Less than a year after unveiling it with fanfare, OSHA has shelved the national effort to strengthen industry tracking of on-the-job injuries and illnesses.
On September 30, 2009, OSHA initiated its much anticipated “Illness and Injury Recordkeeping National Emphasis Program” to “test OSHA’s ability to effectively target establishments to identify under-recording of occupational injuries and illnesses.” On August 4, 2010, OSHA released figures to PEER under a Freedom of Information Act request summarizing what had been accomplished. One week later, OSHA confirmed that it had suspended the recordkeeping program to re-adjust “its targeting criteria.”
During the 10 months the recordkeeping program was in effect OSHA conducted only 142 inspections (OSHA figures claim 153 inspections but PEER found 11 were double-counted) in a questionable pattern:
- High-hazard industries such as refineries, pipelines, chemical plants, paper mills, and drilling rigs were completely overlooked. Only one meatpacking plant was inspected and four poultry processing plants received brief compliance visits;
- Small businesses were targeted. Only 1 in 5 inspected businesses had more than 100 workers; and there were huge geographic gaps, with inspections in barely more than half the states. More than a third (35%) of all inspections took place in just one state, Oregon.
- Despite this uneven effort, the inspections found OSHA violations at 70% of the establishments and recordkeeping violations at more than half (55%).
“If this is what happens when OSHA declares a national emphasis then its business as usual posture must be scary,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, pointing out that some of the current OSHA leadership concede its Injury and Illness data are unreliable due to systemic employer underreporting. “Without accurate recordkeeping, OSHA will keep flying blind, alerted to problems only by the next fatality.”
Last year, OSHA fired its top recordkeeping expert and chief critic, Bob Whitmore, over an acerbic confrontation with agency management. Whitmore testified before Congress that absurdly low injury numbers give a false impression that OSHA is effective in reducing worker morbidity. PEER is representing Whitmore in a whistleblower challenge to his termination.
“Whichever OSHA managers designed this National Emphasis Program should not be allowed near its successor,” added Ruch, noting that OSHA has issued press releases about large fines it has issued for recordkeeping violations. “Isolated, splashy enforcement actions are no substitute for a coherent national program that effectively induces industry compliance.”
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OSHA Reaches Out to Prevent Distracted Driving
In conjunction with Drive Safely Work Week, OSHA announced an education campaign calling on employers to prevent work-related distracted driving, with a special focus on prohibiting texting while driving.
“Year after year, the leading cause of worker fatalities is motor vehicle crashes,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “There’s no question that new communications technologies are helping businesses work smarter and faster. But getting work done faster does not justify the dramatically increased risk of injury and death that comes with texting while driving.”
Part of OSHA’s education outreach is a new Web page aimed at those whose workplaces are the cars, vans, and trucks that deliver the goods and services on which the nation’s economy depends, and their employers. This online resource will inform workers of their rights, and employers of their responsibility to provide safe workplaces, and offer best practices and policies on achieving safe workplaces in motor vehicles.
An open letter to employers, also posted online, requests that companies examine their policies and practices, informs them that they have a legal obligation to prohibit workplace hazards such as texting while driving, and asks them to immediately remove any incentives that may motivate employees to text while behind the wheel.
“OSHA’s message to all companies whose employees drive on the job is straightforward: It is your responsibility and legal obligation to have a clear, unequivocal and enforced policy against texting while driving,” said Michaels. “Companies are in violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act if, by policy or practice, they require texting while driving, or create incentives that encourage or condone it, or they structure work so that texting is a practical necessity for workers to carry out their jobs. OSHA will investigate worker complaints, and employers who violate the law will be subject to citations and penalties.”
Last month, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a partnership with U.S. DOT to combat distracted driving. Prohibiting texting while driving is also the subject of an executive order signed by President Barack Obama last year for federal employees and the subject of rulemaking by DOT.
DOT reports that in 2009, more than 5,400 people died in crashes linked to distraction and thousands more were injured. In particular, texting while driving has become such a prominent hazard that 30 states now ban text messaging for all drivers.
This year, distracted driving is the theme of the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety’s annual campaign. During “Drive Safely Work Week,” which was October 4–8 and throughout the year, OSHA, DOT, and other partners invite employers to help prevent their workers from being injured and killed on the road.
Consumers to Get Household Cleaner Chemical Info, but Questions of How and When Remain
New York State is set to begin enforcing the state’s household cleaner ingredient right-to-know law—the only one of its kind in the country. New York has taken an important first step, meeting with public health, consumer, and environmental advocates and industry groups to discuss how and when consumers will get access to this crucial ingredient information.
Public interest groups are backing a swift timetable for ingredient disclosure as well as a convenient information hub for consumers to search and compare chemical ingredients among different brands and products.
“Consumers should not have to guess what is in their cleaning products,” said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Technical Policy at Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. “People trying to avoid allergens and harmful chemicals need to be able to get this critical information and one way would be through a ‘one-stop shopping’ information hub. We hope New York State will help make this the industry norm.”
“Full ingredient disclosure is a critical step toward ensuring safer, healthier products,” said Kathy Curtis, policy director from Clean New York. “The sooner we get this information to the public, the sooner consumers in New York and around the country will benefit.”
In letters sent to the companies and public health, environmental, and consumer groups in September, 2010, DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said that the State would begin requiring companies to disclose chemical information, as required by a set of 34-year-old regulations.
“This is a long-overdue protection that consumers need and deserve,” said New York State United Teachers Vice President Kathleen Donahue.
Independent studies show a link between many chemicals commonly found in cleaning products and health effects ranging from nerve damage to hormone disruption.
“Everyone knows somebody with breast cancer,” said Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition President Karen Miller. “While researchers are connecting the dots between toxic exposure found in products we use every day, regulatory agencies must step up the pace to provide consumers with the right to know what they are bringing into their homes.”
Attendees at New York’s recent meeting included representatives from Procter and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Arm & Hammer parent company Church & Dwight, Lysol-maker Reckitt Benckiser, American Chemistry Council, American Cleaning Institute, Fragrance Materials Association, and the Consumer Specialty Products Association. Representing public interest groups are Clean New York, Consumers Union, Earthjustice, Environmental Advocates of New York, Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, Inc., Learning Disabilities Association of New York State, Prevention Is the Cure, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Silent Spring Institute, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE).
The last time these groups and companies were all in one place, it was in the courtroom. Last year, on behalf of WVE, Environmental Advocates of New York, New York Public Interest Research Group, Riverkeeper, Sierra Club, and American Lung Association in New York, the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice sued household cleaning giants Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Church and Dwight, and Reckitt-Benckiser for failing to submit required semi-annual ingredient reports. A judge dismissed the lawsuit this summer without ruling on the merits of the groups’ claims. During the court case, the companies said they would file disclosure reports if asked to do so by the State.
“By making the companies come clean about what is in their products, New York State is initiating an age of greater transparency and is empowering people to protect themselves and their families,” said Earthjustice Managing Attorney Deborah Goldberg, who will be handling a likely appeal of the case against the cleaning product companies, which have yet to file any reports.
New York’s policy move could have national implications, as momentum builds here and abroad for toxic chemical reform. Congress is considering an overhaul to U.S. chemical policy that would require the chemical industry to prove the safety of a chemical before it could be used in products. Internationally, companies are preparing to comply with a similar European law (known as REACH) already taking effect.
“It’s high time that New York State enforce the law and protect consumers by holding cleaning product manufacturers accountable for the dangerous chemicals in their products,” said Saima Anjam of Environmental Advocates of New York.
Cleaning product manufacturers are taking notice of the changing climate toward toxics in products. In response to a letter sent by the groups involved in the court case, several companies, including the California-based Sunshine Makers, Inc. (manufacturers of Simple Green products), filed reports with the State for the first time. Three weeks after the disclosure lawsuit was filed, household cleaner manufacturing giant SC Johnson announced that it would begin disclosing the chemical ingredients in its products through product labels and a website.
“We are incredibly pleased that the New York DEC is requesting this information from product makers. Consumers have a right to know what they are being exposed from cleaning products,” said Erin Switalski, executive director of Women’s Voices for the Earth. “Making product ingredient information easily accessible to the public is a critical step towards protecting the health and well-being of all consumers.”
Studies show links between chemicals in common household cleaners and respiratory irritation, asthma, and allergies. Occupational exposures to some ethylene glycol ethers, often used as solvents in cleaning products, are associated with red blood cell damage, reproductive system damage, and birth defects. Some solvents in cleaning products are also toxic to the nervous system.
“New York’s cleaning product right-to-know policy promises to be great news for workers,” said Joel Shufro, Executive Director of New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. “More transparency about these chemicals will lead to safer cleaning products overall. That means safer working conditions for the people who keep our schools, hospitals, and office buildings clean.”
“Many chemicals in cleaning products and air fresheners are endocrine disruptors which are suspected of having links to cancer, and which alter mammary gland development in animal studies. The public has the right to know if some of the potentially harmful chemicals of concern, such as alkyphenols, terpenes, benzene, some antimicrobial agents and certain synthetic musks are in the products they use,” said Capital Region Action Against Breast Cancer! Program Coordinator Margaret Roberts.
“The State of New York’s commitment to full disclosure of chemical ingredients is a significant step,” said Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter Conservation Program Manager Roger Downs. “Now New Yorkers can make educated choices about the household products that they use.”
“With a New York law already in place to protect children at schools from the toxic chemicals in cleaning products, the enforcement of this disclosure requirement will give parents the opportunity to make their homes as safe as schools,” Grassroots Environmental Education Executive Director Patti Wood.
MSHA Issues 11 Closure Orders During Surprise Coal Mine Inspection
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued 11 closure orders to Elk Run Coal Co.’s Seng Creek Powellton Mine due to federal inspectors discovering that the mine was taking illegal cuts into the coal seam, operating without proper ventilation, and not completing required air readings, which are needed to assure there is sufficient air flow to prevent mine explosions. The mine is owned by Massey Energy Co., and is located in Boone County, West Virginia.
“This week we mark the six-month anniversary of the devastating explosion at Upper Big Branch Mine,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “Rather than learn from this tragedy, there are mine operators that continue the ‘catch me if you can’ tactics, ignoring basic mining laws, and placing their workers at great risk of injury, illness and mine explosions. They know that MSHA cannot be at the mines all the time, and miners pay the ultimate price.
“While MSHA will use the full measure of the law to deal with those who persist in refusing to follow the safety and health regulations, the results of the Seng Creek inspection only reinforce the need for new legislation to halt these kinds of practices,” Main added.
Following up on reports that the mine operator had been taking deep cuts, an MSHA supervisor and two inspectors arrived at the mine on Tuesday, September 28, in the middle of the evening shift. The supervisor immediately informed mine personnel not to notify miners underground of their arrival and that they could be cited if they refused to comply. Inspectors discovered the illegal extended cuts into the coal on the No. 1 section. Although deep cuts can greatly boost productivity, they also can increase float coal dust accumulations underground. Thus, such cuts must first be approved by MSHA.
In addition, many areas of the working section were without adequate ventilation while these excessive cuts were being taken, exposing miners to the risk of explosions and black lung. The mine foreman, who is directly responsible for miners’ health and safety and complying with regulatory requirements, admitted he had not been taking air readings during the work shift. Furthermore, he allowed fly pads (backup curtains), which control the ventilation, to be rolled up against the mine roof ,which short circuits the mine ventilation to allow easier access of mining equipment. In one particular area, suspended coal dust was so thick it was difficult to determine the proximity of the massive continuous mining machine.
Since January 2009, the Seng Creek Powellton Mine has been issued 264 citations, orders and safeguards. The 11 orders and one citation issued last week ultimately were abated through additional training and installation of ventilation controls and roof supports. The citation was for the operator’s failure to ensure miners wear safety glasses when there is a danger of flying particles.
OSHA Fines Amgraph Packaging $137,000 for Fire, Electrical, and Mechanical Hazards
OSHA issued a total of 60 citations to Amgraph Packaging Inc., which manufactures and distributes packaging for food and tobacco products at its plant in Versailles, Connecticut. The company faces a total of $137,250 in proposed fines.
“Our inspections identified a broad cross-section of electrical, mechanical, chemical, fire and fall hazards throughout the workplace,” said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA’s acting area director in Hartford. “These hazards were compounded by inadequate recording of workplace injuries, which can mask conditions that could injure or sicken workers. For the safety and health of its employees, Amgraph must correct these conditions and take effective steps to ensure that they do not occur again.”
Specifically, OSHA found that workers at the plant who responded to structural fires were not trained to do so, fire extinguishers were not checked and tested, fire doors were not kept in proper working order at all times, spark-producing tools were used to open containers of flammable liquids, and goggles and emergency eyewash and shower facilities were not provided for employees working with corrosives. Investigators also found inadequate chemical labeling and hazard communication training, fall hazards from uncovered floor holes and missing guardrails, lack of specific lockout/tagout procedures to prevent accidental energy start-up, several instances of unguarded moving machine parts, numerous electrical hazards, and improper recording of on-the-job injuries and illnesses.
Amgraph was issued 46 serious citations with $129,150 in proposed penalties and 14 other-than-serious citations with $8,100 in fines. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
OSHA Issues $90,000 Fine for Failing to Correct Previous Hazard
OSHA is proposing $90,000 in fines against Baby’s Dream Furniture of Buena Vista, Georgia, for allegedly failing to correct a serious workplace violation. The company manufactures wood household furniture.
During an inspection at the plant in May, OSHA found the employer failed to conduct training or evaluations for workers operating propane-propelled forklift trucks in the company’s warehouse. This hazard had been identified as a violation during a November 2009 OSHA inspection.
“OSHA will not tolerate or ignore the company’s failure to provide a safe workplace for its workers,” said Andre Richards, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-West Area Office.
Briggs & Stratton Corp. Fined $78,000 Following Worker Injury
OSHA is proposing $78,000 in penalties against Briggs & Stratton Corp., in McDonough, Georgia, for nine safety and health violations following a worker being injured.
In April, an employee sustained thermal and chemical burns when he stepped off a platform into a tank while repairing a wash line. The tank contained hot caustic chemicals The company is being cited with one serious safety violation for allowing the platform above the chemical tank to have open sides without a railing or guards.
“If the proper safety precautions had been taken by management, this injury could have been prevented,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure all aspects of OSHA standards are followed.”
Briggs & Stratton is also being cited with one willful and six additional serious safety violations, along with one serious health violation. The willful citation with a $55,000 proposed penalty is due to the company exposing employees to danger by failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures to control hazardous energy. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
Serious safety violations include exposing employees to amputation hazards by failing to install machine guards; electrical hazards including improper use of electrical equipment, improper electrical connections and making electrical equipment inaccessible for maintenance; unused openings in cabinets, boxes, and fittings that were not effectively closed; and material data sheets on hazardous chemicals that were not readily available to employees. The serious health citation was issued because the employer did not provide training to employees on hazards associated with the specific chemicals being used in the plant.
OSHA Cites Paper Mill After Worker Death
OSHA has issued Norampac Industries Inc., repeat and serious safety violations following the May 12 death of a worker at its Niagara Falls, New York, paper mill. The worker was crushed when he became caught between a fixed metal barrier and a large paper roll that was moving on a conveyor.
“Our inspection found that the area where the moving paper roll and the barrier intersected lacked guarding to prevent employees from being caught between the two objects,” said Arthur Dube, OSHA’s area director in Buffalo. “Proper and effective machine guarding is essential to protecting workers against serious injury or death.”
OSHA also identified other hazardous conditions that were not related to the fatality. These included lack of eye and face protection for workers performing voltage testing on live electrical circuits; unmarked and painted-over electrical disconnects; and not ensuring that confined space entry supervisors could verify that rescue services were available and able to be contacted in the event of a confined space emergency.
As a result of its inspection, OSHA issued the company two repeat citations with $70,000 in proposed fines for lacking machine guarding and eye and face protection. The repeat citations stem from violations found in 2009 for similar hazards at the company’s Thompson, Connecticut, manufacturing plant.
Two serious citations with $5,000 in fines were issued for the remaining items.
“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.
Targeted Inspection Identifies 34 Violations, $83,000 Fine
OSHA has cited The Fountainhead Group Inc., of New York Mills, New York, for 34 serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The company, which manufactures agricultural hand sprayers for consumers, faces a total of $83,650 in proposed fines following a comprehensive safety inspection conducted under OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program.
“This inspection identified a broad cross-section of hazards which, if uncorrected, expose employees to potential falls, electric shock, crushing, burns or machinery injuries,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “The employer must take and maintain effective corrective action for the safety of workers at this plant.”
Specifically, the company was cited for failing to inspect and rate the lifting capacity of overhead hoists; unlock exits and mark exit doors; mark exit aisles and passageways; guard overhead storage areas; provide safe access to elevated work locations; properly maintain paint spray booths; provide adequate personal protective equipment; develop lockout/tagout procedures and training; provide fire extinguisher training; guard moving machine parts; maintain safety devices on presses; guard, maintain, and ground electrical equipment; and develop a chemical hazard communication program.
“One means of eliminating hazards such as these is for employers to establish a safety and health 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.
OSHA Cites Trenching Company for Safety Violations after Worker Fatality
OSHA has cited A. Bagnoli and Sons Inc., a water, sewer, and utility excavation company located in Poland, Ohio, with four alleged willful and serious safety violations after one worker was killed and another seriously injured. The incident occurred when part of a 17-foot deep by 65-foot long trench caved in on April 7, in Hudson, Ohio, trapping the two workers for more than six hours.
“Cave-in accidents are a leading cause of worker fatalities during excavations, and this was a completely avoidable accident had the company followed all the required OSHA standards. Employees were not adequately protected from cave-ins while working in trenches that reached up to 17 feet deep, and they had no safe way to get out of the trench in case of emergency,” said Rob Medlock, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland, Ohio. “Company representatives are well aware of OSHA safety requirements while excavating but chose to ignore them, thus putting their workers in unnecessary danger.”
OSHA cited A. Bagnoli and Sons with two alleged willful violations for failing to provide proper cave-in protection shields at the excavation site, and failing to provide employees with a safe egress while entering and exiting a trench.
Additionally, the company was cited for two serious citations with proposed penalties of $4,200 for allowing employees to work under loads lifted by digging equipment and failing to keep excavated materials at least 2 feet from the edge of the excavation area. Total proposed fines equal $140,000.
In 1989, A. Bagnoli and Sons was issued one serious citation for a lack of proper trenching protective equipment and a second serious citation for lack of required personal protective equipment.
OSHA fines Gleason Construction $135,800 for Cave-in Hazards
OSHA has issued Gleason Construction Co. Inc., in Holland, Ohio, six citations for exposing workers to trench cave-ins hazards at two different excavation worksites. The citations carry total penalties of $135,800.
OSHA initiated two separate inspections, one in April and one in May, as part of OSHA’s National Trenching and Excavation Emphasis Program. The agency cited Gleason Construction Co. Inc., with three alleged willful violations carrying proposed fines of $119,000 for failing to properly install cave-in protection shields according to the manufacturer’s specifications and recommendations; provide employees with safe egress while entering and exiting a trench; and ensure not more than 2 feet of material was excavated below a protective shield system.
“Cave-ins are a leading cause of worker injuries and fatalities during excavations,” said Jule Hove, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “This company is well aware of the risks and OSHA’s safety requirements, but chose to ignore them.”
Additionally, the company was cited for two serious citations with proposed penalties of $8,400 for failing to prevent falling and rolling debris from striking employees working in a trench, and to ensure workers are protected against cave-ins while entering and exiting trenches. The company also received one repeat serious violation with proposed penalties of $8,400 for failure to ensure safe egress from the trench.
Since 1986, Gleason Construction has been inspected on 26 other occasions. The previous inspections resulted in 17 serious, one willful, and eight other-than-serious citations, which included violations for cave-in protection, ladders, failing to follow manufacturer’s recommendations, competent person deficiencies, falling loads and material, vehicular traffic issues, and defective rigging.
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