The DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration has confirmed the marking, service, and/or sale of certain high-pressure DOT specification cylinders marked with a requalification identification number (RIN) without performing a valid hydrostatic requalification test. Kraus Fire Equipment, Co., marked DOT cylinders as tested without approval from the Associate Administrator to requalify DOT cylinders and without calibrating its required systems. The agency issued an advisory which addresses cylinders serviced or purchased from Flint Welding Supply, Co., Flint, Michigan, from approximately June 2010 to December 2012 and marked with an “A978” or a partial “A978” or just the Month/Year, without a RIN mark in the middle.
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 SDSs.
Jacksonville RCRA and DOT Training
San Antonio RCRA and DOT Training
Virginia Beach RCRA and DOT Training
Sulfur Dioxide MADL to be Revised
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is revising the Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) for sulfur dioxide proposed for adoption into regulation (Title 27, California Code of Regulations, section 25805). T The new proposed MADL is 10,000 micrograms per day.
OEHHA is also augmenting the administrative record for the proposed regulation. The augmentation consists of data submitted to OEHHA in comments on the proposed regulation. As required by Government Code section 11346.8(c), and Title 1, Section 44 of the California Code of Regulations, OEHHA is giving notice of this revision and augmentation. The proposed regulatory action is being taken pursuant to OEHHA’s authority under Proposition 65.
OSHA Partners with VCC to Promote Construction Safety During Bass Pro Shop Project
Better health and safety for construction workers during the Bass Pro Shop project in Little Rock is the goal of a new partnership formed between the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and VCC, LLC.
“This partnership affirms a shared commitment toward providing a safer work environment on this project,” said Carlos Reynolds, OSHA’s area director in Little Rock. “This agreement will help to ensure that goal is accomplished.”
The 120,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shop project is located at the Otter Creek exit off Interstate 30 and is scheduled to open in December.
Little Rock-based VCC began operations in 1987 with three workers. Recently, VCC has seven offices located nationwide and one in South America. It has grown to a $450 million construction company employing 270 workers.
OSHA and VCC will work together to reduce serious workplace injuries and illnesses at the Bass Pro Shops project, increase the number of safety and health programs among contractors and subcontractors, and build a relationship focused on preventing work-related fatalities.
OSHA Teams up with Montgomery County, Maryland to Prevent Fatal Falls in Construction
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has teamed with the Montgomery County Worker Health and Safety Commission to spread the word about preventing fatal falls in construction, which are the leading cause of death in the industry.
With new posters on display in Montgomery County’s public bus system, riders can learn about OSHA’s nationwide Campaign to Prevent Fatal Falls in Construction, which is raising awareness about the hazards of working from heights in construction and the necessary steps to keep workers safe (such as harness and lines for roof work). The posters direct riders to call 1-800-OSHA or visit OSHA’s Web page to learn more about the outreach campaign, which includes educational materials, training resources, local events and more.
Posters went up on March 1, 2013, inside more than 200 buses across the county and will remain on display for several months. Montgomery County has a ridership of 30 million per year.
Most strategic partnerships seek to have a broad impact by building cooperative relationships with groups of employers and workers. These partnerships are voluntary relationships among OSHA, employers, worker representatives, and others, such as trade unions, trade and professional associations, universities, and other government agencies.
OSHA Orders Union Pacific Railroad Co. to Reinstate Terminated Employee that Reported Work-Related Injury
The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered the Union Pacific Railroad, Co., headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, to immediately reinstate an employee who was terminated in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for reporting a work-related injury. The company will pay more than $350,000 in back wages with interest, compensatory, and punitive damages.
“An employer does not have the right to retaliate against employees who report work-related injuries,” said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City. “When workers can’t report safety concerns on the job without fear of retaliation, worker safety and health suffer, which costs working families and businesses alike.”
An OSHA investigation upheld the employee’s allegation that the railroad terminated his employment in retaliation for reporting a work-related injury. The employee had more than 30 years of service when he was dismissed from the railroad and twice had received the railroad’s World Class Employee Award. It was not until after the employee reported his work-related injury in December 2010 that the railroad charged him with misusing his company vehicle. OSHA’s investigation found that this charge was used as a pretext to retaliate against the employee for reporting his injury, and that the employee’s explanations as to his use of the company vehicle were reasonable and consistent with his job duties.
The railroad carrier was ordered to remove disciplinary information from the employee’s personnel record and to provide whistle-blower rights information to its employees. Either party in the case can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.
On July 16, 2012, OSHA and the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration signed a memorandum of agreement to facilitate coordination and cooperation for enforcing the FRSA’s whistle-blower provisions. Between August 2007, when OSHA was assigned responsibility for whistle-blower complaints under the FRSA, and September 2012, OSHA received more than 1,200 FRSA whistle-blower complaints. The number of whistle-blower complaints that OSHA currently receives under the FRSA surpasses the number it receives under any of the other 21 whistle-blower protection statutes it enforces, except for Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. More than 60% of the FRSA complaints filed with OSHA involve an allegation that a railroad worker has been retaliated against for reporting an on-the-job injury.
OSHA enforces the whistle-blower provisions of the FRSA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime, and securities laws.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA’s Whistle-blower Protection Program.
Smithville Manufacturing Fined $65,800 for 21 Violations after Worker’s Finger is Amputated
OSHA has cited Smithville Manufacturing, Co., for 21 health and safety violations, including one willful, after receiving a complaint that a worker’s finger was amputated at the facility by an unguarded press machine. OSHA has proposed penalties of $65,800 as a result of the December 2012 inspection.
The willful violation was cited for failing to ensure point of operation guards were in place on mechanical power presses at the stamping facility, which does short-run productions of automotive parts. 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.
“Smithville Manufacturing has a responsibility to follow all safety guidelines, including the use of properly adjusted and adequate machine guarding to protect workers from injuries, such as amputations,” said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s area director in Cleveland. “Employers must recognize the hazards that exist in their workplaces and develop safety and health policies and procedures to protect workers on the job.”
A total of 18 serious violations were cited, nine of which involve lack of or improperly adjusted guarding on equipment, such as shears, grinders, screw machines, and drill and power presses. Other violations involve failing to establish and train workers on energy control procedures; ensure employees lock out equipment prior to conducting maintenance or service; train workers on the use of fire extinguishers; establish die setting procedures; conduct weekly press inspections; develop a written hazard communication program; and train workers on the hazards of chemicals in the workplace. 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.
Two other-than-serious health violations were issued for failing to develop a written respiratory protection program and blood-borne pathogens program. 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.
OSHA Fines Masonry Company More than $73,000 for Fall and Other Safety Hazards
OSHA has cited Lansdowne-based J.C. Stucco and Stone, doing business as J.C. Construction, with four repeat and two serious safety violations, including fall hazards found at a Philadelphia work site. OSHA’s August 2012 inspection was initiated as part of the agency’s regional emphasis program on falls. Proposed penalties total $73,150.
The repeat violations, with a $65,450 penalty, include lack of bracing, inadequate access, lack of fall protection and failing to conduct daily inspections of working conditions. 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 enforcements states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
The serious violations, carrying $7,700 in penalties, are due to the improper use of planking and lack of fall protection on a walkway section between scaffold units.
“Falls remain a leading cause of death in the construction industry; therefore, it is imperative for employers to ensure their workers have adequate protection and are safe in the workplace,” said Domenick Salvatore, director of OSHA’s Philadelphia Area Office. “OSHA will not tolerate employers who jeopardize the safety of workers.”
J.C. Construction does exterior masonry installation and finish coatings, including stucco and dryvit, to residential and commercial properties.
Stucco Contractor Fined More than $70,000 for Scaffolding Hazards and Exposing Workers to Falls
OSHA has cited Paterson-based F&G Sons Contractors, Inc., doing business as F&G Contractors, Inc., with five repeat and one serious violation, including scaffolding and fall hazards, found at a Kinnelon work site. OSHA’s October 2012 investigation was initiated in response to an imminent danger complaint and resulted in $70,840 in penalties.
The repeat violations, with a $67,760 penalty, include an unsecured scaffold missing cross braces, exposing workers to scaffold collapse and failing to fully plank and provide guardrails or other means of fall protection on scaffolds. Similar violations were cited in 2009 and 2010.
Because of the hazards and the violations cited, F&G has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. OSHA’s SVEP focuses on recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer’s facilities if it has reasonable grounds to believe there are similar violations.
The serious violation, with a $3,080 penalty, was cited for failing to brace the bottom of a pump-jack scaffold that exposed workers to a scaffold collapse. 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.
“F&G continues to put workers at risk by choosing not to implement safety measures that would prevent serious injuries to their workers,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “It is the employer’s responsibility to find and fix the hazard. OSHA will hold F&G accountable for failing to protect the safety of its workers.”
OSHA Fines San Antonio Construction Company $74,400 for Exposing Workers to Cave-in and Struck-by Hazards
OSHA has cited Yantis Construction, Co., with one serious and one repeat violation following an inspection which began in December 2012 when workers were being exposed to cave-in and struck-by hazards during the installation of a water pipe at the 36th Street work site in San Antonio. Proposed penalties total $74,400.
A repeat violation was cited for failing to provide the required shoring, trench shields, or sloping to prevent a possible cave-in during an excavation project. Similar violations were cited in March 2011 and March 2009.
The serious violation was issued for failing to provide the required protection for workers from being struck-by gravel poured above or near the work site.
“An inadequately protected trench or excavation can collapse in seconds, resulting in severe or fatal consequences,” said Kelly Knighton, OSHA’s area director in San Antonio. “This employer has been previously cited for failing to ensure that effective cave-in protection is in place at all times at all work sites. OSHA will not tolerate an employer’s repeated negligence to provide a safe working environment.”
OSHA Proposes $86,000 in Fines for Berry Plastics Corp. for Six Violations
OSHA has cited Berry Plastics Corp., with six safety violations, including two repeat, for failing to document and utilize hazardous energy control procedures and conduct periodic inspections of these procedures after a February 2012 complaint inspection at the company’s Monroeville, Ohio, facility. Proposed fines total $86,000.
“Training workers on proper hazardous energy control procedures can prevent the unexpected energization of machinery and protect workers from injuries while they conduct servicing or maintenance,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “OSHA is committed to protecting the safety and health of workers on the job.”
The repeat violations were cited for failing to develop, document and utilize hazardous energy control procedures for machinery in the factory and conduct periodic inspections of these procedures. Hazardous energy control procedures protect employees by requiring practices and procedures that prevent accidental startup for machines that are undergoing maintenance or servicing. Berry Plastics was previously cited for these violations in 2010 at the company’s Dunkirk, New York, facility and in 2012 at the company’s Alsip, Illinois, site.
A total of four serious safety violations were cited for failing to guard rotating parts on machines, use fixed stairs to access elevated areas of equipment, properly use fall protection equipment, and provide electrical safety-related personal protective equipment.
Because of the hazards and the violations cited, Berry Plastics Corp., has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law.
Berry Plastics, headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, produces plastic containers for use in the food industry and operates manufacturing facilities nationwide. In the past four years, the company has been inspected 12 times, resulting in 18 violations at various facilities.
FMCSA Declares Massachusetts Bus Company to be an Imminent Hazard to Public Safety
The company had been operating 15-passenger van service between Springfield, Hartford, Connecticut and New York City.
“We won’t allow the traveling public to be put at risk by unsafe bus operators,” said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We will take swift action when we uncover companies that ignore our federal safety regulations.”
In October 2012, Santana Busline, Inc., was denied DOT operating authority to conduct interstate passenger service based on its close affiliation with another company, Santana Xpress, Inc., a passenger carrier that had been placed out of service by FMCSA in April 2012 after receiving an unsatisfactory safety rating and for failure to pay civil penalties.
In January 2013, state commercial vehicle inspectors discovered that Santana Busline was operating unmarked 15-passenger vans. FMCSA subsequently began an investigation of Santana Busline’s operations and vehicles, and concluded that the carrier was operating without DOT authority and in blatant disregard for federal safety regulations.
Investigators found that Santana Busline failed to ensure that its drivers comply with hours-of-service requirements, allowed unqualified drivers to operate its vehicles in an unsafe manner, failed to conduct periodic vehicle safety inspections, failed to properly maintain and repair vehicles as required by federal regulations and knowingly dispatched vehicles with safety defects.
“We will not allow an interstate bus, van or trucking company to disregard the law and to disregard public safety,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. “We will continue to work closely with our state law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and shut down carriers that have no place on our highways and roads.”
OSHA Cites Montana Asphalt Company for Failing to Provide Fall Protection
OSHA has cited Corvallis, Montana-based M.R. Asphalt, Inc., with 16 safety and health violations, including one willful, following an investigation into the death of a worker that occurred in September 2012.
An employee checking asphalt levels from the top of a tank at the M.R. Asphalt facility north of Hamilton, Montana, fell 15 feet, hitting his head on a concrete structure supporting the tank. A willful violation was cited for failing to provide a guardrail or fall protection on the working surface.
“By ignoring fall protection requirements, this employer showed plain indifference and intentional disregard to worker safety,” said Jeff Funke, director of OSHA’s Billings Area Office. “Employers who knowingly expose workers to life-threatening hazards will be held fully accountable.”
Thirteen serious violations include failing to provide workers with information and training on hazardous chemicals, provide adequate toilet and hand-washing facilities, and protect workers from moving parts, such as horizontal shafts, drive systems, rotating chains, and sprocket assemblies. Other violations include exposing workers to electrical hazards and leaving ladders with defects in service.
Two other-than-serious violations were cited for failing to record each work-related fatality, injury, or illness case, and notify OSHA within eight hours of an occupational fatality.
Proposed penalties total $54,000.
OSHA Cites New England Wood Pellet LLC for Fire and Combustible Dust Hazards
OSHA has cited New England Wood Pellet, LLC, for alleged repeat and serious safety violations following inspections of the company’s Schuyler and Deposit manufacturing plants where workers were exposed to fire, rapid combustion, and wood dust explosion hazards due to deficient implementation of protective measures in the wood pellet processing system and related equipment. Proposed penalties total $47,710.
“The accumulation of combustible wood dust poses catastrophic fire and explosion hazards if proper safeguards are not implemented and maintained,” said Christopher R. Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “Of particular concern is that the hazards identified at these two plants echo similar conditions found at the company’s New Hampshire manufacturing plant, which was the site of a combustible dust fire in October 2011. It’s imperative that New England Wood Pellet effectively and systematically identify and eliminate such hazards at all its locations before its workers are harmed.”
The violations found at the Schuyler plant include failing to isolate the conveying systems to prevent fire and rapid combustion from spreading both upstream and downstream in critical process equipment. In addition, the process equipment, such as indoor cyclones, pellet coolers and silos, lacked containment, explosion venting, and suppression to mitigate the hazards of rapid and explosive combustion. At the Deposit plant, the violations include inadequate ventilation, lack of isolation devices, and lack of spark detection and extinguishing systems in the wood pellet processing system.
As a result of these violations, OSHA issued New England Wood Pellet three repeat citations for the fire, explosion and electrical hazards. Similar violations were cited in July 2008 at the company’s Jaffrey, New Hampshire, plant.
The New York inspections also resulted in the issuance of five serious citations for electrical, machine guarding, and confined space hazards.
New England Wood Pellet was fined $30,000 for the Schuyler hazards and faces $17,710 in fines for the hazards at the Deposit plant.
“One means by which employers can prevent conditions that can injure or kill workers is to establish and maintain an effective illness and injury prevention program in which management and employees work together to identify and prevent hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator for New York.
The citations and penalties for the Schuyler site, which were issued in December 2012, were settled during an informal conference with OSHA in which the original issued penalties were reduced from $39,270 in exchange for increased safety training.
Niagara Falls Manufacturer Fined More than $47,000 for Nine Safety and Health Violations
OSHA has cited Tulip, Corp., with nine alleged serious safety and health violations for exposing workers to airborne lead and other hazards following an October 2012 complaint inspection at its manufacturing facility on Highland Avenue in Niagara Falls. The manufacturer of plastic containers faces proposed fines of $47,700.
“Exposure to lead can damage the blood-forming, nervous, urinary, and reproductive systems. Impaired health and disease can result from periods of exposure that can be as short as days or as long as several years,” said Art Dube, OSHA’s area director in Buffalo. “It is the employer’s responsibility to minimize exposure levels, train employees, and ensure all safeguards are in place.”
OSHA’s inspection found that workers were overexposed to airborne concentrations of lead. The airborne lead levels measured at the facility were 1.71 times the permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air averaged over an eight-hour period. In addition, appropriate protective work clothing and equipment, including gloves, hats, or respirators, were not used when employees were exposed to lead above the permissible exposure limit; all surfaces were not maintained as free as practicable of accumulations of lead; and employees entering lunchroom facilities with protective clothing or equipment were not required to remove surface lead dust by vacuuming or other acceptable cleaning methods. Other cited hazards included workroom floors not maintained in a dry condition and prohibited use of an electrical cord.
“One means of eliminating hazards, such as these, is for employers to establish an injury and illness prevention program in which workers and management continually work to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Herman Miller’s 171st Facility Center Receives Renewed MIOSHA Recognition of their Workplace Safety and Health Excellence
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration () recently granted renewal of its MVPP Star Award, the state’s highest workplace safety and health award, to Herman Miller’s 171st Facility located in Spring Lake, Michigan. The MIOSHA program is part of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).
“MVPP status is rare in Michigan—it is a rigorous process that takes commitment. This is the second Herman Miller facility to have their MVPP status renewed this year, which is very commendable,” said MIOSHA Director Martha Yoder. “Herman Miller’s long-time commitment to workplace safety and health sends a strong message to other Michigan companies. Herman Miller’s record shows that a safe workplace provides the foundation for a productive workplace.”
MIOSHA established the Michigan Voluntary Protection Program (MVPP) program in 1996 to recognize employers actively working toward achieving excellence in workplace safety and health. Since 1999, Michigan has recognized 29 MVPP Star companies. This is the most prestigious safety and health award given in Michigan. The 171st Facility first received MVPP Star approval on July 21, 2006 and was recertified in 2009.
The 171st Facility’s incidence rate and lost work day rate are well below the Michigan average for their NAICS code 337214—Office Furniture (Except Wood) Manufacturing. Their total case incidence rate (TCIR) was 1.1 in 2009, 3.0 in 2010, and 4.0 in 2011, compared to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) industry average of 3.6 in 2009, 3.8 in 2010 and in 3.6 in 2011. The total day’s away/restricted cases (DART) rate was 0.0 in 2009, 1.0 in 2010, and 2.0 in 2011, compared to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) industry average of 3.6 in 2009, 3.8 in 2010 and in 3.6 in 2011.
The 171st Facility employs 775 employees, and manufactures many of the company’s metal storage products. The MIOSHA review team consisted of Deborah Gorkisch, Team Leader/Senior Safety Consultant, and David Humenick, Senior Occupational Health Consultant. During the review, the team conducted three formal and 31 informal interviews. The team found their safety and health management system effectively addresses the scope and complexity of the hazards at the site.
Herman Miller’s corporate mission is inspiring designs to help people do great things. A key element of their mission is to create a safe, healthy, and productive work environment for their own employees. The 171st Facility employees participate in the facility’s safety and health efforts through teams, committee membership, a suggestion program and physical inspections.
The 171st Facility has several best practices that are identified as “Areas of Excellence,” including:
Behavior Based Safety (BBS) “Sweeps”—these are “big picture” observations that are conducted in addition to the observations performed by the shop floor BBS steering team members. The results of the sweeps are reported to management, which provides them with ideas about where to focus their efforts.
“Busted,” a proactive “safety done right” identification system—when a safety team member or member of management observes a safe act, they will reward the team member with a candy bar.
Train-the-Trainer system—on a monthly basis the safety team members and work team leaders attend train-the-trainer sessions on various safety topics. The safety team members and work team leaders then relay the information obtained during the training session to their co-workers and team members.
Value stream walkthroughs—walkthroughs that are conducted bimonthly by members of management, site safety leads, and engineers. Those leading the audits take two shop floor team members along with them to assist with the audit of the respective area. Safety updates are also discussed during the audits.
“7 Why’s” brainstorming process—”7 Why’s” refers to a problem solving method that requires team members to continuously ask, “Why is it done this way?” As an example, a team member evaluation determined that the pedestal value stream has high-risk ergonomic concerns. One of the more serious concerns identified involves placing counter weights into cabinets. Due to the complexity of the process, the manager of the area assembled a team to determine how to improve the process using the “7 Why’s” method.
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