OSHA has created a Web page to help protect workers from hazards they may face during winter storm response and recovery operations.
The Web page provides guidance on how employers and workers involved in cleanup and recovery operations can recognize snow storm-related hazards and the necessary steps that employers must take to keep workers safe while working in these conditions. The page includes guidance for workers clearing heavy snow in front of workplaces and from rooftops, workers encountering downed power lines or traveling on icy roads, and utility workers restoring power after winter storms.
Hazards associated with working in winter storms include:
- Being struck by falling objects such as icicles, tree limbs, and utility poles
- Driving accidents due to slippery roadways
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Dehydration, hypothermia, and frostbite
- Exhaustion from strenuous activity
- Back injuries or heart attack while removing snow
- Slips and falls due to slippery walkways
- Electrocution from downed power lines and downed objects in contact with power lines
- Burns from fires caused by energized line contact or equipment failure
- Falls from snow removal on roofs or while working in aerial lifts or on ladders
- Roof collapse under weight of snow (or melting snow if drains are clogged)
- Lacerations or amputations from unguarded or improperly operated chain saws and power tools, and improperly attempting to clear jams in snow blowers
Effective means of addressing winter storm hazards include:
- Assume all power lines are energized and stay well clear of any downed or damaged power lines
- Make certain all powered equipment is properly guarded and disconnected from power sources before cleaning or performing maintenance
- Use caution around surfaces weighed down by large amounts snow or of ice
- Scooping small amounts of snow and using proper lifting form to avoid over-exertion or injuries
- Clear walking surfaces of snow and ice and use salt or its equivalent where appropriate
- Employers should provide and ensure the use of fall protection and provide and maintain ladders
- Stay in the vehicle—do not leave the vehicle unless help is visible within 100 yards
- Wear reflective clothing and eye, face, and body protection
- Establish and clearly mark work zones
- Use engineering controls, personal protective equipment, and safe work practices to reduce the length and severity of exposure to the cold
Save 50% on Environmental and Safety Handbooks
Purchase any of the following Environmental Resource Center Handbooks and receive 50% off the original price. Purchase online using coupon code, books11, or call customer service at 800-537-2372. This offer is only available through December 31. Order now and you’ll receive both a printed handbook and a CD of each volume that you buy.
Cary, North Carolina 24-Hr and 40-Hr HAZWOPER Courses
How to Author GHS Safety Data Sheets
OSHA is adopting the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. A cornerstone of GHS is the adoption of a completely revised Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- January 27, 2012
- February 29, 2012
How to Label Hazardous Chemicals Using OSHA’s New GHS Hazcom Standard
Workplace and supplier hazard communication labels are being reinvented as OSHA adopts the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for labeling hazardous chemicals.
- February 3, 2012
- March 1, 2012
How to Prepare for OSHA Adoption of the GHS for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
This means that virtually every product label, material safety data sheet (soon to be called “safety data sheet”), 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 MSDSs.
Environmental Resource Center is offering webcast training courses where you will learn how the new rule differs from current requirements, how to implement the changes, and when the changes must be implemented.
- February 28, 2012
Register early to ensure your spot in one of the upcoming sessions. You may register online or call 1-800-537-2372 to register by phone.
Cleveland, Ohio RCRA and DOT Training
RCRA, DOT, IATA/IMO and SARA Title III Training Coming to Raleigh, North Carolina Area
Safety Consultant/Trainer
Environmental Resource Center has a new opening for a safety consultant and auditor. We are looking for a former OSHA CSHO, OSHA trainer, or state inspector for this position in our Cary, North Carolina, office. Applicants should have excellent writing and speaking skills and be willing to travel 7–14 days per month. We are looking for an expert in all of the General Industry and Construction standards who is capable of performing audits of industrial facilities as well as conducting on-site training.
Strong consideration will be given to applicants who also have experience providing HAZWOPER, Hazcom, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, and machine guarding training.
The position includes maintenance of training materials (books and presentations), working on consulting projects, development of classes and computer-based training programs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
Dredge & Marine Co. Fined After Worker Fatality
OSHA has cited Millersville, Tennessee-headquartered Dredge & Marine Co., LLC, for 12 safety and health violations. OSHA opened an inspection following a July incident in which one worker died and another was severely burned when a spark from a light ignited paint vapors inside the compartment of a pontoon dredge, which was being painted to reduce corrosion. Proposed penalties for the citations total $46,600.
Two serious safety violations related to the fatality include exposing employees to explosion and fire hazards when exhaust ventilation was inadequate and failing to use explosion-proof lighting. Five additional serious safety violations are for using an extension cord with a missing ground prong; exposing employees to explosion and fire hazards from a non-explosion proof fan with nonferrous blades; failing to ensure paint buckets, spray guns, and cell phones were properly stored to prevent sparking; failing to permit the bonding of spray guns and metallic parts; and failing to provide fall protection to employees working from the barge deck.
Five serious health violations are for exposing employees to a potentially hazardous atmosphere inside a confined space without first testing the atmosphere’s oxygen content, exposing workers to hazards in a confined space who did not receive training on how to perform all required duties safely, exposing employees to hazardous atmospheres in a confined space without providing a qualified shipyard rescue team or notifying an outside rescue service, failing to stop work to verify the confined space was safe for entry after spray painting, and failing to continuously monitor the enclosed space to ensure the atmosphere was safe. A serious violation occurs 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.
“Tragic incidents can be avoided by following OSHA’s standards and safety requirements,” said William Cochran, OSHA’s area director in Nashville. “It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that workers are trained and provided with appropriate equipment so they can perform their duties safely.”
Dredge & Marine Co., LLC, which is owned by John W. McDougall Co., specializes in new dredges, reconditioning used dredges, equipment and parts sales, and brokerage services.
NER Construction Management Fined $134,000 for Fall Hazards
Wilmington, Massachusetts, masonry contractor NER Construction Management Inc., has agreed to pay $134,000 in penalties and take significant steps to protect its employees against fall hazards, according to the terms of a settlement agreement that resolves litigation with the US Department of Labor.
OSHA cited NER in January 2011 for willful and serious violations of workplace safety standards, including fall hazards of up to 17 feet for employees working at Rowes Wharf in Boston. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
In addition to paying the fines, NER verifies in the agreement that it has corrected all the cited hazards and is taking steps to increase its employees’ safety on all job sites. These steps include performing a detailed hazard analysis on each job to determine feasible fall protection safeguards for each employee, providing competent person training for all employees authorized to identify and correct fall hazards, and revising the company’s disciplinary policy to include management employees. NER also agrees to provide OSHA with a monthly report of all job sites on which it will be working for the next year as well as copies of any outside safety audits conducted over the next two years.
“Whenever OSHA cites employers, we’re looking for them to not only correct specific cited hazards but also to take effective steps to prevent them from recurring,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator. “With this settlement, NER Construction Management pledges to take such steps for the safety of its workers.”
“Our ultimate goal in litigating OSHA cases is to ensure that employers safeguard their workers against needless and potentially devastating hazards,” said Michael Felsen, the Labor Department’s New England regional solicitor. “This positive settlement both upholds OSHA’s findings and lays a foundation for future compliance by this employer, which will result in safer workplaces for its employees.”
Heritage-WTI Accident Prompts CSB to Call for Action by NFPA and Hazardous Waste Industry
US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso issued the following statement following the fatal fire at the Heritage-WTI Eastern Ohio hazardous waste treatment and storage facility:
Today as many people enjoy a holiday season spent with friends and family, I would like to call attention to a recent tragedy that occurred late last week in eastern Ohio. On December 17, 2011, a chemical fire occurred at Heritage-WTI, Inc., which resulted in two workers being seriously burned, one of whom succumbed to his injuries days later. Heritage-WTI, Inc., is a hazardous waste storage and processing facility located in East Liverpool, Ohio.
According to company officials a flash fire occurred when workers were splitting a large solid waste drum of hazardous flammable inorganic material into smaller storage drums.
Unfortunately accidents at hazardous waste processing facilities are all too common. These incidents resulted in two fatalities, 16 injuries, and eight community evacuations, shelter-in-place events, or transportation disruptions.
The accident occurred when flammable vapor was released from a waste recycling process, ignited, and violently exploded. The blast seriously injured two workers and damaged 20 nearby residences and five businesses.
Specifically, one of the recommendations is to petition the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a developer of U.S. fire prevention codes, to issue a standard specific to hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities. The standard would provide guidance to prevent the occurrence of fires, explosions, and releases at these types of facilities. This recommendation has still yet to be implemented.
It is the CSB’s view that the ETC’s petition to the NFPA will lead to the development of a national standard that will improve safety practices at hazardous waste treatment plants across the country.
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents. The agency’s board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.
Link to Veolia Investigation Page:
Link to EQ Investigation Page:
Recycling Plant Fined Over $144,000 for Multiple Violations
OSHA cited Petag Corp., for 31 safety and health violations at the company’s recycling plant on Lyons Avenue in Houston, Texas. OSHA began its investigation in August in response to a complaint, and found workers exposed to sulfuric acid and caustic soda while recovering silver from X-ray film and processing plastics for recycling. Proposed penalties total $144,760.
OSHA’s Houston North Area Office cited Petag for 15 serious violations, including failing to follow manufacturers’ safety requirements for operating a furnace; provide handrails on industrial stairways; provide personal protective equipment, such as safety glasses and gloves; provide warning signs for permit-required confined spaces; provide hazard communication training; ensure the use of seatbelts while operating a forklift; and provide machine guarding for chains, sprockets, pulleys, and shaft ends.
Seven repeat violations include failing to provide sanitary washing facilities as well as access to eyewash and shower stations; provide fall protection, such as standard guardrails or fall arrest devices, when employees are working on platforms; provide training on lockout/tagout procedures for machines’ energy sources; and provide the required machine guarding. A repeat violation exists when an employer has been cited previously 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. OSHA cited the company for similar violations in 2006.
Eight other-than-serious violations include failing to provide required information for voluntary respirator use, and injury and illness record-keeping deficiencies. 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.
“This employer has repeatedly exposed its workers to possible injuries and illnesses,” said David Doucet, OSHA’s area director for the Houston North office. “Such disregard for workers’ safety and health will not be tolerated.”
Granbury Contracting and Utilities Fined $118,580 Following Fatality
OSHA’s Fort Worth Area Office initiated an inspection on June 28 in response to a report that employees working on a new sewer line were exposed to inhalation of a hazardous chemical. One employee who entered a manhole to remove a plug in order to flush out accumulated debris became overwhelmed by toxic fumes and died. Another employee was hospitalized after attempting to rescue his co-worker.
The willful violations are for failing to test for atmospheric conditions and failing provide adequate ventilation and emergency retrieval equipment prior to entry into a manhole.
The serious violations are failing to provide or require the use of respirators as well as conduct an assessment to determine the potential for a hazardous atmosphere where oxygen deficiency, methane, and/or hydrogen sulfide were present or likely to be present.
“The company failed to ensure that proper confined space entry procedures were followed,” said Jack Rector, OSHA’s area director in Fort Worth. “If it had followed OSHA’s safety standards, it is possible that this tragic incident could have been prevented.”
OSHA cites Warren Fabricating and Machining for 10 Safety Violations
OSHA cited Warren Fabricating and Machining Corp., for 10 serious safety violations, including a lack of machine guarding and training at its steel manufacturing plant in Hubbard, Ohio. Proposed fines total $47,000 following a November inspection.
“Employers are responsible for knowing the hazards that exist in their workplaces and for training workers in proper safety measures, such as the use of machine guards and lockout/tagout procedures to prevent accidental startup of energy sources,” said Howard Eberts, director of OSHA’s Cleveland Area Office. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
The violations include failing to develop machine-specific procedures to control energy sources and appropriate methods for securing machinery or equipment; conduct periodic inspections of energy control procedures; and provide training to workers on lockout/tagout procedures. Additionally, three violations are for misuse of powered industrial trucks, commonly known as fork trucks, including failing to inspect trucks prior to placing them in service; ensure that employees received powered industrial truck training; and remove defective trucks from service.
The remaining violations include failing to provide machine guarding, ensure that compressed air used for cleaning purposes did not exceed 30 lbs per square inch, ensure proper strain release on lighting fixtures, and complete inspections of jib cranes at required intervals.
Warren Fabricating and Machining, which specializes in the construction of steam turbines, gas turbines, and generators, is headquartered in Warren, Ohio. In addition to its facility in Hubbard, the company also operates plants in Warren and Niles, Ohio. The company has been inspected by OSHA seven times since 1991, resulting in 60 violations.
OSHA Cites Acme Machell Co. for 22 Safety and Health Violations
OSHA has cited rubber parts fabricator Acme Machell Co., Inc., for 22—including six repeat—violations, following safety and health inspections conducted at the company’s Waukesha, Wisconsin, facility. OSHA opened inspections in July after receiving complaints alleging burn hazards and poor housekeeping throughout the plant. Proposed fines total $77,600.
Five repeat health violations are for failing to implement a hazard communication plan, train first-aid responders on an exposure control plan to protect against exposure to bloodborne pathogens and diseases, offer hepatitis B vaccines to designated first-aid responders, review or update the exposure control plan, and maintain a list of chemicals being used in the facility along with relevant material data safety sheets. One repeat safety violation is for failing to properly guard the rear area of a press. Acme Machell Co., was cited for all of these violations in 2007.
Two serious health violations are for failing to properly maintain fire extinguishers and for eight instances of failing to maintain adequate air pressure in air nozzles used for cleaning. Six serious safety violations involve electrical deficiencies, failing to evaluate and audit energy control procedures annually, failing to adequately train workers on hazardous energy control procedures, and a lack of personal protective equipment.
Eight other-than-serious health and safety violations are for failing to use personal protective equipment to prevent burns, inspect fire extinguishers, unblock access to electrical panels, provide appropriate housekeeping, and supply workers with information on the use of respirators.
“Employers who are cited for repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to the health and safety of their workers,” said George Yoksas, director of OSHA’s Milwaukee Area Office. “Failing to conduct required training and ensure the use of required personal protective equipment when needed is unacceptable. OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
Acme Machell Co., had been inspected by OSHA four times prior to these most recent inspections.
OSHA Proposes Over $127,000 in Fines against 5 Contractors at Construction Site
The citations carry a total of $127,400 in proposed fines.
Four contractors—Tutor Perini Corp., in Jamaica, New York; Navillus Contracting Inc., in Manhattan; LVI Demolition Services Inc., in Everett, Massachusetts; and Manafort Bros. Inc., in Plainville, Connecticut—have been cited for inadequate safeguards to protect workers exposed to airborne concentrations of lead while performing torch cutting operations. A fifth contractor, Blue Diamond Sheet Metal Inc., in Medford, New York, has been cited for failing to provide fall protection and related training.
OSHA’s inspections identified instances during which employees were exposed to excess lead levels, engineering controls to reduce lead exposure levels were absent, initial exposure assessments were not conducted, proper respiratory protection was not provided to employees, protective clothing was not supplied, clean clothing change facilities and showers were missing, and biological monitoring results were not provided to employees.
“Chronic overexposure to lead may result in severe damage to workers’ blood-forming, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director for Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. “The most effective way to protect workers is to minimize their exposure through engineering controls, good work practices and training, as well as the use of personal protective clothing and equipment, including respirators when required. However, these safeguards can be compromised if they are not all used at all times on all job sites.”
For the lead-related hazards, Tutor Perini Corp., has been cited for five serious violations with $35,000 in fines; Navillus Contracting Inc., for four serious violations with $21,000 in fines; LVI Demolition Services Inc., for four serious violations with $28,000 in fines; and Manafort Bros. Inc., for four serious violations with $28,000 in fines. Blue Diamond Sheet Metal Inc., has been cited for two serious violations with $15,400 in fines for the fall-related hazards.
“One means of preventing workplace hazards such as these is for employers to implement effective illness and injury prevention programs in which they work continuously with their employees to identify and eliminate hazards,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
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