Fall Protection


OSHA Seeks Experts to Fill Seven ACCSH Vacancies

The agency needs nominees with experience and expertise in construction-related safety and health issues to fill two employee, two employer, one state safety and health agency, and two public representative seats to advise DOL on developing standards affecting the construction industry.

Har-Conn Chrome Charged with HexChrome, Electrocution Hazards

The Connecticut-based metal finishing company also was cited for not establishing a regulated work area and ensuring contaminated protective clothing remained in the work area, and for not conducting cadmium exposure sampling.

Honeywell is Buying Sperian Protection

The company announced today that its $1.4 billion bid has been approved by Sperian's board. This will vault Honeywell into the lead position among PPE manufacturers worldwide.

Construction Firm Faces $56,000 Fine for Fall Hazards in Pa.

During an inspection that was part of a regional emphasis program, investigators observed employees working without adequate protection on platforms as high as 20 feet.

The provincial government announced it is taking more steps to improve safety of construction work there, including stronger enforcement directed at repeat offenders and shutting down sites if lives are in danger.

Ontario Promises Stronger Enforcement After Blitz

One of the largest safety blitzes ever conducted by the province's Ministry of Labour resulted in 784 stop-work orders and 121 summonses issued for fall hazards on hundreds of construction sites.

Sugar Cane Mill Cited for Laceration, Amputation Hazards

"This facility has been inspected previously and received citations for various workplace hazards," said Darlene Fossum, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "Management cannot delay taking action any longer to improve its safety and health program in order to protect workers."

Contractor Cited for Cave-in Hazards, Other Trenching Violations

"While it's fortunate that no collapse occurred, excavation safety cannot rely on good fortune," said OSHA Area Director Brenda Gordon. "Required safeguards must be in place and in use at all times."

Investigators Witness Fall Hazards, Fine Construction Firm $47K

Among other violations, the company failed to provide workers with a fall arrest harness with a lanyard and did not adequately plank scaffolding during masonry work that reached as high as 24 feet, OSHA said.



Milk Specialties to Pay $535K after Inspection Turns Sour

In its fifteenth OSHA inspection since 1974, the company was charged with nine willful, four repeat, and 17 serious violations, including hazards of confined space entry and combustible dust.

OSHA Seeks Input for Proposed 'I2P2' Rule

The agency is hosting three meetings next month -- one on June 3 in East Brunswick, N.J., another on June 10 in Dallas, and the final on June 29 in Washington, D.C. -- to gather comments. Registration will remain open until the meetings are full.

Carbon nanotubes have been found to quickly cause adverse lung health effects in mice.

Ominous Nano Findings Win a NIOSH Award

Among the 2010 winners and honorable mentions for the Alice Hamilton Award announced Wednesday is a paper published last month in Toxicology that found mice exposed to multi-walled carbon nanotubes quickly suffered lung damage.

Fall Violations Included in Two Enforcement Cases

Combined penalties proposed in citations against Birdair Inc. and National Wrecking Co. in Chicago total $105,000.

Dr. David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, assistant secretary of Labor for occupational safety and health

OSH Act Must Be Modernized: Michaels

In Senate testimony today, OSHA's assistant secretary listed many updates that are needed to make his agency's inspectors an effective force for change. Does Congress have the will, or the daring, to reform the law?

Irish OSH Agency Offers Useful Slip Guidance

"Get a grip: Stop slips & trips" includes a comprehensive checklist and advises users to remember the acronym SHOES for Spills, High-risk areas, Over-used signs, Environmental cleanliness, and Shoes.

OSHA is rolling out a Severe Violator Enforcement Program and raising its penalties, if only slightly.

OSHA Announces Severe Violator Enforcement Program

Are we seeing the new face of OSHA? David Michaels said the agency is doing what it can to administratively raise the dollar amounts of its penalties and adopting a new structure for penalty reductions based on the company's employee count.

Truck Parts Distributor Cited for Repeat PPE Failures, Other Violations

Damaged, inoperable emergency lighting and a lack of hazard assessment certification were among other faults uncovered in a February inspection.

HSE said this photo from the BBC documentary footage shows the scaffold from which the mason fell in March 2005.

BBC Documentary Helps Convict Construction Company

The Health and Safety Executive said it prosecuted Regentford Ltd after one of its employees died in a March 2005 fall from scaffolding. That scaffolding was gone when investigators arrived, but the documentary footage showed it, and Regentford was fined $384,000 on April 6.

The 2010s Safety Break for Oregon is set for May 12.

Oregon OSHA Preparing for 8th Annual Safety Break

The agency's April 2010 e-newsletter zeroes in on fall protection, showing examples of violations found in some of its recent inspections. This year's Safety Break for Oregon is set for May 12.

Correct Exercise, Posture Key to Older Adult Fall Prevention

Being able to stay in their homes and remain independent is a daily struggle for many older adults. As we age we tend to lose our flexibility, our connective tissue tightens, and we have prolonged reaction times. Problems with vision, including depth perception, all increase the likelihood of falling. When a child falls it may result in a few bumps and bruises.

Fatal Injuries Rise in Older Americans

The risk of dying from injuries is increasing for Americans ages 65 and older according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.

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