Through the partnership, APCa has developed 10 fact sheets so far, all describing best safety practices when working with equipment such as backhoes, sidebooms, and trenching machines.
The California, Mo.-based company, which produces bulk turkey feed for 197 independent producers, earned VPP recognition after implementing a comprehensive employee safety and health management system in accordance with VPP standards, which exceed minimum OSHA standards.
OSHA has is inviting employers from Connecticut and southern New England to attend a free March 12 meeting at Wesleyan University in Middletown to learn about the agency's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).
I'm disabled becuase of exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas during a welding job in May 2001. Don't let this happen to you.
The company was issued one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $35,000 alone, for not providing employees with confined space rescue training at least every 12 months.
Hazards included the lack of a confined space training program for employees whose duties involve entering sauerkraut tanks and numerous instances of moving machine parts not guarded against accidental employee contact.
A 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Monday rejected all but one claim against the 5 micrograms per cubic meter PEL set in the February 2006 final rule. The judges told OSHA to state its reasons for requiring employees to be notified when monitored exposures exceed the PEL, rather than being notified of all monitoring results as the agency originally proposed.
An investigation found alleged willful violations in the construction company's failure to provide training in avoiding hazards associated with working in trenches eight feet deep or more and failure to provide a means of egress while employees are working at excavation worksites that are four feet deep or more.
The pumps covered by this standard, which includes types, nomenclature, and definitions, are typically driven by vertical electric motors or horizontal engines with right angle gears.
The document provides a review of the available literature and an update of the agency's policies on occupational exposure to the compounds, including an assessment of relevant quantitative risk assessments about exposure to them and appropriate methods for sampling and analysis of the compounds in the workplace.
The California Safety Services Group recently announced its 21st Annual Cal/OSHA Update Seminar Series will commence April 1, 2009. Cal/OSHA Representatives as well as recognized health and safety professionals will review and update significant Cal/OSHA regulation and policy changes, which occurred in 2008 as well as significant rulings of the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board.
To encourage "more complete public participation" on the proposed rulemaking, EPA also has added an additional public meeting that will take place in New Orleans on March 4.
OSHA is proposing $108,000 in penalties against Tippins Contracting Co. for seven safety violations that exposed its employees to possible injury or death at two construction sites.
Companies will be evaluated on their ability to demonstrate that their SH&E management system led to proven success in their SH&E practices and enhanced productivity.
After failing to pay a $342,000 penalty by the Oct. 19, 2008 deadline, MSHA now seeks to collect $505,012--which includes unpaid civil penalties, additional penalties, interest, and administrative fees.
"There is no excuse for employees to work in such conditions," said C. William Freeman III, OSHA's area director in Hartford, Conn., the office that conducted the inspection.
Health hazard evaluation report HETA-2006-0332-3058, issued in April 2008, evaluates Republic Conduit workers' exposures to noise, metalworking fluids, welding fumes, and acids during metal conduit manufacturing. NIOSH investigators who visited the site in November 2006 and March 2007 concluded most workers were overexposed to noise, but the 168 workers weren't overexposed to acid mists, elements, or hexavalent chromium. The confined space and respiratory programs were incomplete, they found.
Publishing the proposed rule on Nov. 28, 2007, wasn't the end of the story. Contractors and their trade associations opposed it, testified against it at OSHA hearings, and filed additional documents as recently as October 2008.
Confined spaces represent a major health and safety risk for many employees. Recognizing and planning appropriately for confined space work can mean the difference between a job well done and disaster.
When a confined space disaster strikes, an urban search and rescue team responds. Vital to its success is its medical personnel's approach.