Workers Face Increased Risks While Working in Heat

When temperatures soar, workers who perform outdoor jobs risk being more than just uncomfortable—the work can cause serious illness or even death. High humidity and rising mercury levels can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Employers and workers should be familiar with some of the common signs of heat exhaustion, according to Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. A person overcome with heat exhaustion will still sweat but may experience extreme fatigue, nausea, lightheadedness, or a headache. The person could have clammy and moist skin, a pale complexion, and a normal or only slightly elevated body temperature. If heat exhaustion is not treated promptly, the illness could progress to heat stroke, and possibly even death.

Workers on construction sites may be at greater risk for heat illness due to heavy exertion, enclosed operator cabs with poor air circulation, and prolonged exposure to the sun.

To help those suffering from heat exhaustion:

• Move them to a cool, shaded area. Do not leave them alone.
• Loosen and remove heavy clothing.
• Provide cool water to drink (a small cup every 15 minutes) if they are not feeling sick to their stomach.
• Try to cool them by fanning them. Cool the skin with a spray mist of cold water or a wet cloth.
• If they do not feel better in a few minutes, call 911 for emergency help.

Certain medications, wearing personal protective equipment while on the job, and a past case of heat stress create a higher risk for heat illness.

Heat stroke is a different condition than heat exhaustion. There are several reactions that occur in the human body with heat stroke: hot, red skin (looks like sunburn); mood changes; irritability and confusion; and collapsing (person will not respond to verbal commands). Call for emergency help immediately if you think the person is suffering from heat stroke. If not treated quickly, the condition can result in death.

Here are some tips for preventing a heat-induced illness:

• Perform the heaviest, most labor-intensive work during the coolest part of the day.
• Use the buddy system (work in pairs) to monitor the heat.
• Drink plenty of cool water (one small cup every 15 to 20 minutes).
• Wear light, loose-fitting, breathable clothing (such as cotton).
• Take frequent short breaks in cool, shaded areas—allow your body to cool down.
• Avoid eating large meals before working in hot environments.
• Avoid caffeine and alcoholic beverages (these beverages make the body lose water and increase the risk of heat illnesses).

You can also download posters, in both English and Spanish, from Oregon OSHA’s website:

What's on OSHA's Regulatory Agenda?

 For a description of each rule, and its anticipated effective date, click on the Regulation Identification Number (RIN) associated with the rule.

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. Dates for the upcoming webcasts include:

• July 15
• July 29

Advertising Opportunities Available

OSHA Issues Hazard Alert on the Dangers
of Using Scissor Lifts to Film Events

 Scissor lifts are portable, hydraulic-powered lifts that are commonly used by colleges and high schools to film athletic and band activities.

Last October, a 20-year-old University of Notre Dame student employee was killed while filming the team’s football practice from a scissor lift that was blown over by high winds. The worker, who reportedly was not trained to properly operate the equipment, raised the lift more than 39 feet into the air on a day in which winds exceeded 50 miles per hour.

The alert lists hazards associated with scissor lifts such as using the equipment during high winds or bad weather; overloading the equipment with heavy objects; removing the guardrails during operation; and driving the lift on uneven or unstable ground.

Employers can minimize scissor lift hazards by establishing safe work practices, including inspecting the lift before use; safely moving, positioning, and stabilizing the lift; selecting safe work locations; and identifying weather conditions that prevent use. Additional key safety practices include putting the scissor lift on a firm level surface, setting brakes and stabilizing the lift before raising it, and maintaining a 10 foot clearance from electrical power sources and overhead hazards such as tree branches.

Hazards can be further reduced by training workers on how to operate scissor lifts safely, making sure that the scissor lift has a guardrail system for fall protection, and operating and maintaining the lift according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

OSHA also provides free On-Site Consultation for small business employers who want to create or improve their safety and health management systems. 

Notre Dame Agrees to Settlement Over Death of Student Employee on Scissor Lift

The Indiana Department of Labor announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with the University of Notre Dame in the fatal-injury death of student employee Declan Sullivan.

Details of the agreement include a requirement for Notre Dame, under the direction of the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA), to launch a nationwide education program directed at other universities and educational organizations about the hazards of the outdoor use of scissor lifts, and the importance of training employees that operate such lifts. This educational program must be launched within 180 days of the date of the settlement agreement.

The university has also agreed to make a substantial contribution to the Declan Drumm Sullivan Memorial Fund within 90 days of the date of the agreement.

“Notre Dame has said multiple times publicly that it wants to ensure nothing like Declan’s death occurs again on its watch, and that it wants to honor Declan’s memory,” said IDOL Commissioner Lori Torres. “We believe this unique agreement allows Notre Dame to live up to those statements, and it allows our agency to carry out its primary mission, which is to advance the safety of employees throughout the state.”

The settlement agreement requires the university to designate a liaison between Notre Dame’s athletic department and the risk-management division to ensure adequate safety training is provided to all employees.

Notre Dame will provide IOSHA with a list of other areas of the university where scissor lifts are in use and will complete a refresher training for all operators of those lifts within 90 days of the date of the settlement agreement.

IDOL issued a safety order to Notre Dame in March, fining the university $77,500 for several violations in Sullivan’s death. As part of the settlement agreement, the knowing violation was reduced to a “serious” violation, and several serious violations had fines increased from amounts stated in the original safety order.

The settlement agreement reduces Notre Dame’s total fines to $42,000, due to the State of Indiana. “This agreement goes far beyond the requirement to pay fines,” said Torres. “It requires one of the nation’s most well-known universities to create and implement a mechanism for spreading education about scissor lifts that are used in a range of educational and athletic settings, it requires changes at Notre Dame to ensure employee safety going forward, and it formally recognizes Declan Sullivan’s memory.” Sullivan, 20 years old at the time of his death, was killed while he was videotaping a Notre Dame football practice from a scissor lift that was toppled in high winds on October 27, 2010.

US Department of Labor Agencies to Host Live Web Chats on Agencies’ Regulatory Agendas

Officials representing seven of the U.S. Department of Labor’s agencies will host live Web chats to discuss their respective regulatory agendas during the week of July 11. These events will be open to the public.

The webcasts are scheduled as follows:

Monday, July 11

• Office of Labor-Management Standards from 1-2 p.m. EDT
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 2:30-3:30 p.m. EDT

Tuesday, July 12

• Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs from 1-2 p.m. EDT

Wednesday, July 13

• Wage and Hour Division from 1-2 p.m. EDT

Thursday, July 14

• Mine Safety and Health Administration from Noon-1 p.m. EDT
• Employment and Training Administration from 1:30-2:30 p.m. EDT

Friday, July 15

• Employee Benefits Security Administration from 2-3 p.m. EDT

California Considers Listing Fluoride and Its Salts, and Tris(1,3-Dichloro-2-Propyl) Phosphate as Proposition 65 Carcinogens

The Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC) advises and assists the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) in compiling the list of chemicals known to the State to cause cancer as required by Health and Safety Code section 25249.8. The Committee serves as the State's qualified experts for determining whether a chemical has been clearly shown through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principles to cause cancer.

Fluoride and its salts, and tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate will be considered for possible listing by the CIC at its next meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, October 12–13, 2011. The two-day meeting will be held in the Sierra Hearing Room at the Cal/EPA Headquarters building, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, California. The meetings will begin each day at 10:00 a.m. and will last until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday and until all business is conducted or until 5:00 p.m on Thursday. The agenda for the two-day meeting will be provided in a future public notice published in advance of the meeting.

The CIC will consider these documents in making any listing decisions on these chemicals. In preparing these hazard identification materials, OEHHA considered information received from its requests for information relevant to the evidence of carcinogenicity of fluoride and its salts and tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate. The data call-in period for fluoride and its salts opened on October 15, 2009 and closed on December 15, 2009. The data call-in period for tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate opened on February 11, 2011 and closed on April 12, 2011.

How Can The STOP STICKS Campaign Help You?

Sharps injuries are a significant injury and health hazard for health care workers and also result in a number of direct and indirect organizational costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 385,000 sharps-related injuries occur annually among health care workers. More recent estimates from The Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet™) indicate this number may have been increasing steadily during the past nine years. It is estimated about one third of these injuries go unreported. Most reported sharps injuries involve nursing staff, but laboratory staff, physicians, housekeepers, and other health care workers are also injured.

OSHA Seeks Membership Nominations to Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health

OSHA is seeking nominations for membership to the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health (FACOSH) by September 6. FACOSH advises the Secretary of Labor on occupational safety and health issues related to the federal workforce, including advice on how to reduce the number of worker injuries and illnesses.

FACOSH has advised OSHA on issues including pandemic H1N1 influenza protection for the federal workforce; qualifications and educational requirements of the federal safety and occupational health management job series and the industrial hygiene job series; and core competencies, appropriate training and continuing education under the Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act of 2010. The assistant secretary of labor for OSHA chairs FACOSH, which meets at least two times a year.

The 16-member FACOSH council comprises eight members representing federal agency management and eight members from labor organizations representing federal workers. OSHA is seeking nominations to fill three labor and three management vacancies. The Secretary of Labor will appoint new members to three-year terms.

Home Depot in Chicago Fined $55,000 for Failing to Remove Damaged Equipment, Other Violations

OSHA cited a Home Depot store in Chicago for two repeat and one serious alleged safety violations, including failing to remove damaged equipment from service and train employees on safety procedures. The company faces proposed penalties of $55,000.

“Employers have a responsibility to take all necessary safety precautions to protect workers from injuries and accidents on the job,” said Diane Turek, OSHA’s area director in Des Plaines, Illinois. “The Home Depot previously has been cited for failing to remove damaged safety equipment from use and should be familiar with OSHA’s regulations and requirements.”

Two repeat citations, with proposed penalties of $50,000, include failing to ensure damaged and defective fall protection equipment was removed from service, and failing to remove powered industrial vehicles from service when defects were found. 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. The Home Depot was cited for the same violations in 2007 and 2008 in Rochester, New York, and Chicago, respectively.

One serious violation, with a proposed penalty of $5,000 was issued for failing to maintain capacity plates on powered industrial vehicles. 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.

OSHA Cites Troy Chemical Corp. for Process Safety Management Hazards

OSHA cited Troy Chemical Corp., for 11 serious safety violations related to process safety management at its Newark facility. An inspection was initiated on January 7 in response to a referral from the New Jersey State Police alleging that a hazardous chemical solvent was released during a cleaning process. Proposed penalties total $62,100.

“It is vital that the company take the necessary steps to correct these hazards to prevent future chemical releases or other incidents,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “All aspects of the OSHA process safety management standard must be followed by employers in order to ensure that employees stay safe at work.”

The violations include failing to provide a written plan for employee participation, written shift change procedures, adequate process chemistry documentation, pressure relief system design and design basis, electrical classification documentation, and written mechanical integrity procedures. Additionally, the company’s operating procedures lacked documentation of chemical properties and hazards, documentation of control measures to be taken after physical and inhalation exposure to hazardous chemicals, and emergency shutdown procedures. The company also failed to ensure that equipment complied with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices, conduct compliance audits, conduct initial process hazard analysis, inspect and test equipment, and manage changes to the operating procedures before they were made. 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.

Troy Chemical Corp., develops and manufactures performance additive chemicals, and employs 96 workers at its Newark site.

OSHA Lone Star Bakery for 2nd Time in 4 Months for Safety Hazards

OSHA cited Lone Star Bakery Inc., for 18 serious and three repeat safety and health violations at Plant 2 of the company’s facility on U.S. Highway 87 East in China Grove, Texas. A January 10 inspection conducted by OSHA’s San Antonio Area Office found that the company failed to establish a program to manage highly hazardous chemicals covered by OSHA’s process safety management standard. Proposed penalties total $199,600.

“This company repeatedly has jeopardized the safety of its employees,” said Jeff Funke, OSHA’s area director in San Antonio. “Failure to ensure that highly hazardous chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia are managed through a robust process safety management program is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Serious violations include failing to ensure that employees participate in a process safety management program, including the development of process hazard analyses, ensure piping and instrumentation diagrams are current and accurate, ensure that tanks containing anhydrous ammonia are properly protected by recognized and generally accepted engineering practices, ensure operating procedures are in place, and develop and implement standard operating procedures for emergency situations. 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.

Repeat violations include failing to resolve process hazard analysis recommendations in a timely manner, train employees on emergency shutdown procedures and the consequences of operating outside of normal operating parameters, and develop detailed procedures for employees responding to emergencies. 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.

OSHA cited the same company in 2006 for similar violations at Plant 2 of the China Grove facility with proposed penalties of $78,300. The company also was cited in April 2011 with proposed penalties of $229,400 following an amputation incident and multiple inspections at the two facilities.

Lone Star Bakery, which employs about 500 workers in China Grove, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director in San Antonio or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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