OSHA Starts Emphasis Program on Nebraska Companies' Use of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
The program will include programmed health inspections at funeral homes, chemical and product manufacturing plants, printing facilities, and outpatient care centers.
Seeking to educate employers and workers about highly hazardous chemicals, including formaldehyde and methylene chloride, OSHA is launching a local emphasis program in Nebraska. The program will include programmed health inspections at funeral homes, chemical and product manufacturing plants, printing facilities, and outpatient care centers.
"This local emphasis program will allow OSHA to use its resources efficiently by focusing on industries that are known to use these types of highly hazardous chemicals," said Bonita Winingham, area director for OSHA in Omaha. "Through this program, OSHA will improve education for company management and strengthen worker protections."
Local emphasis programs are enforcement strategies designed and implemented at the regional and/or area office levels. These programs are intended to address hazards in industries that pose a particular risk to workers in the office's jurisdiction. Often, these local emphasis programs are accompanied by outreach intended to make area employers aware of the program and the hazards that the programs are designed to reduce or eliminate.
OSHA also has created a toolkit to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of hazardous ones.