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.
"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.
The four-year Hazardcheck campaign unveiled on March 1 builds on the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan and Clean Air Agenda.
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.
Results from a study of construction workers' chest x-rays at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities from 1996 to 2006 indicated that, depending on trade, abnormal results were found in 11 to 25 percent of the workers studied. The prevalence of abnormal chest x-ray increased with age and years worked.
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).
"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.
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.
A study done for Safe Work Australia also showed that many in the country's trades do not follow standard safety precautions to protect themselves against exposure to asbestos fibers.
As part of EPA’s Methane to Markets Grant, the firm will subcontract with the University of Colorado for the project, which will inventory emissions in the gassy, abandoned coal mines in the coal-bearing regions of the Shanxi and Hebei Provinces.
This third time is not a charm: Residual nicotine from tobacco smoke that clings to indoor surfaces reacts with the common air pollutant nitrous acid to form dangerous carcinogens.
"Company management was aware of the requirements to establish a lockout program and did not take action," said Kurt Petermeyer, director of OSHA's Mobile (Ala.) Area Office.
The Institute of Medicine committee that is studying research, testing, and certification issues surrounding PPE for health care workers during a flu pandemic is scheduled to meet with NPPTL personnel in Washington, D.C.
After the Maritime and Coastguard Agency finishes its consultation with stakeholders, regulations could be in effect by Oct. 1 to implement EC Directive 83/477/EEC and protect workers from asbestos exposure.
Anyone intending to manufacture, import, or process them for an activity that is designated as a significant new use would have to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance, giving the agency time to evaluate the intended use and bar it, if necessary.
Large freight railroads have submitted random samples of as little as 1 percent of their carloads on waybills sent to the Surface Transportation Board, but the board proposes that all cargoes designated as Toxic Inhalation Hazard be reported.
An inspection found that the Atlanta-based company also failed to fully implement a hearing conservation program and did not have an established written hazard communication program on exposure to hazardous substances. Proposed fines exceed $135,000.
1000 Cities, 1000 Lives is the campaign. Cities are being registered now, and WHO says events will be held worldwide April 7-11.
In addition to paying a $13,166 penalty, the company agreed to provide more than $8,800 for training and equipment to the City of Hoquiam (Wash.) Fire Department to improve the department's capabilities in responding to hazardous materials emergencies.
"[T]hese settlements call for tough new controls and innovative technologies to cut down on harmful air emissions that threaten the health of millions of Americans," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.