12/15/10 - OSHA QuickTakes
12/14/10 - The Obama Approach to Public Protection: Enforcemen (OMBWatch)
12/1/10 - OSHA QuickTakes
11/15/10 - OSHA QuickTakes
11/12/10 - OSHA and NIOSH to host Nov. 16 New York City Latino/immigrant worker safety and health summit
OSHA and NIOSH will co-sponsor the New York City Action Summit for Latino/Immigrant Worker Safety and Health on Tuesday, Nov. 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, at Lehman College's Lovinger Theatre, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. W., Bronx, N.Y., 10468.
11/1/10 - OSHA QuickTakes
11/1/10 - ASSE: The Safety Profession Is Growing
Money magazine’s “The 50 Best Jobs in America” list the “environmental, health and safety specialist” job as No. 22, the “environmental engineer” job as No. 5, and the “risk-management manager” job as No.14.
10/25/10 - Drug Testing Poses Quandary for Employer (NY Times)
Workplace testing is drawing complaints from employees who say they should not be fired for taking legal drugs.
10/19/10 - OSHA seeks comments on its official interpretation of workplace noise exposure controls
OSHA is proposing to issue an interpretation of the term "feasible administrative or engineering controls" as used in the general industry and construction occupational noise exposure standards and to amend its current enforcement policy to reflect the interpretation.
10/15/10 - OSHA QuickTakes
10/1/10 - OSHA QuickTakes
9/21/10 - OSHA Region 2 Announces New York Action Summit for Latino /Immigrant Worker Safety and Health
November 16, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; at Lehman College-Lovinger Theater, Bronx, New York (Lunch will be provided). See Announcement
The changes will provide the agency greater flexibility for inspecting worksites that are undergoing an on-site consultation visit and those that are granted Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) status, as well as ensure enhanced worker safety.
The total number of fatal workplace injuries fell by 17 percent last year, to 4,340, down from 5,214 in 2008
Approximately 267,000 construction, crane rental and crane certification establishments employing about 4.8 million workers will be affected by the rule published today.
OSHA announced today Standards Improvement Project (SIP)-III, a proposed rule to revise and remove requirements within several OSHA standards that are outdated, duplicative or inconsistent.
OSHA's SVEP focuses enforcement efforts on employers who willfully and repeatedly endanger workers by exposing them to serious hazards.
During the 10- and 30-hour outreach training program classes, OSHA trainers will cover topics on whistleblower rights and filing a complaint, and will provide samples of a weekly fatality and catastrophe report, material data safety sheet and the OSHA Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.
OSHA announced its plans to require improved worker protection from tripping, slipping and falling hazards on walking and working surfaces.
OSHA is confirming the effective date of June 15, 2010 for the direct final rule requiring employers to notify their workers of all hexavalent chromium exposures.
Instead of waiting for an OSHA inspection or a workplace incident to address workplace hazards, employers would be required to create a plan for identifying and correcting hazards, and then implement the plan.
4/30/10 - US Labor Department's OSHA releases data detailing worker exposure to toxic chemicals
Also issues directive on protecting non-English speaking workers from hazards
U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is releasing 15 years of data providing details of workplace exposure to toxic chemicals.
Program is intended to focus OSHA enforcement resources on recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law. See related OSHA press release.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration remains weak in several areas, and does not always use its powers
The proposal would restore a column to the OSHA 300 Log that employers would use to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The proposed rule will not change existing requirements for when and under what circumstances employers must record MSDs on their injury and illness logs.
Workplaces receiving notifications had DART rates more than twice the national average among all U.S. workplaces.
"The number of retail workers who died as a result of workplace violence has declined over the past 10 years - from 286 in 1998 to 167 in 2007. This decline is encouraging, but not good enough," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels.
"Restoring the MSD column will improve the ability of workers and employers to identify and prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders by providing simple and easily accessible information," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "It will also improve the accuracy and completeness of national work-related injury and illness data."
For the first time, the Agency has made the data from 1996 to 2007 available in a searchable online database, allowing the public to look at establishment or industry-specific injury and illness data.
Construction will be the primary industry targeted. Latino immigrant workers comprise almost one quarter of the construction industry workforce and suffer the highest rate of construction-related deaths. The conference will also target other high-risk industries that employ large numbers of Latino workers.
OSHA has prepared a fact sheet providing crowd control guidelines for retailers to protect workers during major sales events.
A final rule replaces references to outdated industry standards with updated references reflecting current industry practices.
Employers and workers routinely underreport work-related injuries and illnesses, calling into question the accuracy of nationwide data that the OSHA compiles each year. See OSHA News Release
OSHA has issued commonsense fact sheets that employers and workers can use to promote safety during the current H1N1 influenza outbreak.
OSHA officials said the fine, more than four times the size of any previous sanction, was due to BP’s failure to fix safety hazards. Also see OSHA Press Release.
OSHA will publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Oct. 21 edition of the Federal Register as an initial step in development of a standard to address the hazards of combustible dust.
The recordkeeping NEP involves inspecting occupational injury and illness records prepared by businesses and appropriately enforcing regulatory requirements when employers are found to be under-recording injuries and illnesses.
A proposed rule to align the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with provisions of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Site-Specific Targeting 2009 (SST-09) program will focus enforcement efforts on nearly 4,000 high-hazard worksites on the agency's list for comprehensive safety inspections.
The proposed rule sought to compile Department procedures related to risk assessment into a single regulation and included new requirements aimed at establishing consistent procedures intended to promote greater public input and awareness of the Department's health rulemakings.
A total of 5,071 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2008, down from a total of 5,657 fatal work injuries reported for 2007.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, is continuing to strengthen the integrity of its 36-year-old Outreach Training Program by publishing an "Outreach Trainer Watch List" of those who have had their trainer authorizations either revoked or suspended.
The White House said that David Michaels was Mr. Obama’s choice to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Computer users are afflicted with more than back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.
One by one, three workers, overcome by toxic fumes, died in a Queens well this week, and experts said the sequence was all too common
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced that it is continuing its nationwide program to emphasize workplace safety and health for federal workers and for those contractors whose work is supervised on a daily basis by federal agency personnel.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced that it will address problems identified in its Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) in response to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
OSHA, in an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, is strengthening the integrity of its 36-year-old Outreach Training Program by improving how trainers become authorized to teach and ensuring these trainers are in compliance with OSHA program guidelines.
OSHA will issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and convene related stakeholder meetings to evaluate possible regulatory methods, and request data and comments on issues related to combustible dust such as hazard recognition, assessment, communication, defining combustible dust and other concerns.
McWane Inc., a major manufacturer of cast iron water pipes, was fined $8 million on Friday for dozens of workplace safety and environmental crimes at its New Jersey plant.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has notified more than 13,500 employers nationwide that their injury and illness rates are considerably higher than the national average.
Assigned Protection Factors (APF), a new guidance document published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), provides employers with vital information for selecting respirators for employees exposed to contaminants in the air.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its Field Operations Manual to provide OSHA compliance officers with a single comprehensive resource of updated guidance in implementing the agency's mission to more effectively protect employees from occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
The estimated direct U.S. workers compensation costs for the most disabling workplace injuries and illnesses in 2006
were $48.6 billion. This finding and many others are presented in the 2008 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index.
A new guide published by the Quebec Occupational Health and Safety Research Institute (IRSST) describes methods for eliminating mechanical hazards at the source and using fixed guards as a protective measure
ORC Worldwide has developed the Center of Excellence, a new, interactive online resource that makes EHS research results and best practice information publicly available. The Center is built on a wiki platform and is designed to foster collaboration among all EHS stakeholders.
The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) recently announced the availability of draft revisions to its voluntary consensus standards for workplace first aid kits and air-purifying respiratory protective smoke escape devices.
A new study in the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Journal of Safety Research identifies key knowledge gaps and suggests ways to enhance behavior-based injury-prevention interventions and improve occupational safety and healt
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed revised fit tests for determining the effectiveness of respiratory protection facemasks.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today published in the Federal Register final changes to its Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) that, among other enhancements, allow participation by companies with mobile workforces.
The rule revises OSHA standards to clarify that, for employers to be in compliance, they must provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and hazards training for each employee covered by the standards. See Federal Register.
The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced the appointment of five members to the 12-person National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH).
The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on November 20 that the rate and number of occupational injuries and illnesses decreased from 2006 to 2007.
Employees, employers and their families from the Hudson Valley and greater New York City area are invited to attend the second Hudson Valley Safety and Health Fair, to be held Saturday, Nov. 8, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y.
The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and partners will hold the International Conference on Road Safety at Work on February 16-18, 2009, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.
The rate of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry declined in 2007 for the sixth consecutive year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in the Oct. 22 Federal Register that it is reopening the record on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on electric power generation, transmission and distribution work and for electrical protective equipment.
Employers who use forklifts in their workplaces have a new resource to help keep their employees safe on the job.
The Bush administration proposed that the Labor Department be required to seek more public comment before adopting rules to protect workers from hazardous chemicals.
In a response to today's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report announcing a decline in worker fatalities, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued a statement.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued citations proposing penalties totaling $8,777,500 against the Imperial Sugar Co. and its two affiliates alleging violations at their plants in Port Wentworth, Ga., and Gramercy, La
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today that its 2008 Site-Specific Targeting (SST) plan will focus on approximately 3,800 high-hazard worksites on its primary list for unannounced comprehensive safety inspections over the coming year.
3/19/08 - United Parcel Service pays $254,000 to mechanic following whistleblower investigation by U.S. Labor Department's OSHA
As the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) has paid $254,000 to a mechanic who was terminated by the delivery carrier after complaining about unsafe conditions in trucks at the company's Watertown, N.Y., garage.
The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is reissuing its Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) Instruction. The NEP will increase enforcement activities and focus on specific industry groups that have experienced frequent combustible dust incidents.
3/1/08 - OSHA QuickTakes
2/26/08 - OSHA Forms New Alliance with Safety and Health Professional Certification Organizations
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently formed a new Alliance with the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), the Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologists (CCHEST) and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH). The groups will work collectively to help enhance the education and expertise of safety professionals and industrial hygienists, as well as promote the value of safety and health accredited certifications.
2/15/08 - OSHA QuickTakes
2/1/08 - OSHA QuickTake
1/15/08 - OSHA QuickTakes
1/8/08 - OSHA Extends Comment Period for Lookback Review of Methylene Chloride Standard
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reopened the public comment period for the review of its methylene chloride (MC) Standard (29 CFR §1910.1052).
12/28/07 - OSHA records another successful enforcement year in FY 2007
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released its annual enforcement statistics, confirming that the agency's enforcement programs are producing positive results for the benefit of American workers
12/26/07 - OSHA Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for New Respirator Fit-Testing Protocol
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register for a new fit-testing protocol -- the Abbreviated Bitrex Qualitative Fit-Testing (ABQLFT) protocol -- under Appendix A of OSHA's Respiratory Protection standard. The agency is accepting public comments until Feb. 25, 2008.
12/15/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
12/11/07 - Semiannual Regulatory Agenda
12/1/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
11/15/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
11/15/07 - OSHA Publishes Employer Payment for Personal Protective Equipment Final Rule
11/9/07 - Statement by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao on 2006 Occupational Injuries and Illnesses with Days Away from Work
11/1/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
10/15/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
10/1/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
9/27/07 - OSHA issues guidance on the selection and use of slings for handling and moving materials
New guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will help employers select and use the appropriate slings when handling and moving materials
9/20/07 - Dem White House hopefuls would resurrect OSHA Ergonomics rule
Most of the Democratic presidential candidates are promising to revisit a controversial workplace safety regulation that the Republican-led Congress overturned in 2001.
9/15/07 - OSHA Quick Takes
9/1/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
8/15/07 - OSHA QuickTakes
8/1/07 - OSHA QuickTakes |