Hazard Communication


HSE Issues New Asbestos Removal Survey Guidelines

The new guidance does away with the old Survey Type 1, 2, and 3, replacing those with the more comprehensive Management Survey and Refurbishment and Demolition Survey.

Fatal Injury Mapping Module Unveiled by CDC

The module allows users to create customized, color-coded maps of injury-related death rates throughout the United States. It defines injury-related deaths according to intent (e.g., unintentional, homicide, suicide) and mechanism of injury (e.g., motor-vehicle traffic, fall, fire or burn, poisoning, cut).

USDA Launches Initiative to Improve Mississippi River Water Quality

Among the most significant challenges facing the river is the runoff of excess nutrients from manure and commercial fertilizer, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus.

USFA Releases Winter Residential Building Fires Report

United States Fire Administration (USFA) has issued a special report examining the causes and characteristics of winter residential building fires--those that occur in January, February, and March. The report, titled "Winter Residential Building Fires," was developed by USFA's National Fire Data Center.

Wholesale Food Distributor Cited for 'Cross Section' of Warehouse Woes

An inspection found workers unable to open emergency exit doors from inside the workplace; a lack of specific procedures to lock out machine power sources; missing guardrails; improperly stored oxygen cylinders; several electrical hazards; and more.

Chris Patton, CSP, president of ASSE

ASSE, AIHA Offer Creative Ideas

The March 4 "OSHA Listens" meeting did not lack for out-of-the-box thinking. What OSHA does with the input from ASSE President Chris Patton and others is the crucial part, of course.

New Study Details Ways to Avoid Combustible-Cloud Explosions

Among the products considered most likely to lead to the danger of an explosion or fire are zinc and other metallic powders, wheat flour and other food products, and certain plastics and resins. In all of these cases, if unprotected, normal processing steps can produce enough static electricity to ignite a dust cloud.

Fall Prevention Tips from OSHA

Falls and falling objects can result from unstable working surfaces, ladders that are not safely positioned, and misuse of fall protection. Workers are also subject to falls or to the dangers of falling objects if sides and edges, floor holes, and wall openings are not protected. Any time a worker is at a height of six feet or more (construction industry) or four feet or more (general industry), the worker must be protected.



New England Contractor Fined for Asbestos Hazards, Respiratory Deficiencies

"OSHA standards are designed to minimize the risk of exposure and its potential impact on workers' health, but they are effective only so long as employers adhere to them," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.

Health Canada Offers Environmental Health Resource

The four-year Hazardcheck campaign unveiled on March 1 builds on the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan and Clean Air Agenda.

OSHA Presses Printing Plant for Improvements, Fines Facility $62,350

Specifically, the agency found instances of improper transfer and storage of flammable liquids; lack of specific lockout/tagout procedures and training to prevent the unintended startup of machines during maintenance; lack of hearing protection; inadequate respirator training, fit-testing, medical evaluation, inspection, and maintenance; unguarded grinders; and more.

Study: Half of Americans Live More Than an Hour Away from Stroke Care

When stroke strikes, choking off blood supply to the brain, every minute counts: Nearly two million neurons die each minute a stroke is left untreated, making it a race to recognize symptoms so that lifesaving "clot-busting" drugs can be administered. Forty-five percent of Americans--135 million people--are more than an hour away from primary stroke centers, the facilities that are best equipped to care for them if they are stricken by the condition, according to new research led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine that will be presented February 24 at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in San Antonio.

A ground crew member sprays deicing fluid on a passenger jet before takeoff.

NTSB Bears Down on Pilot Fatigue, Icing

Flying in icing conditions remains a "most wanted" safety improvement on the agency's list with a "red" classification indicating an unacceptable FAA response. NTSB investigated 69 accidents involving U.S.-registered aircraft and runway or surface icing in 1998-2007.

Safety 2010 in Baltimore

Star-Spangled Safety

There will come a point during the upcoming American Society of Safety Engineers Professional Development Conference & Expo, June 13-16 in Baltimore, when visitors will have the opportunity to witness something close to what inspired Maryland native Francis Scott Key by that dawn's early light in 1814, when he penned the words of what would become our national anthem.

AANMA Clarifies FDA Asthma Medication Warnings

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) recently offered guidance to help patients understand recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings about Advair® (fluticasone and salmeterol), Foradil ® (formoterol), Serevent® (salmeterol) and Symbicort® (budesonide and formoterol), daily inhaled medications containing a long-acting beta agonist (LABA, a 12-hour bronchodilator).

Snowmobiles Recalled for Fire Hazard

Some 1,300 of the Model Year 2010 Arctic Cat 500 Sno Pro vehicles were sold at the company's dealerships nationwide from October 2009 to February 2010 for between $7,800 and $8,200.

EPA Fines Military for Underground Tank Violations at West Point

"Out of sight does not mean out of mind when it comes to underground petroleum storage tanks, and it is critical that facilities monitor their tanks and make sure they are not leaking," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck.

UPS to Pay for Hazwaste Violations in Kansas

The company's location in Lenexa, Kan., generates hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste as a result of ordinary breakage, leakage, and spillage from the approximate 400,000 packages workers handle at the facility each day, EPA said.

Contractor, Subcontractor Fined After Worker's Fatal Fall from Water Tower

"This case is a clear and grave example of the human cost incurred when required fall protection safeguards are absent, ignored, or inadequate," said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA's New Hampshire area director.

NIOSH Taking Comments on Asbestos Research Plans

The agency's revised "current intelligence bulletin" for asbestos fibers and other elongate mineral particles explains what NIOSH still wants to explore and also clarifies the 1990 NIOSH recommended exposure limit for airborne asbestos fibers.

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