OSHA Targets High-hazard Worksites for Inspection

 

The SST program is OSHA’s main programmed inspection plan for non-construction workplaces that have 40 or more workers. Establishments are randomly selected for inspection from an initial list of 4,100 manufacturing, non-manufacturing, and nursing and personal care facilities. The plan focuses on several variables such as the number of injury and illness cases and number of days a worker has to stay away from work, or the number of workers who received job transfers or work restrictions due to injury or illness.

“Our goal is to prevent worker injuries and illnesses and save lives,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels. “The Site Specific Targeting program helps OSHA focus its enforcement resources to high-risk employers who are endangering their workers’ health and safety.”

In addition to SST, OSHA implements both national and local emphasis inspection programs to target high-risk hazards and industries. 

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A New Order for CPR, Spelled C-A-B

 

Recommending that chest compressions be the first step for lay and professional rescuers to revive victims of sudden cardiac arrest, the association said the A-B-Cs (Airway-Breathing-Compressions) of CPR should now be changed to C-A-B (Compressions-Airway-Breathing).

“For more than 40 years, CPR training has emphasized the ABCs of CPR, which instructed people to open a victim’s airway by tilting their head back, pinching the nose and breathing into the victim’s mouth, and only then giving chest compressions,” said Michael Sayre, M.D., co-author of the guidelines and chairman of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) Committee. “This approach was causing significant delays in starting chest compressions, which are essential for keeping oxygen-rich blood circulating through the body. Changing the sequence from A-B-C to C-A-B for adults and children allows all rescuers to begin chest compressions right away.”

In previous guidelines, the association recommended looking, listening, and feeling for normal breathing before starting CPR. Now, compressions should be started immediately on anyone who is unresponsive and not breathing normally.

All victims in cardiac arrest need chest compressions. In the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest, victims will have oxygen remaining in their lungs and bloodstream, so starting CPR with chest compressions can pump that blood to the victim’s brain and heart sooner. Research shows that rescuers who started CPR with opening the airway took 30 critical seconds longer to begin chest compressions than rescuers who began CPR with chest compressions.

The change in the CPR sequence applies to adults, children, and infants, but excludes newborns. Other recommendations, based mainly on research published since the last AHA resuscitation guidelines in 2005:

• During CPR, rescuers should give chest compressions a little faster, at a rate of at least 100 times a minute.
• Rescuers should push deeper on the chest, compressing at least two inches in adults and children and 1.5 inches in infants.
• Between each compression, rescuers should avoid leaning on the chest to allow it to return to its starting position.
• Rescuers should avoid stopping chest compressions and avoid excessive ventilation.
• All 9-1-1 centers should assertively provide instructions over the telephone to get chest compressions started when cardiac arrest is suspected.

“Sudden cardiac arrest claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year in the United States, and the American Heart Association’s guidelines have been used to train millions of people in lifesaving techniques,” said Ralph Sacco, M.D., president of the American Heart Association. “Despite our success, the research behind the guidelines is telling us that more people need to do CPR to treat victims of sudden cardiac arrest, and that the quality of CPR matters, whether it’s given by a professional or non-professional rescuer.”

Since 2008, the American Heart Association has recommended that untrained bystanders use Hands-Only CPR—CPR without breaths—for an adult victim who suddenly collapses. The steps to Hands-Only CPR are simple: call 9-1-1 and push hard and fast on the center of the chest until professional help or an AED arrives.

Key guidelines recommendations for healthcare professionals:

• Effective teamwork techniques should be learned and practiced regularly.
• Professional rescuers should use quantitative waveform capnography—the monitoring and measuring of carbon dioxide output—to confirm intubation and monitor CPR quality.
• Therapeutic hypothermia, or cooling, should be part of an overall interdisciplinary system of care after resuscitation from cardiac arrest.
• Atropine is no longer recommended for routine use in managing and treating pulseless electrical activity (PEA) or asystole.
• Pediatric advanced life support (PALS) guidelines provide new information about resuscitating infants and children with certain congenital heart diseases and pulmonary hypertension, and emphasize organizing care around two-minute periods of uninterrupted CPR.
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• The American Heart Association established the first resuscitation guidelines in 1966.

Ten Agencies Focus on Import Safety & Work Together to Protect the Public from Unsafe Imports

Agency heads and other senior leaders from 10 federal agencies met last week at the Interagency Import Safety Conference to focus on efforts to protect the health and safety of the American consumer and the environment from unsafe imports.

Participants included executives from the EPA; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Consumer Product Safety Commission; Food and Drug Administration; Food Safety and Inspection Service; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; National Marine Fisheries Service; and Department of Homeland Security agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency leaders affirmed their commitment to import safety by agreeing to six key principles of import safety, providing a foundation for further collaboration and cooperation among the agencies charged with protecting American consumers from unsafe imports. The principles call for:

1. The creation of an interagency forum of senior representatives dedicated to import safety cooperation.
2. Continued commitment to information sharing across federal agencies involved in import safety concerns.
3. Enhanced efforts to help the private sector comply with import safety requirements.
4. Development of common systems to exchange information.
5. Strong, consistent enforcement measures to deter imports of unsafe products.
6. The use of risk-management strategies to streamline lawful trade.

In addition to discussing the principles, participating agencies agreed to an interagency memorandum of understanding which will improve targeting and enforcement efforts at the Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center, a fusion center for agencies to share targeting resources, analysis and expertise to achieve the common mission of protecting American consumers from unsafe imports.

OSHA Seeks Comments on its Official Interpretation of Workplace Noise Exposure Controls

OSHA is proposing to issue an interpretation of the term “feasible administrative or engineering controls” as used in the general industry and construction occupational noise exposure standards and to amend its current enforcement policy to reflect the interpretation. For the purpose of enforcing compliance with these standards, the proposal states that “feasible” has its ordinary meaning of capable of being done.

OSHA’s noise standards specify that feasible administrative or engineering controls must be used to reduce noise to acceptable levels and that personal protective equipment, such as ear plugs and ear muffs, must be used only as supplements when administrative or engineering controls are not completely effective. The preference for engineering and administrative controls over personal protective equipment is consistent with the approach taken in all of OSHA’s health standards and reflects the fact that such controls are generally more effective. Under the agency’s current enforcement policy, however, the agency issues citations for failure to use engineering and administrative controls only when they cost less than a hearing conservation program or such equipment is ineffective.

OSHA is proposing to interpret the term “feasible” in conformity with its ordinary meaning and with the safety and health purposes of the OSH Act. The Supreme Court has held that the term “feasible” as used in the standard-setting provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act means capable of being done. The proposal aligns the interpretation of the noise standard with the Court’s holding and with OSHA’s other standards that require feasible engineering controls. The Agency intends to change its noise enforcement policy to authorize issuing citations requiring the use of administrative and engineering controls when feasible as indicated in the interpretation described in the FR notice.

Every year, approximately 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise that is often ignored because the harmful effects of overexposure are typically not visible and develop over an extended period of time. Workers exposed to high noise levels can develop elevated blood pressure, ringing in the ears, or permanent hearing loss.

 

 

Statement of Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis Announces Decline in Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers declined in 2009 to a rate of 3.6 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, down from a total case rate of 3.9 in 2008. BLS also reported a decline in the total number of cases from 3.7 million in 2008 to 3.3 million in 2009. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement:

“While the reported decline in workplace injuries and illnesses is encouraging, 3.3 million workplace injuries and illnesses are 3.3 million too many. No worker should fear being injured or made sick for a paycheck.

“Complete and accurate workplace injury records can serve as the basis for employer programs to investigate injuries and prevent future occurrences. Most employers understand this and do their best to prevent worker injuries, but some do not. That is why my department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is aggressively working to ensure the completeness and accuracy of injury data compiled by the nation’s employers. We are concerned about the widespread existence of programs that discourage workers from reporting injuries, and we will continue to issue citations and penalties to employers that intentionally under-report workplace injuries.

“Too many Americans suffer each year from preventable injuries or illnesses they received while on the job. Even in these difficult economic times, we must keep in mind that no job is a good job unless it’s a safe job.”

MSHA Issues Over 550 Violations During September Surprise Inspections

 

These concentrated inspections, which began in force last April following the explosion at Upper Big Branch Mine, target mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns, including high numbers of violations or closure orders; indications of operator tactics, such as advance notification of inspections that prevent inspectors from observing violations; frequent hazard complaints or hotline calls; plan compliance issues; inadequate workplace examinations; a high number of accidents, injuries, or illnesses; fatalities; and adverse conditions such as increased methane liberation, faulty roof conditions, and inadequate ventilation.

During this most recent round of impact inspections, MSHA coal inspectors issued 275 citations, 53 orders and three safeguards, while metal/nonmetal inspectors issued 224 citations and eight orders.

“We are continuing to find serious threats to miners’ safety and health,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “While some operators are finally getting the message, others are not,” he said, referencing the September 28 impact inspection at Elk Run Coal Co.’s Seng Creek Powellton Mine, in which MSHA issued 11 closure orders when inspectors found the mine operating without proper ventilation. Such practices can lead to mine explosions and black lung disease.

The Sapphire Coal Co., Advantage No.1 Mine in Letcher County, Kentucky, is an example of a mine where violations were found. On August 31 and September 1, MSHA inspectors conducted a targeted conveyor belt inspection at the mine. After capturing the mine phone, inspectors issued 42 citations, eight orders and one safeguard. Among the violations was an order issued for the misalignment of a conveyor belt. This condition, if uncorrected, could have led to a mine fire. Seven of the orders and seven citations were issued for accumulations of combustible materials which, if left unchecked and in concert with other conditions, could potentially cause a mine fire or explosion.

On September 9, an inspection party arrived during the evening shift at Left Fork Mining Co. Inc.’s Straight Creek #1 Mine in Bell County, Kentucky. They captured and monitored the phones to ensure that no advance notification was relayed to miners underground. (This mine was cited for notifying mining personnel that MSHA inspectors were on site during a previous impact inspection last April and subsequently received an injunction in federal court.)

Inspectors issued 28 citations and 11 orders for violations of the operator’s roof control plan, not maintaining equipment, improper guarding, electrical infractions, and permissibility (which protects against mine explosions). Violations also were issued for inadequate examinations, lack of ventilation controls, not following the mine ventilation plan, accumulations of combustible materials and other conditions. During the next regular safety and health inspection at the mine on October 14, MSHA found more violations for accumulations along the conveyer belt, requiring the belt to be shut down and effectively closing the mine to production. The order was terminated after the mine operator cleaned and rock-dusted the conveyor belt. Accumulations of combustible materials and methane expose miners to an increased risk to a potential explosion or mine fire.

“Mine operators are obligated to address all the problems that MSHA inspectors identify, yet some continue to violate standards and place miners at risk,” said Main. “We will continue to target them and other operations that ignore fundamental safety and health laws. At the same time, we are beginning to see signs of improvement at some mines, an indication that these impact inspections are making a difference.”

MSHA Proposed Rule to Lower Miners’ Exposure to Respirable Coal Dust

The proposed rule is the latest element of MSHA’s “End Black Lung—Act Now” campaign.

The proposed rule combines prior regulatory actions addressing lowering coal mine dust exposure, single sample, plan verification and the use of continuous personal dust monitors. 

The proposed rule would lower the existing concentration limits for respirable coal mine dust from 2 milligrams of dust per cubic meter of air, or 2 mg/m³, to 1 mg/m? over a 24-month phase-in period; require the use of the continuous personal dust monitor; provide for the use of a single, full-shift sample to determine compliance; address extended work shifts; and redefine normal production shifts. In addition, the proposed rule would require expanded medical surveillance so that miners can take proactive steps to better manage their health. 

“Protecting miners’ health is a priority of the Department of Labor,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “This proposed rule takes concrete steps to end the terrible disease of black lung and will improve miners’ lives.”

Based on recent data from NIOSH, cases of black lung are increasing among the nation’s coal miners. Even younger miners are showing evidence of advanced and debilitating lung disease from excessive dust exposure. Over the past decade, more than 10,000 miners have died from black lung. The federal government has paid out more than $44 billion in compensation for miners totally disabled by black lung since 1970, according to the Labor Department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.

“This proposed regulatory action fulfills a longstanding commitment and promise that I made on my first day with MSHA, and one to which I have been dedicated most of my working life,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “It would bring us many steps closer to overhauling an outdated program that has failed to adequately protect miners from breathing unhealthy levels of coal mine dust and achieving the intent of Congress to eliminate black lung disease.”

 

Study Finds Some Flooring and Wallpaper Contain Hazardous Additives Restricted or Banned in Toys

Researchers at the Michigan-based Ecology Center found many toxic chemicals when they tested over 1,000 flooring products and nearly 2,300 types of wallpaper. The group—which has been testing chemicals in consumer products including toys, cars, and women’s handbags for the last 5 years—tested for substances that have been linked to serious health problems such as asthma, birth defects, learning disabilities, liver toxicity, and cancer.

Children and pets are particularly vulnerable to these chemicals, since they are frequently close to the floor and therefore have high levels of exposure. In fact, many of these substances have already been restricted or banned in children’s products.

Flooring that was tested includes: wood, bamboo, cork, carpet cushion, sheet flooring, and plastic and ceramic tiles. In addition, 11 different brands and manufacturers of wallpaper were tested.

To sample the home improvement products experts used a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer and laboratory testing. XRF is an accurate device that has been used by the EPA to screen packaging; the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to screen food; and many State and County Health Departments to screen for residential lead paint. Additional samples were analyzed by laboratories using EPA test methods.

In response to the increasing consumer demand for safer products, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Representatives Bobby Rush and Henry Waxman have introduced bills to overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)—the current federal law for regulating chemicals. The Safe Chemicals Act in the Senate and the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act in the House are expected to be re-introduced in the next Congressional session.

AP Specialty Metals Cited for Multiple Safety Violations Following Employee Death

OSHA cited AP Specialty Metals in Alpharetta, Georgia, for 13 safety violations. OSHA began its investigation following the death of an employee in April who was trapped and crushed in a large machine that polishes heavy gauge steel.

AP Specialty Metals received a willful citation for failing to install machine guards that would prevent employees from being caught up in machinery. OSHA is also issuing a serious violation for failing to develop and implement an energy control program that would protect workers from the unexpected release of energy or start-up of machinery.

“Company management had the experience and knowledge to recognize and correct these hazards before the fatality, but they placed production ahead of worker safety, resulting in this tragedy,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office.

OSHA also issued nine other citations for serious violations including fall hazards, lack of training on use of industrial trucks, two incidents of exposing workers to flying debris, exposure to unguarded chains and sprockets, misuse of compressed air for cleaning, using damaged parts on electrical equipment, using flexible cords as a substitute for fixed wiring, and dispensing flammable liquid from a drum that was not grounded.

Two other-than-serious citations were issued against the company for failing to post an annual summary of injuries and illnesses at the facility and not retaining OSHA logs for 2006 and 2007.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. 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. Penalties from the citations issued to AP Specialty Metals total $65,900.

Igloo Products Co. Cited for Alleged Safety Violations, $113,500 Penalty Proposed

OSHA has cited Houston, Texas-based Igloo Products Corp., with 14 alleged serious, two alleged repeat, and four alleged other-than-serious violations for exposing workers to multiple safety hazards. Proposed penalties total $113,500.

“This employer jeopardized the safety of its workers by exposing them to the possible release of electrical energy, which could cause electrocution or other hazards,” said David Doucet, area director of OSHA’s Houston North Area Office. “It is fortunate in this case that no one was injured.”

OSHA’s Houston North Area Office began its investigation on May 27 at the company’s worksite on Igloo Road in Katy, Texas, following a complaint alleging workers were exposed to safety hazards while performing servicing and maintenance on machines and equipment in which the unexpected energization, or start up, of the machines or equipment, or release of stored energy, could cause injury to employees.

The serious violations include failing to maintain dry walking and working surfaces, provide clean stairway platforms to avoid tripping hazards, provide stairway railings, provide a hazard analysis for personal protection equipment, provide eye protection such as goggles and face shields, provide adequate eye wash and shower stations, provide machine guarding for rotating equipment and ensure electrical panel covers were closed.

Repeat violations were cited for failing to provide energy control procedures and to ensure workers were affixing lockout/tagout devices to energy isolating devices. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

Other-than-serious violations include failing to maintain and repair power tools and equipment and to adequately label electrical equipment.

$57,600 Fine for Failure to Provide Adequate Fall Protection

OSHA cited B.O.S.S. Construction of Hillsdale, Ohio, with one alleged willful and one serious safety violation for failing to protect workers from falls at a Monclova, Ohio, residential construction jobsite. Penalties total $57,600.

“Falling is the great safety hazard for workers on roofing projects, and B.O.S.S. Construction has demonstrated a pattern of disregard for its workers’ safety by failing to ensure fall protection is in place on jobsites,” said OSHA Area Director Jule Hovi. “That is not acceptable, and we are committed to seeing that the workers at this facility are provided a safe and healthy workplace.”

The serious citation is for failing to ensure that workers were wearing hard hats. That citation carries a penalty of $1,600.

B.O.S.S. Construction previously was cited in both March and July of 2009 with willful violations for failing to provide fall protection for workers. The company also was cited in June 2008 with a serious violation for failing to provide fall protection and training. Since 2006, the company has incurred $33,200 in OSHA penalties and has paid only $357.38 of those fines. The company was referred to the OSHA Debt Collection Accountability Team in February 2010, when the company repeatedly failed to pay the fines or request an informal conference to contest the penalties.

OSHA Fines Construction Contractor for Failing to Protect Workers from Falls and Other Unsafe Conditions

OSHA cited Francisco Rubio, a Sunnyvale, Texas-based framing contractor, for two alleged serious and 10 alleged repeat violations for failing to protect workers from fall, electrical, and struck-by hazards at the company’s worksite in Rockwall, Texas. Proposed penalties total $82,200.

“This is not the first time Francisco Rubio has exposed workers to unsafe working conditions,” said Stephen Boyd, OSHA’s area director in Dallas, Texas. “OSHA has specific standards for protecting employees from safety hazards. It is fortunate in this case that no one was injured.”

OSHA began its inspection on October 11 at the company’s worksite on Barton Springs Lane in Rockwall and found employees were framing a house without the use of protective equipment such as safety glasses, hard hats, or safety belts. The serious violations are for failing to ensure electrical cords were capable of carrying the proper load or current while using power tools and failure to provide fire extinguishers.

OSHA Cites Two Employers after Worker Falls to His Death Through Roof Opening

OSHA cited Kirberg Roofing Inc., of Kansas City, Kansas, and Davila Sheet Metal Co. Inc., of Raytown, Missouri, following an investigation of a Kirberg construction worker who fell about 40 feet to his death through a roof opening.

OSHA’s inspection of the Kirberg Roofing worksite found two alleged willful and two alleged serious violations. While OSHA investigators were onsite, they also found that Davila Sheet Metal had exposed its workers to fall hazards and cited that company with two alleged willful and one alleged serious violations.

“Falls are the number one reason workers performing construction work are hurt or killed. There is no excuse for an employer in the construction industry to not provide the necessary equipment and training for workers performing roofing work,” said Charles Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Missouri. “It is imperative that employers take the necessary steps to provide a safe working environment for their workers and eliminate the potential for injuries and fatalities.”

Kirberg Roofing’s willful violations stem from the company’s failing to provide workers with fall protection and to train workers performing roofing and steel erection work regarding fall hazards. The company’s serious violations stem from failing to determine the strength and structural integrity of the walking/working surface employees were using and to provide a warning line system.

Davila Sheet Metal’s willful violations stem from the company’s failing to protect and train the workers from fall hazards. The serious violation is for failing to determine the strength and structural integrity of the walking/working surface employees were using.

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