The new process is an early resolution process that is to be used as part of a regional Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program. The ADR program offers whistleblower parties the opportunity to negotiate a settlement with the assistance of a neutral, confidential OSHA representative who has subject-matter expertise in whistleblower investigations.
“OSHA receives several thousand whistleblower complaints for investigation each year,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “The Alternative Dispute Resolution process can be a valuable alternative to the expensive and time consuming process of an investigation and litigation. It will provide whistleblower complainants and respondents the option of exploring voluntary resolution of their disputes outside of the traditional investigative process.”
OSHA piloted an ADR program in two of its regions from October 2012 to September 2013. The pilot proved that the early resolution ADR process is a successful method for helping parties to reach a mutual and voluntary outcome to their whistleblower cases. The pilot program demonstrated that having staff dedicated to facilitating settlement negotiations provides an efficient and effective service that is highly desired by complainants and respondents alike.
The success of the early resolution ADR process has resulted in the agency making it available to all of its regions. This directive does not prohibit OSHA whistleblower offices from offering complainants and respondents other alternative dispute resolution processes, such as third-party mediation.
New Exclusions for Solvent Recycling and Hazardous Secondary Materials
EPA’s new final rule on the definition of solid waste creates new opportunities for waste recycling outside the scope of the full hazardous waste regulations. This rule, which went into effect on July 13, 2015, streamlines the regulatory burden for wastes that are legitimately recycled.
The first of the two exclusions is an exclusion from the definition of solid waste for high-value solvents transferred from one manufacturer to another for the purpose of extending the useful life of the original solvent by keeping the materials in commerce to reproduce a commercial grade of the original solvent product.
The second, and more wide reaching of the two exclusions, is a revision of the existing hazardous secondary material recycling exclusion. This exclusion allows you to recycle, or send off-site for recycling, virtually any hazardous secondary material. Provided you meet the terms of the exclusion, the material will no longer be hazardous waste.
Learn how to take advantage of these exclusions at Environmental Resource Center’s live webcast where you will learn:
- Which of your materials qualify under the new exclusions
- What qualifies as a hazardous secondary material
- Which solvents can be remanufactured, and which cannot
- What is a tolling agreement
- What is legitimate recycling
- Generator storage requirements
- What documentation you must maintain
- Requirements for off-site shipments
- Training and emergency planning requirements
- If it is acceptable for the recycler to be outside the US
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on safety data sheets.
Houston RCRA and DOT Training
Charlotte RCRA, DOT, and Stormwater Training
Nashville RCRA and DOT Training
California Lists CMNP (Pyrazachlor) as Carcinogen
The listing of CMNP (pyrazachlor) is based on formal identification by the US EPA, an authoritative body, that the chemical causes cancer. The criteria used by OEHHA for the listing of chemicals under the “authoritative bodies” mechanism can be found in Title 27, Cal. Code of Regs., section 25306.
The publication of the notice initiated a public comment period that closed on July 27, 2015. OEHHA received no public comments on CMNP.
Lead Exposure from an E-Scrap Recycling Facility Can Transfer to the Home
Recycling of used electronics (e-waste or e-scrap) is an emerging area of concern as a source of occupational exposures among workers, and as a source of take-home exposures.
Ladder Safety App Extended
The first NIOSH smartphone app—the Ladder Safety app—is extending its reach to include stepladders, researchers said at last month’s National Occupational Injury Research Symposium. Since its release in 2013, the Ladder Safety app has helped thousands of users set up and use extension ladders more safely to prevent falls.
The new stepladder module will be available at the end of this year to help you use the most common four-legged portable ladders more safely. The new module will be based on the existing ladder safety standards and regulations and will provide easy-to-use, graphic-oriented safety tools, checklists, and guidelines.
With more than 40,000 downloads in the past 2 years, the NIOSH Ladder Safety app continues to help improve the safety of workers using extension ladders. In addition to its ladder-positioning tool for setting the ladder at the optimal angle, the app contains general ladder safety, inspection and selection guidelines, as well as accessory information. The Ladder Safety app is available free, in English or Spanish, for Apple and Android smartphones.
NIOSH Seeks Nominations to Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health
One of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Federal Agency partners, the Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP) in the US Department of Labor, is seeking nominations for its new Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health for Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). Nominations are due by September 4, 2015.
The new board will advise the Secretary of Labor on technical aspects of the EEOICPA program, with respect to:
- The US Department of Labor’s Site Exposure Matrices (SEM) database, which is used in establishing causal links between a vast array of toxic substances, diseases that could be related to the substances, and location and job categories of covered workers
- Medical guidance for claims examiners under the Energy program, with respect to the weighing of the medical evidence of claimants
- Evidentiary requirements for claims related to lung disease
- The work of industrial hygienists, staff physicians, and consulting physicians, and their reports, to ensure quality, objectivity, and consistency
OWCP notes that the Advisory Board is mandated by Section 3687 of EEOICPA and will consist of 12-15 members to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor. Membership will be balanced between the scientific, medical, and claimant communities.
Rock Wool Manufacturing Co. and C & C Personnel LLC Expose Workers to Amputation Hazards
An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
Rock Wood Manufacturing Co. was fined $64,350, and C & C. Personnel LLC was fined $21,600.
“Any time a worker is exposed to machinery without proper guarding is one more time that worker is in jeopardy of losing a limb or even a life. Failing to adhere to this commonsense safety requirement will not be tolerated,” said Joann Figueroa, OSHA’s area director in the Houston North office. “It is the employer’s responsibility to find and fix hazards in the workplace.”
23-Year-Old Worker Loses Part of Finger in Machine
A 23-year-old machine operator making nuts and bolts suffered a partial amputation of his right middle finger when it was caught in a machine at a Painesville manufacturer. He had only t
A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. The agency cited the company for similar hazards in May 2013 at the same facility.
“This preventable mishap has personal and professional consequences for a 23-year-old. OSHA had inspected the Dyson facility seven times since 2006 and repeatedly cited the company for machine safety procedure violations,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland. “Since this incident occurred the company has reached out to OSHA and is working to make significant changes in their safety and health management system.”
OSHA inspectors found the company also failed to train workers on safety procedures, or to install machine guards on belts, pulleys, and presses.
Dyson supplies parts for the US Navy and manufactures large-diameter fastening systems used in the wind power, transportation, mining, nuclear power, oil, and gas industries. The company began operation in 1884.
Hannaford Supermarkets Agrees to Prevent Musculoskeletal Injuries for Warehouse Employees in Maine and New York
Before you get to choose products in the supermarket, workers in warehouses nationwide pack bulk quantities of merchandise onto wooden pallets and load them onto delivery trucks. The nature of this work puts the people who do it at risk for serious sprains, strains, and other musculoskeletal injuries. One supermarket chain, Maine-based Hannaford Supermarkets, has chosen to address the issue.
Hannaford initially contested its citations, but has now reached a settlement with the department in which the company agrees to institute ongoing and effective worker protection safeguards at both distribution centers.
“Many jobs in grocery and other warehouses require significant amounts of manual material handling. If employers do not take steps to address musculoskeletal hazards, workers will be hurt,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Hannaford is investing in preventing worker injuries. We urge other employers to follow its example. This action is good for workers and for a company’s bottom line.”
Under the settlement, Hannaford will do the following:
- Engage a qualified ergonomist to assess both warehouses and prepare a report with recommendations addressing each of the hazards identified by OSHA
- Have an employee-manager ergonomics committee at each facility participate in the process and make recommendations to the ergonomist and the company
- Ensure that employees of contractors who perform similar work in the warehouses have access to the same protective measures as Hannaford employees
- Request those contractors to implement the ergonomic work practices recommended by the ergonomist
- Pay $9,750 in fines
Voss Industries LLC Fined $59,000 for Exposing Workers to Amputation
OSHA’s Cleveland Office issued 12 serious and one other-than-serious safety violations to Voss Industries, LLC, of Cleveland, Ohio, an aircraft component and product manufacturer.
The serious violations include:
- Failing to protect workers from operating parts of power presses, gear assemblies, and riveting machines
“Each year hundreds of workers are injured because manufacturers choose to ignore safety requirements,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland. “Voss Industries has a responsibility to conduct routine inspections of equipment and ensure the use of safety mechanisms to protect workers from unnecessary injuries on the job.”
Proposed penalties total $59,000.
Peco Pallet Inc. Fails to Protect Employees from Noise Hazards
Peco Pallet, Inc., a pallet repair and rental company, located at 1104 North Park Drive in Hazelton, Pennsylvania was inspected on August 14, 2015.
Proposed penalties total $58,500.
“Exposure to high levels of noise can cause permanent hearing loss that cannot be corrected by surgery or a hearing aid. It also contributes to workplace accidents and injuries by making it difficult for employees to hear warning signals,” said Mark Stelmack, OSHA’s area director in Wilkes-Barre. “Peco Pallet should take immediate steps to reduce noise levels to prevent its workers from experiencing these avoidable health effects.”
A & W Roofing Exposes Workers to Fall Hazards
OSHA opened an investigation of the contractor after observing workers exposed to fall hazards while conducting residential roofing work on June 3 in Strongsville, Ohio.
The company was also cited for failing to provide protective helmets and eye protection to workers.
The company has been cited for failing to provide fall protection in May 2014 and March 2015.
“A & W Roofing continues to refuse to provide fall protection to its workers or cooperate with OSHA in away,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s Area Director in Cleveland. “A worker can be severely injured or killed in a fall in mere seconds. Falls remain the leading cause of death in the construction industry. It is unacceptable for a company to fail in its legal obligation to protect workers on the job.”
Proposed penalties total $47,000.
OSHA to Hold Monthly Meetings of National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health Temporary Workers Work Group
The monthly meetings are scheduled for the following dates in 2015: August 24, September 21, October 16, and November 20.
The workgroup will meet to continue discussion of workplace safety and health issues regarding temporary workers and develop recommendations for NACOSH’s consideration. This includes developing recommended best practice language for protecting temporary workers as part of employers’ injury and illness prevention programs.
The monthly meetings will begin at 11 a.m. ET, in C-5515, Conference Room C, at the US Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210. The meetings are open to the public.
Indiana Department of Labor Honors Kimball Office-Salem as a Leader in Workplace Safety and Health Excellence
Kimball Office-Salem, located in Salem, Indiana, has achieved certification in the Indiana Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) as a “STAR” site. Indiana VPP sites are recognized as leaders in workplace safety and health and commended for their success in proactively protecting Hoosier workers. Kimball Office-Salem is a manufacturing site for Kimball Office, a business unit of Jasper, Indiana based Kimball International.
“VPP certification is an achievement an organization and its employees work very hard to obtain,” said Indiana Department of Labor (IDOL) Commissioner Rick J. Ruble. “The management, employees and staff at Kimball Office-Salem have recognized the value of a safe and healthy workplace and have worked together to attain it. The Indiana Department of Labor is proud to be a partner with Kimball Office-Salem for worker safety and health excellence,” Ruble added.
To participate in VPP, a company must develop, implement, and maintain an exemplary worker safety and health management system and complete a comprehensive workplace safety and health audit conducted by IDOL staff and safety professionals from a pool of Special Government Employees (SGEs). Additionally, the site’s workplace injury and illness rates must be below the national industry average for its respective industry. To date, fewer than 80 Indiana workplaces have achieved VPP certification.
Kimball Office-Salem employs more than 200 employees that manufacture wood office furniture. The site has been successful in reducing workplace injuries and illnesses. Kimball Office-Salem’s most recent workplace injury and illness rates are 83% below the national average for its industry classification.
Barton Malow, MIOSHA Sign Partnership to Protect Workers During Holland Energy Park Project
Barton Malow Construction Services, the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) signed a formal partnership with the goal of zero worker injuries, accidents, and near misses during the construction of a gas turbine electric power generation facility in Holland.
The facility is a two-on-one combined cycle power plant producing electricity from two combustion turbines and one steam turbine, which are connected to individual generators. It will harness the exhaust gasses produced from the combustion turbines in the heat recovery steam generators to power the steam turbine, creating additional electricity and making the facility more economical. The plant will generate approximately 125 megawatts of electricity—enough to power approximately 125,000 homes. The plant’s design also allows the hot water byproduct to be used in the pre-existing snowmelt infrastructure in downtown Holland.
The facility resembles more than the average power plant. With a heavy emphasis on the architectural design and positive community influence, when complete, the plant will be deemed an energy park.
Construction officially began in February of 2015 and is expected to be completed in early 2017.
“MIOSHA congratulates Barton Malow for its elevated standards of safety and health,” said MIOSHA Director Martha Yoder. “The agency is proud to partner with a company so dedicated to providing the highest level of worker protection on the construction of this new facility.”
Signing partners included Yoder and Barton Malow Vice President Joe Benvenuto, West Michigan Building Trades President Mark Mangione, and representatives from M.J. Electric and Progressive Mechanical, Inc.
“Partnership lies deep in our core values at Barton Malow,” said Benvenuto. “The Holland Power Plant Project is a model example of what can be accomplished through true partnership and collaboration. To date, we have had great success with partnering with our owner, the local community, our local union trades, and our suppliers and subcontractors. This MIOSHA partnership provides the most important piece of collaboration, which is to keep our people safe. Barton Malow looks forward to a successful project and partnership.”
Partnerships are an important emphasis in the MIOSHA Strategic Plan to improve the health and safety of workers through cooperative relationships.
The safety and health of the construction project’s employees is fundamental to this partnership with MIOSHA. The leadership of Barton Malow, partnering contractors, LARA and MIOSHA are aligned and committed to achieving the objective of worker protection by providing a workplace with an effective safety management system that is hazard-free.
All partners agree to commit their leadership, time, and resources to achieve this valuable goal. Partnering employers include:
- Progressive Mechanical
- M.J. Electric
- Motor City Electric
- Ideal Contracting
Supporting partners also include the Holland Board of Public Works, Zachry Engineering, and Progressive AE.
Key elements of the site-specific safety and health program for reconstruction include:
- Mandatory attendance to a project safety orientation
- All crane operators will be Certified Crane Operators (CCO) as recognized by National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) and other recognized certification agencies
- Mandatory pre-work substance abuse testing
- Mandatory post-accident substance abuse testing
- Pre-task plans are to be completed prior to shift and used to document any changing conditions
- Contractors shall provide a competent and/or qualified person for work operations as identified by a MIOSHA standards and/or Barton Malow
- Barton Malow and the partnering employers on this project will uniformly enforce a disciplinary action plan for employees who fail to work in a safe manner. Automatic dismissal from this project shall result from any willful or deliberate violation of safety rules or safety policies and procedures
“The MIOSHA program is dedicated to partnering with employers to persistently advance Michigan’s workplace safety and health,” said Martha Yoder. “These partnerships offer employers a voluntary, cooperative relationship with the agency to help eliminate serious hazards and achieve significant safety and health management goals.”
The partnership does not preclude MIOSHA from enforcing its mission of addressing complaints, fatalities, or serious accidents, nor does it infringe on the rights of employees to report workplace hazards.
Barton Malow Company provides construction services for a variety of delivery methods, as well as capabilities to increase safety, quality and productivity of its projects through the ability to self-perform trades and technology. It leads North America as one of the top performing, full service engineering, procurement and construction contractors in market specialties such as energy and industrial. Within the energy market, Barton Malow builds new generation, renewable and air quality control systems.
Barton Malow also builds innovative solutions through engaging cutting-edge technologies, like building information modeling, augmented reality, jobsite connectivity and cloud collaboration applied to our work every day. Its team includes 1,800 people throughout 12 offices and is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan.
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