"OSHA standards require that circuits be de-energized before employees work on them and that appropriate personal protective equipment be supplied and used in those rare instances where de-energizing is not feasible," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex (Mass.) counties.
A new online guide from the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers' Health Committee can help to limit workers' exposures to the fluids, which can produce a variety of health effects, including contact dermatitis.
By Sept. 1, the 14-member committee will provide a letter report to CDC and OSHA addressing personal protective equipment needs for this crucial workforce.
I received a call recently from a large electric utility. A line worker, we'll call him Bill, had been badly burned while performing work near a 69kV piece of equipment. This incident illustrates several issues that a safety professional or engineer must consider in development of an electrical safety training and PPE program, two of which are not directly addressed in regulations or the consensus standards.
Although only introduced in 2007, ISO 16602 is already recognized and accepted internationally. It is clear that ISO 16602 will become the common global language for expressing CPC performance.
NIOSH recommends providing both PPE and hand washing facilities in its March 2009 "Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology" guidance document.
The potential for arc flash might not be on your mind day to day, but if you've ever seen one or heard about the effects, it's obvious that measures must be taken to minimize injury and circumvent a potentially fatal situation.
Make sure to balance protection with comfort, fit, and style when selecting protective apparel.
A newly posted Letter of Interpretation says the employer must provide it at no cost to employees who work with flammable liquids and products because the footwear provides additional protection and is designed for special use on the job.
The company notes that this latest lawsuit follows similar patent infringement proceedings in 2004 in The Hague, Netherlands; in 2006 in Paris; and in 2008 in Texas, all of which resulted in court rulings forbidding the sale of infringing products in their respective countries or regions.
OSHA’s Area Office in Marlton, N.J., initiated an investigation on Jan. 21 after being notified of an employee accident.
A union representing correctional officers in federal prisons says the facilities are understaffed and dangerous. Nationwide, the number of inmates serving life without parole has risen steeply in this decade.
Fall hazards, lack of personal protective equipment, and deficiencies in the plant's confined space, respirator, and lockout/tagout programs are among the 73 safety violations cited in an inspection conducted by OSHA's Concord Area Office.
Three more standards have won ANSI approval, including 12, about connecting components, and 13, about energy-absorbing lanyards.
"The size of these fines reflects the gravity and recurring nature of these hazards, any one of which could have resulted in death or disabling injury for these workers," said Richard Mendelson, OSHA's area director for Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
The Health and Safety Executive seeks comments at a stakeholder forum this week in London as it reviews the issue and IOSH queries its 35,000 members.
The footwear was manufactured in Romania and sold by specialty outdoor retailers nationwide for between $140 and $400 (U.S.) and for between $200 and $500 (Canada) from December 2007 through June 2009.
One case involved alleged machine guarding and other violations against Crucible Specialty Metals following an investigation sparked by a worker's death Jan. 15.
The company also announced it is boosting its capacity to make single-use protective masks by 60 percent. Sperian is scheduled to release its second quarter 2009 sales results on Thursday.
The agency estimates it will take three to four months to clean the four-acre site that once held both an auto salvage shop and a gas station, situated a half mile from the center of town in a mixed residential and commercial area.