OSHA has announced it will host a Web Forum to seek stakeholder input in identifying hazardous chemicals for which OSHA should develop exposure reduction strategies.
Workers exposed to chemicals suffer injuries and illnesses that can damage virtually all body parts and systems, including the lungs, skin, liver, kidneys, eyes, and mucous membranes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that workers suffered more than 55,000 illnesses related to chemical exposures in 2007 and nearly 17,500 chemical-related injuries and illnesses resulted in workers spending days away from work. This is likely an underestimate because often the effects of chemical exposures are frequently not recognized until years after exposure. As a result, work-related disease often goes unreported since a worker or physician may not attribute the effect to an exposure that occurred on the job many years before.
During its first two years of existence, OSHA established approximately 400 permissible exposure limits (PELs) for hazardous chemicals based on then-existing national consensus or federal standards. Since then, OSHA has been able to develop more protective regulations for only 29 chemicals, while the majority of OSHA PELs have remained unchanged.
“Many of our permissible exposure limits are based on 1950s-era science that we now realize is inadequate to protect workers in 21st century workplaces,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels. “We must assure the protection of workers currently exposed to well-recognized chemical hazards for which we have an inadequate PEL or no PEL at all. I am hopeful that this forum will assist us in achieving that goal by helping us to identify those chemicals on which we should be focusing our efforts.”
The forum will allow stakeholders to identify harmful chemicals and explain why OSHA should focus on these chemicals in developing long- and short-term solutions for reducing workers’ exposure. OSHA is accepting nominations from August 16 through August 27.
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OSHA Addresses Record Number of Egregious Cases
OSHA is aggressively enforcing its standards when employers show indifference to protecting the safety and lives of their workers. During the past year and a half, OSHA investigators have issued citations for egregious violations in 17 cases, including those involving BP Products North America, Kleen Energy, and Cooperative Plus. This is more than twice as many egregious cases as were issued during the two years before the current administration took office.
OSHA inspectors cite egregious violations when an employer shows multiple instances of willful and flagrant indifference to correcting workplace hazards, many of which tragically result in worker fatalities, worksite catastrophes (such as explosions or chemical releases), or large numbers of worker injuries or illnesses. “We will not tolerate this type of blatant and egregious disregard for the health and safety of workers. Employers need to know there will be consequences,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels.
Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis Comments on Decline in Fatal Occupational Injuries During 2009
Preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries show a decline in workplace fatalities in 2009 compared with 2008. Last year, 4,340 workers died from work-related injuries, down from a final count of 5,214 fatal work injuries in 2008. In response, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement:
A single worker hurt or killed on the job is one too many.
While a decrease in the number of fatal work injuries is encouraging, we cannot - and will not - relent from our continued strong enforcement of workplace safety laws.
As the economy regains strength and more people re-enter the workforce, the Department of Labor will remain vigilant to ensure America’s workers are kept safe while they earn a paycheck. After all, as I’ve said before, no job is a good job unless it is also safe.
Cooperative Plus Inc. Fined Additional $374,500 after OSHA Finds 25 More Safety Violations at 2 Other Grain Facilities
OSHA has proposed penalties of $374,500 against Cooperative Plus Inc., a farmer-owned cooperative, for federal workplace safety violations at its Whitewater and Genoa City, Wisconsin, sites. These penalties follow $721,000 in penalties issued earlier this month after a worker was seriously injured from being engulfed by soybeans at the cooperative’s Burlington, Wisconsin, facility in February.
“This continued non-compliance with long established safety standards for working in grain handling operations by Cooperative Plus Inc., shows a complete disregard for worker safety,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “All workers have the right to work in a safe environment, and the Labor Department will use all legal means necessary to ensure companies comply with established safety requirements.”
Based on its investigation of the Cooperative Plus facility in Whitewater, OSHA has fined the company $210,000 for three alleged willful violations. The company failed to test the atmosphere in a grain bin before entry and failed to have an employee wear a safety harness and lifeline when entering the grain bin. It also failed to post an employee to observe the entry, and failed to turn off and lock out power to the auger before workers entered the grain bins.
The Genoa City facility has received a proposed $70,000 penalty for one alleged willful violation, again for failing to shut down and lock out power to the grain bin augers before workers entered the bins. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
In addition to the willful citations, the company has received $35,500 in proposed penalties for seven alleged serious violations at the Whitewater facility. The citations allege, among other violations, that the company lacked an emergency action plan and failed to train workers in the emergency use of respirators and on safe grain handling hazards. It also failed to test the oxygen levels in pits prior to entry or to maintain air-monitoring equipment for confined space entries. The company also has received a $59,000 proposed penalty for 11 alleged serious violations found at Genoa City. Violations address failures to implement confined space procedures while working in fertilizer tanks; failure to test the air quality before workers entered fertilizer tanks; failure to meet requirements for an emergency action plan; failure to train workers on grain handling hazards annually; and failure to equip employees with body harnesses and lifelines while working in grain bins.
OSHA recently sent letters to other grain storage companies warning them of their responsibility to comply with grain-handling and confined space entry standards.
OSHA Cites Refinery with $173,000 in Penalties for Safety and Health Violations
OSHA has issued citations to Calumet Shreveport Lubricants & Waxes LLC, for 22 alleged serious violations and two alleged repeat violations of federal health and safety regulations. Penalties total $173,000.
“This is not the first time this company has jeopardized the safety of its employees,” said Dorinda Folse, OSHA’s area director in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “OSHA’s safety and health standards must be followed to prevent injuries and fatalities.”
OSHA’s Baton Rouge Area Office began its inspection February 23 at the company’s facility in Shreveport as part of the agency’s Petroleum Refinery Process Safety Management National Emphasis Program. The PSM program is intended to prevent or minimize the consequences of a catastrophic release of toxic, reactive, flammable or explosive highly hazardous chemicals from a process. A process is any activity or combination of activities including any use, storage, manufacturing, handling or the onsite movement of highly hazardous chemicals.
Serious violations found include failing to provide accurate process safety information for piping and instrumentation diagrams, conduct incident investigations, provide written operating procedures, resolve recommended actions resulting from compliance audits, and adequately address the citing of control rooms and employees working in process units. A serious violation is one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Two repeat violations have been cited for failing to update process safety information when changes occur and to act on findings of potential overpressures for occupied structures stemming from process hazard analyses for the period from 1998 to 2009. OSHA defines a repeat violation as one where the employer previously has been cited for the same or similar hazard within the past three years.
In September 2007, OSHA cited Calumet Shreveport Lubricant & Waxes for willful, serious, and repeat violations totaling $122,400. Calumet, an operating subsidiary of Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP, employs about 600 workers total, and operates two additional refineries in northwest Louisiana as well as facilities in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
OSHA Proposes Nearly $115,000 in Fines against Pierce Industries for Uncorrected and Recurring Hazards
OSHA has proposed $114,750 in additional fines against Pierce Industries, a Rochester, New York, machine shop, chiefly for failing to correct hazards cited during a previous OSHA inspection. The company was cited in December 2009 for a variety of hazards including failing to test its piping system to ensure it was gas-tight under pressure and to adequately train its workers in the safe operation of forklifts.
The company agreed to correct these conditions, but OSHA’s follow-up inspection found this had not been done. A recurring hazard of improperly used electrical outlet boxes also was identified. As a result of these conditions, OSHA has issued the company two failure-to-abate citations with $105,750 in proposed fines for the uncorrected hazards, and one repeat citation with a $3,000 fine for the recurring electrical hazard. OSHA issues failure-to-abate citations and additional penalties when an employer fails to correct previously cited hazards. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously was cited for the same or similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last three years.
“An uncorrected hazard is an ongoing threat to the safety and health of workers. Employers need to understand that ignoring or putting off corrective action can be costly in financial as well as human terms,” said Arthur Dube, OSHA’s area director in Buffalo. “In cases like this, OSHA will check to verify that cited hazards have been corrected and, if not, employers will be subject to additional and potentially much larger fines.”
Pierce Industries also has been issued two serious citations with $6,000 in fines for two new hazards, incomplete procedures and employee training to ensure that machines’ power sources were properly locked out of service before maintenance.
“One means of eliminating recurring 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 Proposes $350,000 in Fines against U.S. Postal Service for Electrical Hazards at New Hampshire Mail Processing Facility
OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for five alleged willful violations of safety standards following an inspection at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Processing and Distribution Center. The USPS faces a total of $350,000 in fines, chiefly for exposing workers to electrical hazards.
OSHA’s inspection, conducted in response to employee complaints, found untrained or inadequately trained employees at the Portsmouth distribution center performing troubleshooting and voltage testing on or near live electrical equipment and wiring that had not first been de-energized. The workers also lacked personal protective equipment and were not instructed on proper electrical lockout/tagout procedures.
As a result of its inspection, OSHA has issued five willful citations to the USPS for the conditions at the Portsmouth facility.
“These citations and the sizable fines proposed here reflect the Postal Service’s ongoing knowledge of and failure to address conditions that exposed its workers to the severe and potentially deadly hazards of electric shock, arc flashes and arc blasts,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels.
The Labor Department has filed an enterprise-wide complaint against the USPS for electrical work safety violations. The complaint asks the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to order the USPS to correct electrical violations at all of its facilities nationwide. This complaint marks the first time OSHA has sought enterprise-wide relief as a remedy.
OSHA Proposes $49,000 in Fines against Peter Luizzi & Brothers for Cave-in Hazards
OSHA has cited Peter Luizzi & Brothers Contracting Inc., of Albany, New York, for an alleged willful violation of excavation safety standards at a worksite in Cohoes, New York.
OSHA inspectors passing by a worksite at Villet Street and Hamilton Place observed a worker installing a water main in an apparently unprotected 6-foot-6-inch deep trench. An inspection was opened on the spot and OSHA found that the trench lacked protection against a potential collapse of its walls.
As a result, OSHA has issued the company one willful citation, carrying a proposed fine of $49,000, for the unprotected trench.
You cannot overstate the gravity of this hazard,” said Edward Jerome, OSHA’s area director in Albany. “A cave-in can occur in seconds, crushing and burying workers beneath soil and debris before they can react or escape. Employers know that a trench must have effective cave-in protection in place every time workers enter it. Failing to provide protection could result in swift and serious injury or death for trench workers.”
OSHA Fines SeaWorld of Florida $75,000 Following Death of Animal Trainer
OSHA has cited SeaWorld of Florida LLC, for three safety violations, including one classified as willful, following the death of an animal trainer in February. The total penalty is $75,000.
“SeaWorld recognized the inherent risk of allowing trainers to interact with potentially dangerous animals,” said Cindy Coe, OSHA’s regional administrator in Atlanta, Georgia. “Nonetheless, it required its employees to work within the pool walls, on ledges and on shelves where they were subject to dangerous behavior by the animals.”
On February 24, a six-ton killer whale grabbed a trainer and pulled her under the water during what SeaWorld describes as a “relationship session,” which was also observed by park guests. Video footage shows the killer whale repeatedly striking and thrashing the trainer, and pulling her under water even as she attempted to escape. The autopsy report describes the cause of death as drowning and traumatic injuries.
OSHA’s investigation revealed that this animal was one of three killer whales involved in the death of an animal trainer in 1991 at Sea Land of the Pacific in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SeaWorld had forbidden trainers from swimming with this whale because of his dangerous past behavior, but allowed trainers to interact with the whale, including touching him, while the trainers were lying on the pool edge in shallow water.
In addition to the history with this whale, the OSHA investigation revealed that SeaWorld trainers had an extensive history of unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents involving killer whales at its various facilities, including its location in Orlando. Despite this record, management failed to make meaningful changes to improve the safety of the work environment for its employees.
“All employers are obligated to assess potential risks to the safety and health of their employees and take actions to mitigate those risks,” said Les Grove, OSHA’s area director in Tampa, Florida. “In facilities that house wild animals, employers need to assess the animals under their care and minimize human-animal interaction if there is no safe way to reliably predict animal behavior under all conditions.”
OSHA has issued one willful citation to SeaWorld for exposing its employees to struck-by and drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales.
A serious citation is being issued for exposing employees to a fall hazard by failing to install a stairway railing system on the front side, left bridge of the “Believe” stage in Shamu Stadium.
One other-than-serious violation has been issued for failing to equip outdoor electrical receptacles in Shamu Stadium with weatherproof enclosures. An other-than-serious violation is described as a situation that relates to job safety and health that would not likely cause death or serious physical harm.
OSHA Files Whistleblower Lawsuit against Retail Gas and Convenience Store Chain
OSHA has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma alleging that Shawnee, Oklahoma-based Modern Oil Co. Inc., doing business as Kwick Stop Convenience Stores, illegally terminated an employee because of complaints about workplace safety issues.
“Employees should be free to exercise their rights under the law without fear of termination or retaliation by their employers,” said William A. Burke, OSHA’s acting regional administrator in Dallas, Texas. “This lawsuit underscores the Labor Department’s commitment to vigorously take action to protect those rights.”
The worker filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA alleging retaliation in violation of Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which prohibits discharge or other retaliation against workers for filing a safety or health complaint, or for exercising a wide range of other rights afforded to them by the act. OSHA whistleblower investigators found that an employee was fired after complaining about the safety hazards at the Kwick Stop convenience store in Shawnee. In addition to back pay and reinstatement, the Labor Department is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the employee.
Modern Oil is comprised of approximately 30 gas station/convenience stores in the Shawnee area. The company employs approximately 300 employees.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act and 18 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various trucking, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, rail, and securities laws.
CSB Chairperson Calls for Effective Safeguards at Oil and Gas Sites Across Mississippi; Cites 2009 Tragedy in Which Two Teens Died
Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso has called on Mississippi legislators and officials to increase safeguards at oil and gas sites across the state. Dr. Moure-Eraso spoke at a meeting of stakeholders convened by State Senator Billy Hudson to discuss the possible introduction of a bill requiring public safety measures at oil and gas sites. The initiative follows an October 31, 2009, explosion in Carnes, Mississippi, where two teenage boys aged 16 and 18 were tragically killed when a gas condensate tank suddenly exploded.
The CSB found similar accidents have occurred at rural oil and gas sites in states across the country, killing and injuring children, teenagers, and young adults. These individuals were seemingly unaware of the significant explosion and fire hazards at oil and gas production well and storage sites.
According to the CSB investigation, 26 similar accidents at oil and gas sites resulted in 44 fatalities among teenagers and young adults between 1983 and 2010. The Board found that since 2003 alone, oil and gas site explosions caused 16 deaths to members of the public, all less than 25 years old. A 2003 explosion in Long Lake, Texas, killed four teenagers; a 2005 explosion in Ripley, Oklahoma, killed a 19-year old man and a 20-year-old man; a 2007 explosion in Mercedes, Texas, killed three teenagers; and a 2007 explosion in Routt National Forest, Colorado, killed two teenagers.
Many explosions reportedly occurred when victims accidentally brought a cigarette, match, or lighter into contact with vapor from storage tanks. The initiating event for the explosion in Carnes, Mississippi, was never determined. The CSB convened a task force to look into state and federal rules and regulations governing the safety and security of oil and gas production sites.
The CSB is currently developing an educational lesson plan to accompany the video, in partnership with university educators in the U.S. and Canada.
Chairman Moure-Eraso said, “The CSB encourages the state of Mississippi to be a champion of oil site safety for the rest of the country. I encourage the oil and gas industry, state legislatures, and federal and state regulators to learn from these tragedies and to take immediate action. The lives of too many young people are being lost when they could be easily saved by securing the oil sites with fences and warning signs.”
One day after the April 13 CSB news conference in Hattiesburg, CSB investigators learned of a similar accident hundreds of miles away at a production site in Weleetka, Oklahoma. CSB investigators were deployed to Oklahoma to gather information and examine similarities between this accident and the one that occurred in Carnes, Mississippi. The team determined the accident in Oklahoma occurred when a group of teens and young adults held an impromptu gathering at an unsecured oil and gas site; one of the youths, who died in the blast, had a cigarette lighter that likely ignited tank fumes. Just 12 days later, another explosion occurred at a production site in New London, Texas. Two 24-year-olds—a man and a woman—were gathering at the unattended site when an explosion killed the woman and seriously injured the man.
CSB Investigator Vidisha Parasram said, “As with the site in Mississippi, the accident sites in Oklahoma and Texas lacked fencing, gates, and signs. The task force undertook an extensive analysis of state, local, and federal standards to understand practices for securing oil and gas sites across the country.”
The CSB has identified some states that require specific safeguards at oil and gas sites. For example sites in areas of California are required to have barbed-wire fencing around facilities “where it is necessary to protect life and property.” Similarly, Colorado and Ohio require fencing of oil and gas production sites in urban or populated areas.
Overall, however, the CSB task force identified a lack of consistent state or municipal regulations for perimeter fencing, gates, locks, and warning signage. Such safeguards would deter public access to the sites and prevent the accidental ignition of vapor from storage tanks.
The CSB task force is concluding its examination of oil site safety and anticipates presenting a proposed case study and formal recommendations for Board consideration in the fall of 2010.
For more information, contact CSB’s Director of Public Affairs Dr. Daniel Horowitz at 202-441-6074.
OSHA Continues Monitoring Working Conditions during Oil Spill Cleanup
Even though BP has sealed its underwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, OSHA continues to monitor cleanup operations for any safety and health hazards as workers continue to deal with the remaining oil spill.
Since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon four months ago that began the cleanup response, OSHA has made more than 3,000 site visits covering the vessels of opportunity, beach cleanup, staging areas, decontamination, distribution, and deployment sites.
No air sampling by OSHA has detected hazardous chemicals at levels of concern.
OSHA Warns Employers along Gulf Coast against withholding of HAZWOPER Certificates
OSHA has received numerous complaints from workers taking part in the Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup whose employers are refusing to provide them with a certificate following their completion of training under the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, or HAZWOPER, standard. OSHA interprets the standard as prohibiting covered employers from withholding written certificates from workers who have successfully completed such training.
Commenting on the need to protect vulnerable workers and ensure a level playing field for employers who follow the rules, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels issued the following statement:
It has come to OSHA’s attention during the Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup that some employers performing post-emergency cleanup operations are refusing to provide workers with written certificates attesting successful completion of HAZWOPER training. Allegedly, employers use this practice to prevent workers from leaving their employ.
There is no basis in the HAZWOPER standard for an argument that employers do not need to provide written certification promptly upon the completion of training. The requirement to provide written certification implies a requirement to provide it with reasonable promptness.
OSHA is processing complaints related to the withholding of training certificates, and already has referred some matters to the Office of the Inspector General within the Department of Labor for examination as possible consumer fraud.
Department of Health and Human Services Launches New Heathcare Website
The site includes several hundred pages of consumer information, written and delivered in a manner that is extremely user friendly.
The primary content on the new website is behind the blue box—a powerful database containing a logic tree that quickly brings users to a list of all insurance options that meet their specific needs. There are a staggering three billion individual scenarios. The final effort included enlisting 500+ people in call centers across the country to hammer the site with various scenarios (focused on the most populous zip codes) to quickly build the caching system.
OSHA Fines Dayton USPS Processing Center $225,000 for Safety Violations
OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) with three alleged willful and six alleged serious violations at its Dayton, Ohio, processing center. USPS faces a total of $225,000 in fines for electrical and equipment hazards following an OSHA inspection conducted in response to employee complaints.
OSHA’s inspection, which began in April 2010, found that the USPS failed to provide adequate electrical safety training, failed to ensure that workers followed safety-related work practices while working on electrical equipment, failed to provide workers with appropriate personal protective equipment while working on energized electrical equipment, failed to address machine lockout procedures and hazards, and failed to provide proper lockout/tagout training.
“These sizable fines reflect the severity and ongoing nature of these hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The Postal Service ignored long-established safety standards and knowingly put its workers in harm’s way.”
OSHA fines Karl’s Event Rental $85,000
OSHA has cited Karl’s Event Rental Inc., of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, with 23 safety and health violations that include exposing workers to combustible residues and electrical hazards. Proposed penalties total $85,000.
“This company exposed its workers to unsafe and unhealthy conditions, and failed to properly train them in the correct use of personal protective and emergency equipment,” said OSHA Area Director George Yoksas in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “By ignoring safe practices, companies invite tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
Some of the 18 serious citations with proposed penalties of $45,000 include failure to remove accumulated combustible residues within spray booths, train workers in how to use respirators and fire extinguishing equipment, develop required procedures for machinery operation and have an adequate personnel platform when elevating workers.
The company also has received four repeat citations with proposed penalties of $40,000 for failing to develop an energy control program, provide required energy control training to workers, develop and implement a written hazard communication program, and train workers on chemical hazards in their work area. OSHA issues repeat violations if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last three years.
The company also has received one other-than-serious violation with no penalty for improper mounting of fire extinguishers.
Karl’s Event Rental is one of the nation’s largest event rental companies.
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