Hazard Communication


EPA: Take Care to Know Your Air

Air quality standards have become more stringent, and, according to EPA, air pollution levels have declined. Still, ground-level ozone and particle matter can pose serious health problems, which is why the index is important.

ION Labs Inc. Recalls Influend Cough and Cold Products

ION Labs Inc. of Clearwater, Fla. is voluntarily recalling all of the Influend Cough and Cold products sold on or after May 30, 2008, due to the products not being tested in conformance with the specifications of the lab, therefore, the products may have a possibility to be super potent.

OSHA, Allies Promote Safety at Georgia Construction Career Expo

The Georgia Local Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the American Society of Safety Engineers' Georgia Chapter, and the Georgia Tech Research Institute's Occupational Safety and Health Division are taking part.

New NIH R&D Opportunity Targets Environmental Exposures

The "Grand Opportunities" program, highlighted this week by the National Institutes of Health, will invest about $200 million in large-scale research projects to boost public health, health care delivery, and biomedical R&D.

FEMA Releases All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning Guide

The Federal Emergency Management Administration has recently released its Comprehensive Preparedness Guide, CPG 101, which provides general guidelines on developing Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) and promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of planning and decision making to help emergency planners examine a hazard and produce integrated, coordinated, and synchronized plans. The guide is intended to help emergency managers in state, territorial, local, and tribal governments in their efforts to develop and maintain a viable all-hazard EOP.

Mega Brands America to pay $1.1 Million Civil Penalty for Reporting Violations

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced recently that Mega Brands America Inc., of Livingston, N.J., formerly Rose Art Industries Inc., has agreed to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty. The penalty, which CPSC has provisionally accepted, settles allegations that Mega Brands America and Rose Art failed to provide the government with timely information about dangers to children with Magnetix magnetic building sets, as required under federal law.

OSHA Drive-by Results in $60,000 Fine for Construction Firm

"An unguarded excavation can collapse in seconds, crushing and burying workers beneath soil and debris before they have a chance to react or escape," said said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.

map depicting the layout of the Sago Mine in West Virginia

NIOSH Will Measure Atmospheres of Sealed Areas

The agency yesterday asked coal mine companies to offer help in the research, which will examine methane accumulation in sealed areas like the one that exploded in the Sago Mine, depicted here, in January 2006.



Invista Agrees to Largest-Ever EPA Audit Policy Settlement

The company disclosed more than 680 violations of water, air, hazardous waste, emergency planning and preparedness, and pesticide regulations to EPA after auditing 12 facilities it acquired from DuPont in 2004.

Chemical Manufacturer Hit with Penalties after Forcing Residential Evacuation

The company has been fined $121,500 for violations associated with process safety management, hazardous waste operations, and emergency response, including the company's failure to identify all of the causal factors of the incident during the investigation. The chemical release resulted in the evacuation of residents living within a three-mile radius of the facility.

UPS Ordered to Rehire, Compensate Driver Fired after Raising Safety Concerns

"This order reaffirms both the right of drivers to refuse to operate vehicles when they reasonably believe it is unsafe and the Labor Department's commitment to taking the necessary steps to protect that right," said Ken Nishiyama Atha, OSHA's regional administrator in San Francisco.

NY Bottling Plant Faces $61,000 in Fines for 'Cross-section' of Hazards

Conditions at the worksite resulted in the issuance of 35 serious and two other-than-serious citations following inspections initiated in response to a complaint.

NIST Launches YouTube Channel

As part of a government-wide effort to expand the amount of information available to the public about its programs, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a channel on the video social networking site YouTube.

logo of CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

CDC Report Finds Foodborne Illness Prevention has Reached Plateau

According to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the incidence of the most common foodborne illnesses has changed very little over the past three years.

CPSC Reminder: Important HTPV Recall Deadline Approaches

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and various home heating furnace, boiler, and high-temperature plastic vent pipe (HTPV) manufacturers are urging home owners who have not yet responded to the previously-announced 1998 recall, to do so immediately. After May 1, 2009, the remedy consumers receive will change.

Spokane Safety Event Brings Safety Leaders Together

The latest workplace safety and health information will be showcased at the Region X VPPPA Conference, scheduled for May 19-21, 2009 at the Davenport Hotel and Tower in Spokane, WA.

OSHA Reinspects Site of Electrocution, Increases Fine More than 400 Percent

The initial inspection carried proposed penalties totaling $25,500. The re-inspection carries $108,000 in proposed penalties.

OSHA Clarifies HAZWOPER Training Rule: Video Alone Does Not Cut It

Employers cannot rely on online or video training tools as the sole source of training because physical manipulation of actual components of PPE (as opposed to virtual components of PPE) must be part of the program, the agency notes.

Air Cargo Carrier Ordered to Pay $7.9 Million+ in Whistleblower Lawsuit

Former flight crew members complained they suffered retaliation after raising air carrier safety concerns with the company.

Initiative Will Help Doctors Screen Patients for Drug Abuse

NIDAMED contains an online screening tool and a quick reference guide. An estimated 8 percent of the U.S. population uses illegal drugs, but few who do share the information with their physicians.

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