore the need for employers who store and handle hazardous substances like ammonium nitrate to ensure the safety of those materials—not just for workers at the facility but for the lives and safety of emergency responders and nearby residents. I am calling on you today to take the necessary steps to prevent tragic ammonium nitrate incidents.”

In the letter, OSHA provides employers with legal requirements and best practice recommendations for safely storing and handling ammonium nitrate. 

 The Executive Order directs the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture, EPA, and DOT to identify ways to improve operational coordination with state and local partners, enhance federal agency coordination and information sharing, modernize policies, regulations, and standards to enhance safety and security in chemical facilities and work with stakeholders to identify best practices to reduce safety and security risks in the production and storage of potentially harmful chemicals.

Florida Wire Manufacturer Cited for Willful Violations Following Worker’s Death

In August 2013, a 32-year-old machine helper entered a large wire mesh manufacturing machine to retrieve a fallen metal bar, when he was struck and killed by a part that feeds the wire into the machine’s welding area. The light curtain that would have automatically turned the machine off before he entered the danger zone had been disabled. 

Following OSHA’s incident investigation and worksite inspection, Wire Mesh Sales, LLC, has been cited for eight per-instance willful violations and other repeat, serious, and other-than-serious citations. 

“This was a preventable and senseless tragedy,” said US Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “When employers are serious about safety, everyone benefits. Wire Mesh Sales LLC failed to properly implement OSHA safety regulations, and a worker paid the ultimate price.”

Of the total fine, $560,000 is due to the willful violations that include the employer’s:

• Failure to guard the wire mesh manufacturing machine and three other large machines that make wire mesh or straighten and test the wire
• Failure to ensure that four machines—including the one involved in the incident—were shut down and hazardous sources of energy were locked or tagged out prior to employees’ entering and servicing the equipment where no guards protected them from harm

A total of 22 serious violations allege a variety of conditions including: a factory floor cluttered with broken pallets creating a hazard that could lead to workers tripping and falling into moving machine parts; an electrical outlet left on the ground wrapped in tape that posed a shock hazard; and a bathroom with a sink that had been clogged for months with maggots swimming in standing water. Fines for the serious violations total $126,700.

$11,000 of the proposed fines is for a repeat violation cited for failing to administer an effective hearing conservation program. The company violated this standard at its Oglesby, Illinois, facility in 2012. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

Wire Mesh was cited for four other-than-serious safety and health violations for failing to mark exits, assure crane operation safety, and develop an effective respirator program for employees required to wear respirators. 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 injury.

 Most of the company’s 56 employees at the Jacksonville facility—who do not speak English as their native language and who work 12-hour shifts seven days a week—were exposed to serious injury or death because of their employer’s failures.

Wire Mesh has more than 200 employees nationwide and recorded $60 million in revenue in 2012.

Oregon OSHA Issues Seventh Citation against Bravo’s Construction Services

Oregon OSHA has fined Bravo’s Construction Services of Woodburn, Oregon, $72,825 for repeatedly not protecting its employees from falls—in this seventh citation issued to Bravo’s Construction since February 2013. The citation and fine was the result of an inspection on October 9, 2013, which found that an employee was exposed to a fall of more than 20 feet, inadequate scaffold design, not ensuring employees wore safety glasses, and not holding safety committee meetings. The latter two issues were repeat violations.

Unpaid fines for Bravo’s Construction now total $166,161 with $15,416 past due. Due to the company’s continued negligence in providing a safe environment for employees, Oregon OSHA is referring the matter to the state Construction Contractors Board (CCB).

“Most employers meet their obligations under our rules,” said Oregon OSHA Administrator Michael Wood. “Even for those who need to be reminded, it is rare that we continue to have this level of a problem. When we do, we will issue substantial penalties against employers and refer them to CCB, which may make it legally impossible to do business in the state.”

CCB suspended the company’s license on January 3, 2014, after it failed to pay a $1,000 penalty assessed for Bravo’s Construction allowing unlicensed contractors to use its license number in exchange for a percentage of the job amount.

“CCB takes allegations of violations affecting employee safety very seriously,” says Craig P Smith, CCB administrator. “In addition to imposing civil penalties and license suspensions, CCB routinely works closely with other state agencies, including Oregon OSHA and the Department of Justice, to hold contractors accountable and prevent willful violations of the law that affect public safety.”

Oregon administrative rules require employers to protect employees from falls when working at heights of 10 feet or more, and protect employees from falls when working six feet or above a lower level near open windows, doors, mezzanines, balconies, or walkways.

The typical Oregon OSHA penalty for a first-time violation ranges from $400 to $1,000 for a small employer and increases with each repeat violation. The maximum penalty for a repeat fall violation is $70,000.

 

OSHA Cites Louisiana Flavoring Manufacturer after Worker Severely Burned

After a worker was injured in an August 2013 chemical fire in Oakdale, Louisiana, OSHA has cited Carol Callahan, doing business as Natural Advantage, for 19 serious safety and health violations and has proposed $91,000 in penalties.

“Natural Advantage violated various OSHA standards that, when followed, can protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals,” said Dorinda Folse, OSHA’s area director in Baton Rouge. “Employers must find and fix hazards to ensure the safety and well-being of their workforce.”

OSHA’s Baton Rouge Area Office cited serious health violations regarding overexposure to methylene chloride, including failing to institute and maintain effective engineering controls and work practices to reduce airborne concentrations of methylene chloride below the permissible exposure limits; provide each worker with an appropriate respirator, as required by the methylene chloride standard; implement procedures to detect chemical leaks; and make medical surveillance available. Additionally, respiratory hazards were not evaluated and the respiratory program was not administered by appropriately trained personnel. The company was also issued a hazard alert letter for overexposing workers to airborne concentrations of methyl mercaptan that exceeded the established threshold limit values determined by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.

Safety violations include exposing workers to hazards of flammable liquids and reactive chemicals, including failure to ensure proper construction of a flammable storage room; ensure that flammable liquids, such as toluene and hexane, were appropriately dispensed with an approved pump or self-closing faucet; and ensure that water-reactive chemicals, such as butyryl chloride and diphosphorus pentasulfide, were not stored along with flammable liquids. Additionally, workers were not provided with training regarding flammable liquids and chemicals; an emergency response plan; and assured access to an emergency shower for potential exposure to sodium hydroxide and propionic acid.

Natural Advantage, which employs about 90 workers, began as a research laboratory that expanded into a chemical manufacturing facility for food and drink flavorings. Natural Advantage also operates a production facility in Lakeland, Florida.

Suspension of 13 AT&T Workers Prompts Lawsuit by US Labor Department

The US Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, which operates as AT&T, on behalf of 13 employees who received unpaid suspensions after reporting workplace injuries from 2011 to 2013. The lawsuit alleges the company violated the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The Department of Labor’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in Cleveland is litigating the case.

“It is against the law for employers to discipline or suspend employees for reporting injuries,” said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. “AT&T must understand that by discouraging workers from reporting injuries, it increases the likelihood of more workers being injured in the future. And the Labor Department will do everything in its power to prevent this type of retaliation.”

The complaint alleges that in 13 separate incidents, employees of AT&T were disciplined and given one- to three-day unpaid suspensions for reporting injuries that occurred on the job. The company alleged that each employee violated a corporate workplace safety standard; however, OSHA’s investigation found that the suspensions were a result of workers reporting their injuries.

Five of the employees in the suit are based in Columbus, Ohio; two in Brooklyn Heights; two in Canton; and one each in Akron, Cleveland, Gallipolis, and Uhrichsville.

 

Repeat Violator Joseph P. Cardillo & Sons Faces Fines of $144,400 for Cave-In Hazards

 Cardillo faces $144,400 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA’s Braintree Area Office that began August 6, 2013, in response to an anonymous complaint.

“The proposed fines reflect both the gravity of the hazards and that the employer knowingly refused to comply with using required safeguards,” said Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. “These workers could have been crushed and buried in seconds beneath tons of soil and debris, without any escape options. This risk is unacceptable, and this employer has been cited previously for the same hazards.”

Workers were installing water mains in a trench 6 feet, 8 inches deep with no cave-in protection, no ladder to exit, and they were exposed to falling debris that accumulated above the trench. As a result, OSHA issued two willful citations with $140,000 in fines for the cave-in and exit hazards, and one serious citation with a $4,400 fine for the debris hazard. The same willful violations were cited in December 2010 at a work site in Salem, New Hampshire.

 

 

Contractors Cited after Explosion Kills Worker at New York Wastewater Treatment Plant

Serious workplace safety violations were found in connection with the September 2013 explosion at the Canastota Wastewater Treatment Plant in Canastota, New York, that killed one worker and injured another. Joy Process Mechanical Inc., of East Syracuse and M. Hubbard Construction Inc., of Mottville were hired by the plant to replace piping inside a methane gas dome, a confined space. The Joy Process Mechanical worker was fatally burned in the explosion caused by welding he conducted inside the dome. A Hubbard Construction worker standing atop a stepladder opening to the confined space was injured in the explosion.

“This tragedy could have been prevented had basic safety precautions been implemented,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “Confined spaces and hazardous atmospheres pose dangerous risks to workers. Employers must provide the equipment and safeguards that prevent workers from getting hurt.”

Investigators from OSHA’s Syracuse Area Office found that both employers failed to provide necessary safeguards such as a meter to measure the presence of combustible gas and failed to train workers on the hazards associated with methane gas and confined spaces. The confined space also lacked adequate ventilation and a retrieval system for swift exits in an emergency. Hubbard Construction was also cited for ladder misuse and for using electrical equipment that had not been rated safe in a hazardous atmosphere.

Joy Process Mechanical was issued three serious citations with $14,700 in proposed fines and Hubbard Construction was issued seven serious citations with $31,020 in fines.

Amtech Southeast Cited for Amputation, Laceration Hazards

OSHA has cited Amtech Southeast Inc., for 15 safety and health violations with $50,000 in proposed penalties. After receiving a complaint concerning workplace hazards, OSHA initiated an inspection of the company’s manufacturing facility in Elmore, Alabama, in September 2013.

“The employer put workers at risk of serious injury or death by not protecting them from fire, explosion and other hazards,” said Joseph Roesler, OSHA’s area director in Mobile. “These deficiencies must be corrected immediately.”

OSHA’s findings include: workers faced amputation, laceration, and caught-in hazards; and were exposed to excessive noise over the permissible limit.

Twelve serious violations were cited and include the employer’s failure to ensure protection from fire/explosion hazards where PVC piping was used to transport compressed air; reduce compressed air for cleaning to less than 30 lb per square inch; and label and provide training on hazardous chemicals.

Three other-than-serious violations include failing to develop a respiratory protection program and an assessment of personal protective equipment. Additionally, the company did not document whether workers completed training to operate powered industrial trucks.

Amtech manufactures fiber-reinforced plastic components.

Dudley Lumber Company Cited for Serious Safety Violations; Nearly $107,000 in Proposed Penalties

OSHA has cited Dudley Lumber Company, Inc., for 26 safety and health violations following an August 2013 inspection at the company’s facility in Salem, Alabama. OSHA initiated the inspection as part of the agency’s national emphasis program on amputations and noise. The proposed penalties total $106,650.

“I am concerned by this employer’s lack of effort to protect workers from hazards, such as unguarded machinery, hearing damage and fire hazards,” said Joseph Roesler, OSHA’s area director in Mobile. “Earning a paycheck should not require exposure to risk of serious injury or death because an employer chose not to put worker safety first.”

Twenty-one serious violations involve the employer failing to provide workers with locks to prevent equipment startup while they were working in and around machinery; provide seat belts on powered industrial equipment and require their usage; and no emergency eyewash and body-wash stations for workers handling corrosive materials. Additionally, the employer exposed workers to noise in excess of the established limits and to amputation and struck-by hazards from unguarded equipment. 

Dudley Lumber operates saw and planer mills in Salem and Lafayette, Alabama, and employs approximately 130 workers. OSHA has conducted two inspections at the sawmill operations in Salem and Lafayette since 2004. In 2004, the company was cited with six serious violations and one other-than-serious violation, resulting in $7,200 in proposed penalties that have been paid.

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