OSHA recently announced a final rule on improving the safety of longshoring employees who work with vertical tandem lifts (VTLs). The final rule will reduce hazards related to lifting two containers at a time using cranes by ensuring that safe work practices are followed. The rule was published in the December 10 Federal Register.
"Our common goal is a continuous and effective safety and health emphasis that will eliminate injuries and illnesses and their associated human and financial costs," said Marthe Kent, OSHA's New England regional administrator.
The $11 billion project is scheduled to begin opening in phases next year. Six workers’ deaths during its construction prompted a brief halt of work, OSHA and Nevada OSHA investigations, and a newspaper’s series on construction safety in the casino capital.
James Purnell, Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, said he commissioned the inquiry because some 2,800 people have died from injuries in construction work in the past 25 years, and "no one can find it acceptable that this number of people have died directly as a cause of their work and we are not making sufficient progress on preventing this total of human misery."
The alliance will place special emphasis on emergency preparedness and response activities related to restoring utility services quickly and safely following a major disaster.
"These employees were just one misstep or tumble away from a fatal or disabling plunge," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.
NIOSH has engaged The National Academies' Institute of Medicine to review the draft NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin: "Asbestos Fibers and other Elongated Mineral Particles: State of the Science and Roadmap for Research."
The holiday season is here and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging consumers to keep safety in mind as they decorate for the holidays. Flickering candles, blinking holiday lights, and fragrant evergreens are beautiful staples of the holiday season, but when used improperly, these holiday decorating "must haves" can pose deadly dangers.
The presentation, which includes slides, focuses on hot work and arc flash hazards and how to protect oneself against shock and arc flashes or blasts.
A study examined factors contributing to occupational deaths in East Attica, Greece, in the five years preceding the 2004 Olympics. A 2002 increase to 19 deaths was linked with construction of large-scale public works projects, the investigators concluded.
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech won the grand prize at the 2008 International Capstone Design Fair with a trio of pole-climbing serpentine robots designed to take the place of construction workers tasked with dangerous jobs such as inspecting high-rises or underwater bridge piers.
"An unguarded excavation is always an imminent danger situation since its walls can collapse suddenly and with great force, crushing or burying workers before they can react or escape," said Patrick Griffin, OSHA's area director in Providence.
As the world is getting more mobile, with estimates of more than 250 million cell phones in use in the United States, EPA is launching one of the first government Web sites tailored specifically for cell phone users: http://m.epa.gov.
"Employees who were removing asbestos-containing materials at this site lacked basic safeguards that must be in place before performing such work," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport, Conn.
“The trenching and excavation safety video and handbook provide our industry with critically important information for maintaining a safe work-site environment,” said NAHB Chairman of the Board Sandy J. Dunn.
Jan. 22 is the new deadline for written comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Search RIN 1218-AC01 to post a comment.
ACCSH advises the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health on the formulation of standards affecting the construction industry and on policy matters arising in the administration of the safety and health provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, and the OSH Act of 1970.
ISO has issued a standard to provide the minimum performance requirements for protective clothing worn in situations where users may be exposed to radiant, convective or contact heat, flames, arc flashes and molten metal splashes.
OSHA has cited Florida Transportation Services for one willful and four serious safety violations. In May, three employees died after entering a cargo hold filled with argon gas.
Available to both graduate and undergraduate students pursuing degrees in occupational SH&E or a closely related field, the $1,000 award will be part of the Foundation's 2009 scholarship package, and the first recipient will be announced on April 1, 2009.