According to OSHA, the new standard, once implemented, will prevent an estimated 43 deaths and result in an estimated $475.2 million in enhanced productivity for US businesses each year. OSHA formerly called the former standard “right to know” and according to Secretary Solis, the new standard is being called, “Right to Understand.”
“Exposure to hazardous chemicals is one of the most serious dangers facing American workers today,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Revising OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard will improve the quality, consistency and clarity of hazard information that workers receive, making it safer for workers to do their jobs and easier for employers to stay competitive in the global marketplace.”
The revised Hazard Communication Standard will be fully implemented in 2016 and will benefit workers by reducing confusion about chemical hazards in the workplace, facilitating safety training and improving understanding of hazards, especially for low literacy workers. OSHA’s standard will classify chemicals according to their health and physical hazards, and will establish consistent labels and safety data sheets for all chemicals made in the US and imported from abroad.
The revised standard is also expected to prevent an estimated 585 injuries and illnesses annually. It will reduce trade barriers and result in estimated annualized benefits in productivity improvements for American businesses that regularly handle, store, and use hazardous chemicals, as well as cost savings of $32.2 million for American businesses that periodically update safety data sheets and labels for chemicals covered under the standard.
“OSHA’s 1983 Hazard Communication Standard gave workers the right to know. As one participant expressed during our rulemaking process, this update will give them the right to understand, as well,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels.
During the transition period to the effective completion dates noted in the standard, chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers may comply with either 29 CFR 1910.1200 (the final standard), the current standard, or both.
Learn more at one of Environmental Resource Center’s GHS Hazcom Webcasts:
The following table summarizes the phase-in dates required under the revised Hazard Communication Standard:
|
Effective Date |
Requirement(s) |
Who |
|
December 1, 2013 |
Train employees on the new label elements and safety data sheets. |
Employers |
|
June 1, 2015 December 1, 2015 |
Compliance with all modified provisions of the rule, except: Distributors cannot ship containers labeled by the chemical manufacturer or importer unless it is a GHS label. |
Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers |
|
June 1, 2016 |
Update alternative workplace labeling and hazard communication program as necessary, and provide additional employee training for newly identified physical or health hazards. |
Employers |
|
Transition Period to the effective completion dates noted above |
May comply with either 29 CFR 1910.1200 (the final standard), or the current standard, or both. |
Chemical manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers |
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 (now called “safety data sheet” or SDS), 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.
Environmental Resource Center is offering webcast training for you to learn how the new rule differs from current requirements, how to implement the changes, and when the changes must be implemented.
- April 17
- May 18
- June 26
How to Author GHS Safety Data Sheets
OSHA has adopted 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).
- April 18
- June 27
- October 3
How to Label Hazardous Chemicals Using OSHA’s New GHS Hazcom Standard
- April 19
- June 28
- October 4
Jacksonville RCRA and DOT Training
New Orleans RCRA and DOT Training
Virginia Beach RCRA and DOT Training
California Adopts Reference Exposure Levels for Nickel
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has adopted revised acute, 8-hour, and chronic Reference Exposure Levels (RELs) for nickel and nickel compounds. An REL is an airborne level of a chemical at or below which non-cancer health effects are not anticipated for specified exposure durations. The values of the RELs are listed in the table below.
|
Acute Toxicity (for a 1-hour exposure) Inhalation reference exposure level |
0.2 μg Ni/m³ |
|
8-Hour REL (for repeated 8-hour exposures) Inhalation reference exposure level |
0.06 μg Ni/m3 |
|
Chronic REL Nickel and Nickel Compounds (except NiO) Inhalation reference exposure level |
0.014 μg Ni/m3 |
|
Chronic REL Nickel Oxide Inhalation reference exposure level |
0.02 μg Ni/m3 |
|
Chronic Oral REL Nickel and Nickel Compounds Oral Reference exposure level |
0.011 mg Ni/kg-day |
The OEHHA is required to develop guidelines for conducting health risk assessments under the Air Toxics Hot Spots Program (Health and Safety Code Section 44360(b)(2)). In response to this statutory requirement, OEHHA developed revised RELs for nickel and nickel compounds. These were developed using the most recent “Air Toxics Hot Spots Program Technical Support Document for the Derivation of Noncancer Reference Exposure Levels” (OEHHA, 2008), and replace existing values which were developed using previous guidance. This method allows for the estimation of acute, 8-hour, and chronic RELs for use in Air Toxics Hot Spots program risk assessments. The new guidance reflects current scientific knowledge and techniques, and in particular explicitly includes consideration of possible differential effects on the health of infants and children, in accordance with the mandate of the Children’s Environmental Health Protection Act (Health and Safety Code sections 39669.5 et seq.).
Following the analysis presented in the document, OEHHA added nickel and nickel compounds to the list of Toxic Air Contaminants that may cause infants and children to be especially susceptible to illness, pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 39669.5(b)(2).
East Side Access Tunnel Project Contractor Cited After Runaway Rail Car Injures 2 Workers
OSHA s cited Dragados USA-Judlau JV, general contractor for the New York City’s East Side Tunnel Access Project between Queens and Manhattan, with 11 alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards. OSHA’s Manhattan Area Office opened an inspection following an October 15 incident in which a runaway rail car struck an aerial lift in the tunnel, injuring two workers in the lift.
OSHA found that the wheels of the rail car had not been chocked, and a safety chain had not been attached to prevent the car from rolling away while it was being disconnected from the rest of the train. As a result of those conditions, employees working farther down the track were exposed to being struck by the runaway car. The workers in the aerial lift lacked a radio or watch person to warn them of the runaway rail car approaching them, and the rail car lacked lights that would have alerted workers in the tunnel of its approach. In addition, the employer did not conduct inspections to ensure that proper safety procedures were followed to prevent a runaway rail car. Proposed fines total $48,000.
“Underground construction is essential but dangerous work. It’s also essential that effective worker safeguards are in place and in use at all times. That was not the case here,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director in Manhattan. “This incident would have been avoided if the employer had followed proper safety procedures, inspected for and corrected deficiencies, and provided adequate training to employees.”
The inspection identified additional hazards involving unsecured compressed gas cylinders, damaged guardrails on the aerial lift, unprotected steel reinforcement rods sticking out of the tunnel’s floors and walls, ungrounded electrical cords, a damaged ladder cage, and the employer’s failure to train employees in the recognition and avoidance of tunneling hazards. 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.
“One way for employers to minimize hazards is to establish and maintain an effective illness and injury prevention program in which they work with their employees to identify and eliminate hazards,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
ServiceMaster Clean for Cited Exposing Employees to Lead, Other Hazards While Cleaning Gun Range
OSHA has cited janitorial services company ServiceMaster Clean with one willful and four serious safety violations for failing to protect workers from lead exposure and other hazards while they were contracted to clean an indoor firing range in Lancaster, Ohio. OSHA’s inspection was initiated September 30 based on a complaint. Proposed penalties total $98,000.
The willful violation is for failing to adequately monitor air quality for lead exposure. 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.
The serious violations include failing to adequately assess job hazards for potential lead exposure, provide adequate training on personal protective equipment, provide an employee respiratory protection program, maintain material safety data sheets at the work site for all hazardous materials, and provide adequate training on the hazards of lead exposure.
“ServiceMaster Clean has the responsibility of ensuring that its employees are properly protected from known workplace hazards at a firing range, such as lead exposure,” said Deb Zubaty, OSHA’s area director in Columbus. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”
ServiceMaster Clean is a privately owned franchise in Lancaster with 50 employees. It is part of the ServiceMaster group, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, which provides janitorial and disaster restoration services for residential and commercial customers.
Mercer Well Service for Fined $71,000 for Repeat Violations
OSHA cited Mercer Well Service for five repeat violations following an inspection at the company’s Colt 34-212 Field, Well No. 3H, Rig No. 39 work site, located 15 miles northwest of Pyote, Texas. Proposed penalties total $71,500.
OSHA’s El Paso Area Office began an inspection November 16 as part of the agency’s Oil and Gas Regional Emphasis Program, which is designed to prevent fatalities and other catastrophic events at oil drilling and gas wells. Inspectors found four workers exposed to possible injuries from unguarded platforms, a lack of fire protection, and caught-between/struck-by hazards while trying to retrieve a piece of broken pipe in a well hole.
The violations include failing to provide guardrails for employees working on platforms 7 feet above the ground, provide standard railings on open sides of stairways, ensure that fixed stairs were uniform in rise height, provide required protection in case of fire, and ensure that workers were protected from caught-between/struck-by hazards. 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. Similar violations were cited at locations in Texas in 2008 and 2009, and Pennsylvania in 2011.
“Repeated disregard of employee safety will not be tolerated,” said Joann Figueroa, OSHA’s area director in El Paso. “OSHA’s standards must be followed to prevent injuries and accidents.”
Community Recycling & Resource Recovery Fined $166,890 Following Two Worker Deaths
Cal/OSHA issued sixteen citations totaling $166,890 against Lamont, California-based composting facility Community Recycling and Resource Recovery. The citations were issued as the result of an investigation triggered by the October 12, 2011 deaths of two brothers, Armando and Eladio Ramirez, aged 16 and 22. The workers died due to inhalation of hydrogen sulfide gas while cleaning an underground storm drain system at the recycling facility.
“This enforcement action represents a tragic example of what can go wrong when employers do not have proper safety procedures in place,” said DIR Director Christine Baker. “Workers are at risk of death or serious injury if employers have not provided adequate training or do not have a safety plan for working in confined spaces.”
Cal/OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), immediately initiated an investigation after being notified of the death of one worker and another in critical condition. Cal/OSHA identified the drainage system as an imminent hazard due to high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas resulting from the decomposition of food waste. Cal/OSHA investigators issued an Order Prohibiting Use barring worker access to the entire drainage system. The order was expanded on November 2, 2011 to prevent any activity within six feet of the openings to the system, and rescinded on January 6 after the employer implemented a Confined Space Entry Program that meets Cal/OSHA requirements.
The two workers were clearing debris from an obstructed ten foot shaft of the storm drain system. After Amando lost consciousness from exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas, his brother Eladio attempted to rescue him, only to lose consciousness as well. Armando Ramirez was pronounced dead at the scene, while Eladio died at Kern Medical Center on November 14, 2011 after being taken off life support.
“These young workers’ deaths were completely preventable. Hydrogen sulfide gas is a fatal and common by-product of the composting process. Yet Community Recycling and Recovery failed to have proper procedures in place—identification and posting of all confined space hazards, training workers and supervisors, testing for dangerous levels of gas, and effective rescue procedures. These could have saved both workers who were not trained or provided adequate protection,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Ellen Widess. “This incident sharply underscores the need for greater awareness by all employers and workers of the dangers associated with working in confined space and the necessary safety measures to protect workers when and if they work in these spaces.”
All sixteen citations issued to Community Recycling addressed the company’s failure to have an adequate confined space program, including proper training, testing for atmospheric hazards, and rescue procedures. Twelve citations were issued for serious violations with five being accident related. Four of the citations were issued for general workplace safety violations.
A&B Harvesting, a farm labor contractor that provides workers to Community Recycling, was also cited for failure to train employees in the hazards of confined spaces. Eladio Ramirez was employed by A&B Harvesting when he died.
Cal/OSHA worked closely on this investigation with other federal, state, and local agencies including the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Kern County’s Department of Public and Environmental Health, the Planning and Economic Development Department, the County Fire Department, and the Coroner. California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su also opened an investigation into possible child labor law violations after Armando Ramirez was revealed to have been 16 years old.
A serious violation exists when there is a realistic possibility that death or serious physical harm could result from the actual hazard created by the violation, while a general violation is cited when an accident or occupational illness may not cause death or serious injury but would have a direct or immediate relationship to the safety or health of employees.
Following Cal/OSHA’s investigation of the Community Recycling case and six other confined space fatalities in California, Cal/OSHA launched a Confined Space Emphasis Program in February to raise awareness for employers and workers of the serious, often fatal risks of working in confined space situations. This emphasis program includes consultation and outreach to employers, increased enforcement efforts to ensure that all employers Cal/OSHA have adequate confined space programs, and educational tools for employers and workers.
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