The alliance will place special emphasis on emergency preparedness and response activities related to restoring utility services quickly and safely following a major disaster.
"These employees were just one misstep or tumble away from a fatal or disabling plunge," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.
Lisa P. Jackson, CHMM, is the former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and before that worked for 16 years in EPA's Superfund Program, developing key hazardous waste cleanup regulations, overseeing hazardous waste cleanup programs and directing multimillion-dollar cleanup operations.
The International Code Council's full board of directors, meeting in Las Vegas today, denied the appeal from the National Association of Home Builders. The board confirmed the ICC Appeals Board's unanimous Dec. 11 rejection of the appeal.
Nancy Nord, CPSC acting chairman, said enforcement of the new law will focus on sites "where the greatest risk of drain entrapment to children exists, such as wading pools, pools designed specifically for toddlers and young children, and in-ground spas, particularly where these types of pools and spas have flat drain grates and single main drain systems."
The holiday season is here and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging consumers to keep safety in mind as they decorate for the holidays. Flickering candles, blinking holiday lights, and fragrant evergreens are beautiful staples of the holiday season, but when used improperly, these holiday decorating "must haves" can pose deadly dangers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions' Emergency Communication System (ECS) has redesigned its entire Emergency Preparedness and Response Web site, www.emergency.CDC.gov.
With the new technology, leaks are displayed on a video screen similar to the way night vision goggles are used to show the heat signature of objects.
More commercial vessels must have the systems, and notice of arrival requirements also are being expanded to cover more vessels, the agency said in Tuesday's NPRM. Comments are due by April 15.
Based on proposed amendments, if a refinery relies upon flaring more than expected, the facility would be required to take corrective action.
The presentation, which includes slides, focuses on hot work and arc flash hazards and how to protect oneself against shock and arc flashes or blasts.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated that this method is about 35 percent better than adding conventional fire retardants to these foams used in upholstered furniture.
Talk of shifting FEMA back to an independent agency is short-sighted, the outgoing chief of DHS said in a bloggers' roundtable Dec. 9. He said unified response to disasters could be harmed, and DHS' structure is more cohesive than the public perceives.
A study examined factors contributing to occupational deaths in East Attica, Greece, in the five years preceding the 2004 Olympics. A 2002 increase to 19 deaths was linked with construction of large-scale public works projects, the investigators concluded.
A new report from the National Research Council finds serious weaknesses in the government's plan for research on the potential health and environmental risks posed by nanomaterials, which are increasingly being used in consumer goods and industry.
University of Utah researchers have developed an automobile ignition key that prevents teenagers from talking on cell phones or sending text messages while driving. The university has obtained provisional patents and licensed the invention--Key2SafeDriving--to a private company that hopes to see it on the market within six months at a cost of less than $50 per key plus a yet-undetermined monthly service fee.
According to the agency, by 2050, the population of people age 45 and over in the United States is projected to grow to more than 170 million people, from 93 million today.
After a follow-up inspection, OSHA issued the company seven failure to abate notices carrying $168,000 in proposed fines and then further issued the company one serious citation with a $1,500 fine for not medically evaluating employees' fitness to wear respirators.
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech won the grand prize at the 2008 International Capstone Design Fair with a trio of pole-climbing serpentine robots designed to take the place of construction workers tasked with dangerous jobs such as inspecting high-rises or underwater bridge piers.
"An unguarded excavation is always an imminent danger situation since its walls can collapse suddenly and with great force, crushing or burying workers before they can react or escape," said Patrick Griffin, OSHA's area director in Providence.