Meanwhile, fall protection in construction accrued the highest total penalty amounts of all the categories in FY 2008.
According to DOE studies, nearly 25 percent of industrial electricity demand comes from industrial motor systems, and energy savings of 20 percent or more are possible with systems optimization.
A survey of 88 employees at a Midwest corporation found both play a part in employees' reluctance to use on-site fitness center to their maximum potential.
The symposium will offer presentations on the culture change achievements of organizations such as Coors, Harley-Davidson, General Mills, and others, which can be applied to other organizations.
Covering material handling, reconstruction exposures, and wellness programs, the publications illuminate industrial hygienists' many roles.
"Helping employees quit smoking is a win/win proposition for employers and employees, as well as their families," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health.
A post-collapse inspection by the agency revealed 46 alleged safety and health violations, including struck-by, fall, electrical, and noise hazards, as well as failure to prevent explosive dust from accumulating on machinery and the shop floor.
"A great deal of technical development and capabilities have evolved since the 1982 edition of the standard," said Jeff Fryman, Z244 Committee vice chairman. "These new technologies make the control of hazardous energy both more complex and easier to achieve.
OSHA's Dallas Area Office began its investigation following the May 13 incident that took place at a water treatment facility in Paris, Texas, where a diver's lifeline became entangled in the water pump of a 500,000-gallon in-ground water tank.
"I see our major and department growing at Slippery Rock University," said Natasha Banks, a senior studying SH&E management. "We have five professors in the program, and I can definitely see the need for more. I remember when the program had around 30 students; now it is more like 85 - 100. The program is running out of space."
This will be one of the most significant changes to the rating system, and will increase the importance of green building as a means of contributing immediate and measurable solutions toward energy independence, climate change mitigation, and other global priorities, officials with the U.S. Green Building Council stated.
The two-day symposium takes place this week in Scottsdale and will be keynoted by T. Shane Bush's presentation, "Right Brain Leadership for the Future of Construction Safety."
The meeting also will include comments from the Office of the Assistant Secretary, Thomas M. Stohler, who was named the acting assistant secretary on Nov. 10 when the previous OSHA chief Edwin Foulke Jr. left the agency to join the Atlanta office of law firm Fisher & Phillips.
"Home fire season" has started, and the U.S. Fire Administration is working to make this year's cold months safer than last years--when there was a dramatic increase in home fire deaths. According to USFA, during the "home fire season" of Oct. 2007 to March 2008, there was a 68 percent increase in the number of fatal home fires and a 67 percent increase in the number of people killed in home fires, compared to the warmer months.
Interestingly, the issue of emergency preparedness and response—previously one of the public policy issues most on members' minds—was nowhere near the top of the list of concerns in the latest survey.
According to a new survey released today by Kimberly-Clark Professional, 89 percent of safety professionals polled at the 2008 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress have observed workers failing to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when they should have been.
Installing an effective ventilation system and ensuring compressors used to supply breathing air are equipped with a high-temperature alarm or carbon monoxide alarm are among the agency's recommendations for lowering employees' risk of exposure. Using compressors that are not oil lubricated is another.
The agency has developed a searchable database that pulls together publicly available information from various sources to help identify consumer and commercial products that contain mercury and their possible non-mercury alternatives.
EPA's new 2007 Municipal Solid Waste Characterization report shows Americans recycled and composted 85 million tons of the 254 million tons of total municipal solid waste produced last year.