The series of half-day seminars will discuss ergonomics, pandemic influenza, indoor air quality, fire protection, and other potential workplace hazards.
An inspection of the company's petroleum additives manufacturing plant in Linden, N.J., led to citations for violations related to a deficient process safety management system.
Throughout my 27 years spent working in manufacturing, I've worked with electricity in some way or another. I've been a maintenance mechanic, maintenance supervisor, equipment technician, appliance repairman, TV/VCR technician, and more. Although I've been extremely fortunate never to have encountered a fatality that was caused by electricity, almost everyone I've worked with has been zapped, tingled, or shocked at some point in their lives, either on or off the job.
"The company's intentional disregard for its safety and health responsibilities put its workers at risk, and more egregiously, led to an unnecessary loss of life,” said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
"The employer knowingly operated high-pressure vessels even after being warned of the potential for a catastrophic failure due to material design and fabrication defects," said OSHA's Dr. David Michaels. "This simply is unacceptable, and OSHA will use the full extent of the law to ensure the company is held accountable for its actions."
“OSHA needs to bring more attention to the worst actors among employers, but not at the expense of encouraging employers to be as good as they can be in managing occupational safety and health,” said ASSE President C. Christopher Patton, in a letter to Congress on Friday expressing concern over the proposed cutting of OSHA’s VPP and MSHA’s Small Mines Office.
Almost two-thirds of the more than 7,000 respondents did not know that all forms of UV exposure, whether from natural sunlight or artificial light sources found in tanning beds, are unsafe.
The inspection was initiated under the agency's Construction Hazards Emphasis Program when an OSHA inspector observed employees working at heights of more than 14 feet without the use of fall protection.
The OSHA leader and Dr. John Howard, director of NIOSH, are working together on a broad front to make important changes in OSHA's approach and effectiveness, they said Wednesday in a joint AIHce appearance.
"Although management knew the existing sign needed to be removed or covered, they chose to ignore the requirement and put their employees in danger," said Darlene Fossum, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Inspectors discovered that employees were bypassing safety switches in order to reach into running machinery to un-jam it without shutting down the machine.
Following a thorough investigation, the agency issued two willful and 12 serious citations with total proposed penalties of $135,900. The alleged violations include arc flash hazards, insufficient hand protection, and industrial truck training deficiencies.
Cryptococcus "is inhaled into the lungs of people who may have been near trees or soil where the microbes live,” says Dr. Christina Hull of the ubiquitous C. neoformans species (pictured), the spherical cells of which are 3 to 7 microns in diameter. Abandoned buildings also are often hotbeds.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said they have an infection control plan to increase interventions in the event of an outbreak of CDI, a condition frequently associated with previous antibiotic use and most commonly contracted by the elderly and those with recent exposure to hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care institutions.
"This was a horrific and preventable situation," said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. "The employer was aware of the hazards and knowingly and willfully sent workers into a confined space with an explosive and toxic atmosphere."
Training of cleanup employees is ongoing throughout the Gulf Coast region. The agency has officials monitoring the training and observing the cleanup efforts that are already underway.
The Connecticut-based metal finishing company also was cited for not establishing a regulated work area and ensuring contaminated protective clothing remained in the work area, and for not conducting cadmium exposure sampling.
The 33 serious violations include a lack of training, electrical hazards, inadequate personal protective equipment, failing to implement an adequate hazard communication and respiratory protection program, and failing to properly handle confined spaces.
During an inspection that was part of a regional emphasis program, investigators observed employees working without adequate protection on platforms as high as 20 feet.
OSHA issued citations for, among other things, failing to ensure workers were not exposed to noise levels at or above 85 decimals and to adequately protect employees from exposure to hazardous chemicals such as formaldehyde.