Nine states ban text messaging by all drivers, and nine ban the practice by novice drivers. Several states ban cellphone use by bus drivers.
MSHA levied the fine in connection with an October 2008 incident where methane ignited and seriously burned two miners, the agency said.
Rigger (Basic) is the first level in a three-level program. Development work on the Intermediate and Advanced Rigger levels is nearing completion and will follow during the year.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association's president, Lindsay Booher, wrote a letter April 2 to the chairman of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee expressing support for HR 849.
Among other things, the agency's new, 51-page guidance document explains how to use Assigned Protection Factors numbers and Maximum Use Concentration limits, per the 2006 revisions to its Respiratory Protection standard.
Determining the level of hand protection performance required in a safety glove is critical to the right glove specification. However, different standards and different test methodologies are in use, which can be confusing and complex for safety managers. It is imperative that buyers and safety managers of gloves seek out expert advice and counsel to help them make sense of the different and often incomparable data available.
A safety fact sheet on Lyme disease is among the products developed by the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) through the recently renewed OSHA alliance. The fact sheet describes the causes, symptoms, treatment, and methods for preventing Lyme disease for people who work or spend time outdoors in grassy or wooded areas.
Interviewed by OH&S Editor Jerry Laws by e-mail, OSHA Underground blogger Kane and OSHA Aboveground's Abel answered 30 questions about OSHA's effectiveness, its best leader in recent years and who should now take command, and how employees are affected by the snail's pace of regulations.
OSHA has revised its Field Operations Manual to provide OSHA compliance officers with a single comprehensive resource of updated guidance in implementing the agency's mission to more effectively protect employees from occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced recently that the Department of Transportation has posted the new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks for the 2011 model year.
The effect of the federal economic stimulus package on the construction industry will be the main topic discussed at a meeting of OSHA's Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH), April 14-17, 2009 in Washington, D.C.
Working to boost the economy while protecting human health and the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) a $400,000 grant to help retrofit construction equipment that is leased to construction projects throughout the Northeast.
OSHA has cited LandCoast Insulation Inc. for three alleged safety violations following six injuries and one employee fatality last November when a scaffold collapsed inside a boiler at Mississippi Power's Plant Daniel in Moss Point.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) announced in a recent news release that it has developed a new e-course, titled "Orientation on Health and Safety for New Workers," that provides a general introduction to workplace health and safety to new workers.
The Department of Justice announced recently that it has entered into a consent decree with the City of Portsmouth, Va., that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department's complaint that the City of Portsmouth engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against black Americans in its hiring of entry-level firefighters, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).
Judge Harold Baer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York gave final approval to a sweeping consent decree between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and B & H Foto and Electronics Corp. (B & H), the federal agency.
In a letter released on March 26 by the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), Chairman John Bresland urged Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to support worker-safety legislation to protect state, county, and municipal employees in Florida.
"This order reaffirms both the right of employees to raise concerns regarding violations of Securities and Exchange Commission rules and the Labor Department's commitment to take the necessary steps to protect that right," said Ken Atha, OSHA's regional administrator in San Francisco.
Furthering the safety and health of oil and gas industry workers in east Texas, southern Arkansas, and northwest Louisiana is the goal of an alliance signed between OSHA and the Ark La Tex STEPS (Safe Transportation, Exploration and Production Systems) network.
The employee had repeatedly informed the company of suspected violations of federal aviation regulations, including ordering an unqualified pilot to perform a test flight while carrying passengers.