OSHA urges everyone engaged in cleanup after the recent floods in Texas—employers, workers, and the public—to avoid potential hazards and take steps to protect themselves.
"People must be aware of possible hazards—from chemically contaminated water to unstable structures—created in the aftermath of the disaster," said John Hermanson, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas.The safety and health of the public is a priority."
Before entering buildings or structures after a flood, an assessment of the potential hazards and exposure must be done. Using that information, an employer must ensure that workers, at a minimum, are provided with education on the hazards they face and how to protect themselves.
The nature of cleanups varies by location. While a flooded residential home may not present the obvious hazards that a commercial property with stored hazardous chemicals would, each situation has its own challenges. Homeowners should be aware that damaged structures may be at risk of collapse, and the onset of mold may have already begun.
Workplaces may have these same dangers, in addition to many other serious safety threats, including chemical exposure. Employers should evaluate chemical workplace hazards and create a chemical inventory, which is part of a workplace hazard communication program.
In either situation, homeowners and employers should request the assistance of a safety and health professional.
People involved in flood cleanup should take the following precautions:
- Wear a hard hat, safety glasses, reflective vest, gloves, and steel-toed work boots
- In wet environments, stay dry with waterproof gloves and boots
- Breathe safely and use respiratory protection, especially where dust and mold exists
- Avoid dangerous falls and use fall protection when working more than 6 feet off the ground
- Protect your hearing. In loud and noisy environments, hearing protection is important.
- Work cleanly. Stop the spread of contaminants and disease with proper hygiene and sanitation.
- Wash your hands regularly. Where suitable facilities are absent, use hand sanitizer
The matrix can help employers make decisions during risk assessment that will protect their employees working in hurricane-impacted areas.
The following organizations provide additional resources:
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.
Irvine RCRA and DOT Training
Dayton RCRA and DOT Training
Raleigh RCRA, DOT, and EHS Regulations Training
Governor Proclaims June as Safety Month in Alaska
The annual campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of safety to prevent tragic accidents that hurt Alaska families and businesses.
This year’s theme, “What I Live For,” encourages Alaskans to think about the most important aspects of our lives, and share stories with fellow Alaskans about why safety is so important to maintain our quality of life. Important topics such as transportation safety, prescription painkiller abuse, emergency preparedness, ergonomics, and slip, trip, and fall prevention are significant concerns that demand our attention.
“Keeping employees safe at work is one of the tenets of the Department of Labor,” said Commissioner Heidi Drygas. Basic steps, such as regular safety briefings, and ensuring employees have and use protective equipment such as safety vests, hard hats, and protective eyewear can keep Alaskans safe on the job. The longer days of summer also bring increased outdoor recreational activity in our beautiful state. Simple things, such as wearing a life vest while boating, and carrying extra food, warm clothing, and matches while hiking, can keep Alaskans safe while enjoying the outdoors. Often times, it’s those very basic decisions that save lives.
Commissioner Heidi Drygas summed up this year’s theme, “Whether it’s a weekend of fishing, job-site safety or just yard work around the house, we should all pause to think about how to keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy today and every day, so that tomorrow is filled with the things we live for.”
The Alaska Occupational Safety and Health program offers assistance for employers to improve safety and health performance. For more information, contact AKOSH at 800-656-4972.
DMAC Construction Fined Nearly $500,000 for Exposing Workers to Scaffolding, Electrocution Hazards
For six masonry workers installing brick facades on two new residential properties in Philadelphia, each day on-the-job could have been their last.
In November 2014 OSHA was notified of an alleged imminent danger involving workers employed by Havertown-based DMAC Construction, LLC. OSHA inspectors found that the employer allowed bricklayers to erect a scaffold too close to power lines and without properly braced scaffolding to prevent a collapse. The work site was at 20th and Federal Streets in south Philadelphia.
Less than three weeks later, OSHA was notified of another imminent danger at a second DMAC work site at 15th and Thompson Streets in north Philadelphia. Workers were laying bricks on a building 35 feet above the ground without fall protection.
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.
"These hazards are not new to DMAC Construction, yet the company refuses to make needed changes to put worker safety first," said Nicholas DeJesse, director of OSHA's Philadelphia Area Office. "This employer must take immediate action to prevent an unnecessary tragedy."
DMAC owner Darren McGee has a long history of exposing workers to safety hazards. His company, formerly McGee Plastering & Stucco, Inc., experienced two incidents where employees received an electric shock when they came into contact with energized electrical lines. The incidents occurred in 2011 and 2013.
. Philadelphia's share of total fatalities due to falls, slips, or trips ranked fifth highest of the 10 largest metropolitan areas.
OSHA Publishes Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers
The publication provides guidance to employers on best practices regarding restroom access for transgender workers. The guide was developed at the request of the National Center for Transgender Equality, an OSHA Alliance partner that works collaboratively with the agency to develop products and materials to protect the safety and health of transgender workers.
OSHA's Sanitation standard requires that all employers under its jurisdiction provide employees with sanitary and available toilet facilities, so that employees will not suffer the adverse health effects that can result if toilets are not available when employees need them.
"The core principle is that all employees, including transgender employees, should have access to restrooms that correspond to their gender identity," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "OSHA's goal is to assure that employers provide a safe and healthful working environment for all employees."
Many companies have implemented written policies to ensure that all employees—including transgender employees—have prompt access to appropriate sanitary facilities. The core belief underlying these policies is that all employees should be permitted to use the facilities that correspond with their gender identify. For example, a person who identifies as a man should be permitted to use men's restrooms, and a person who identifies as a woman should be permitted to use women's restrooms.
The publication includes a description of best practices and also makes employers aware of federal, state, and local laws that reaffirm the core principle of providing employees with access to restroom facilities based on gender identification.
Three New Jersey Employers Expose Temporary Workers to Noise, Safety Hazards
The inspection was in response to a formal complaint against Customized Distribution Services, Inc. During the inspection, high noise levels were observed, prompting an additional health inspection initiated on December 22, 2014.
OSHA found one repeat and one serious violation against Customized Distribution Services for exit route hazards. Action Group Staffing received one serious citation related to noise 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.
"Violations like these can cause serious injuries, including permanent hearing loss," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office. "Protecting employee safety and health is a responsibility the employer and the staffing agency share. All three companies should eliminate these hazards immediately."
Proposed penalties for each company are as follows: Whitlock Packaging: $140,500; Customized Distribution Services: $26,400; and Action Group Staffing: $5,000.
Case Farms Processing Inc. Exposes Workers to Dangerous Machinery Hazards, Fined $126,000
OSHA initiated the follow-up inspections to verify that previously cited hazards had been corrected at the facility. The chicken producing and processing company faces proposed penalties of $126,500.
"Case Farms Processing continues to demonstrate that the safety and health of its workers is not a corporate priority," said Deborah Zubaty, area director of OSHA's Columbus office. "This inspection demonstrates that the company has failed to meet the goals outlined in the 2013 agreement. This is a disheartening setback for worker safety at this company."
Additionally, sanitation workers were not included in company audits concerning machines starting up during service and maintenance. The company also failed to maintain an accurate log of worker injuries and illnesses. Machine hazards are one of the most frequently cited OSHA standards.
Headquartered in Morganton, North Carolina, Case Farms Processing operates facilities in Canton, Strasburg, and Massillon, Ohio; as well as Dudley, Goldsboro, Mount Olive, and Troutman, North Carolina. The company processes 2.8 million chickens per week. It has more than 3,200 employees and produces more than 900 million lb of fresh, partially cooked, and frozen-for-export poultry products yearly.
Case Farms Processing has been inspected by OSHA 26 times, resulting in the issuance of multiple safety and health violations.
Detyens Shipyards Inc. Fined $101,600 for Exposing Employees to Workplace Safety Hazards
One other violation was cited for an exit not being clearly marked.
OSHA has inspected this employer 12 times since 2005 and has cited more than 40 violations. Proposed penalties total $101,600.
"I am concerned that this company is promoting a 'pristine safety record,' yet continues to violate OSHA standards that date back to 1973,” said Darlene Fossum OSHA's area director in Columbia. "Management must take immediate action to eliminate fall, electrical and other hazards identified during this inspection to protect its workers."
Shoreline Foundation Fined $84,000 for Exposing Workers to Drowning and other Hazards
OSHA initiated an inspection of Shoreline Foundation, Inc., in Pembroke Park, Florida, on December 18, 2014, inspection after receiving a complaint alleging workplace hazards.
"This inspection has identified several safety hazards that put workers at risk of drowning or serious injury," said Condell Eastmond, OSHA's area director in Ft. Lauderdale. "Shoreline management must follow OSHA standards and fulfill its responsibility to protect employees from workplace hazards."
Proposed penalties total $83,600.
GBW Railcar Services Fined $46,900 after Blast Injures Several Workers
Two workers endured several weeks of skin graft surgery and physical therapy after suffering second-degree burns when gas vapors exploded in a railcar in December 2014 at GBW Railcar Services, LLC, in Cummings, Kansas. The car was being prepared for cleaning when an electric heater ignited the flammable gas. Seven other workers were treated for injuries and released from the hospital.
After the incident, OSHA inspectors identified 11 serious safety violations and proposed penalties totaling $46,900.
"Two employees suffered painful injuries that put them out of work for three months because GBW Railcar Services ignored worker safety," said Judy Freeman, OSHA's area director in Wichita. "Failing to eliminate potential ignition sources from areas where flammable substances were likely to be present proved an explosive combination. Worker protection must always be job one."
A 30-year-old laborer, who was preparing the railcar for cleaning, suffered second-degree burns to the hands, face, neck, and torso when the explosion occurred. He had been on-the-job for three months.
The fireball from the explosion ignited the paint booth where a 47-year-old worker also became engulfed in the flames, causing second-degree burns to his face, neck, hands, and torso. The worker also sustained injuries from the paint booth door striking him during the explosion. The painter worked for the company for more than three years.
OSHA's investigation found that GBW Railcar Services exposed workers to fire and explosion hazards by not eliminating potential ignition sources, such as electrical equipment and heating appliances, from areas where flammable vapors and materials could be present, and did not use electrical equipment rated for hazardous locations. The company also stored flammable materials improperly near paint booths; failed to maintain gauges to show air velocities; and did not protect aboveground fuel tanks from vehicle collisions.
Titan Technologies Repeatedly Puts Workers in Trenches at Risk
Every month, somewhere in the US, two people die in trench cave-ins—buried or crushed by the tremendous weight of falling earth. In fact, one cubic yard of soil can be equal to the weight of a small automobile, about 3,000 lb. These needless deaths can be prevented with proper cave-in protections.
Despite these realities, some contractors continue to ignore the serious dangers of unprotected trenches and allow employees to work below ground level at great risk.
In January, OSHA inspectors found a Boise, Idaho, contractor, Titan Technologies, Inc., putting its workers at risk of serious and fatal injury while they marked a sewer line location on East 45th Street. This is the third time—in three years—that the company has been cited for the same safety violation. Titan committed similar violations at other work sites in 2012 and 2014.
. For its actions, Titan Technologies faces proposed OSHA fines of $22,000 for repeated serious violations and $2,200 for serious violations.
"We are very fortunate to have found these hazards before workers were badly hurt or killed," said David Kearns, area director of OSHA's Boise office. "When it comes to trench safety cave-in protection is critical to protecting lives."
Suburban General Construction Inc. Exposes Worker to Trench Cave-In Hazards
An employee was performing repair work on a water service line in a trench that was more than six feet deep. OSHA cited one willful citation for failing to provide cave-in protection. OSHA standards require the use of cave-in protection in a trench 5 feet or deeper.
Proposed penalties total $42,350.
"Unprotected trenches can become gravesites in seconds. Violations of OSHA's trench protection standards remain a pervasive condition in this industry and it needs to stop," said Angeline Loftus, OSHA's area director at is Chicago North Office in Des Plaines. "No worker's life should be at risk for a job."
OSHA Forms Alliance with Lee Lewis Construction Co. to Prevent Construction Injuries and Illnesses
OSHA and Lee Lewis Construction Co., in Lubbock, Texas, recently formed a two-year alliance to protect worker safety and health. The goals of the alliance will be achieved through sharing information and guidance, and providing access to training resources to protect employees' safety and health. Addressing construction and industrial contractor issues will be a priority.
The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities.
"We're committed to working together to promote safety and health for construction workers," said Elizabeth Linda Routh, OSHA's area director in Lubbock. "Together, we will take an aggressive and positive approach to place workplace safety and health at the forefront of the employer's construction work every day for more the 1,600 workers of all trades."
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