Regulatory & Standards


ASSE Releases Updated Standard for Handling Explosives in Construction, Demolition Operations

The A10.7 standard is applicable to the storage, handling, and use of commercial explosives and blasting agents in the construction industry.

OSHA Tosses Salad Maker $51,000 in Penalties for Repeat Violations

Two repeat violations with penalties of $30,000 involve to the company's failure to ensure workers were wearing safety glasses and ensure the proper level of compressed air was used for cleaning food particles.

Lead Exposure Carries $97,000 Penalty for Ohio Manufacturer

One willful violation was cited for allowing employees to dry sweep in areas where lead is used and processed. OSHA standards require lead to be removed by a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air filter or other equally effective method.

Istanbul Gears Up for Safety World Congress XIX

The Congress is held every three years and is one of the largest global events promoting efforts to reduce work-related accidents and diseases in the workplace.

OIRA Releases Positive Train Control Rule

The railroad industry has described the technologies involved as too expensive, with a total estimated cost to freight railroads over 20 years of at least $10 billion.

Air Force Contractor Cited for Exposing Workers to Hazardous Contaminants

The serious violations include exposing workers to air contaminants including hexavalent chromium, cadmium, and methylene chloride.

Anti-Regulatory Rhetoric Ignores Regulations' Benefits: Public Citizen

Justin Feldman and Taylor Lincoln of the organization's Congress Watch division cite five OSHA and MSHA rules as proving that safety and health regulations often cost less and yield more than opponents feared.

NTSB Chief Backs Towing SMS Rule

Deborah Hersman says the Coast Guard's rule to require safety management systems for towing operations is "an important step to improve safety."



Comments Support Adding Oral Fluid Testing

Many large companies providing drug testing services offered suggestions for implementing it in comments responding to SAMHSA's questions about it.

DOL Releases Mobile App that Monitors Heat Index at Worksites

The app, available in English and Spanish, combines heat index data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with the user’s location to determine necessary protective measures.

Hazardous Trenching Leads to $73,000 Fine for Construction Firm

As OSHA inspectors were traveling to an inspection near Auburn they passed an open excavation where workers were not being protected from cave-ins. The OSHA officials stopped and opened an inspection at the NPL Construction site, and requested that the workers be removed from the trench.

NIOSH List Highlights Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs

When hazardous drugs must be prepared and administered, there are workplace best practices that can minimize potentially harmful exposure. These include the use of engineering controls and personal protective equipment.

OSHA Pounds American Pulverizer Co. for Electrical, Repeat Violations

The serious violations address hazards associated with cranes, lockout/tagout of energy sources, and powered industrial trucks.

CPSC Settles Perfect Fitness Case

A $425,000 civil penalty is included in the settlement, which involves Perfect Pullup exercise equipment that was sold in 2008 and recalled in February 2011.

Coast Guard Setting Safety Rules for Towing Vessels

All inspected towing vessels would have to use a towing safety management system or be subject to an annual inspection regime. USCG asked for comments on possible hours of service and requirements for managing crew endurance.

OSHA Brews Up $46,550 in Fines for Georgia Coffee, Tea Manufacturer

Fourteen serious violations involve the company's failure to install isolation devices on the dust collector system to prevent fires and explosions, keep steel beams and floors free of coffee and tea dust accumulation, and develop and implement an emergency action plan and training in the use of fire extinguishers.

Texas Battery Recycling Facility Cited for Exposing Workers to Lead

The serious violation was cited for failing to ensure that employees who worked more than eight hours during a workday were not exposed to lead at concentrations greater than the reduced permissible exposure limit.

$326,300 in Fines Issued to Colorado Dairy, Contractor

"The violations which related to improper management of the anhydrous ammonia system demonstrate a lax attitude towards a potentially catastrophic atmospheric release," said John Healy, OSHA area director in Englewood.

OSHA Tackles Dick's Sporting Goods for Safety Hazards at N.Y. Store

"Even in a retail outlet, employees can be exposed to deadly or disabling hazards if the proper safeguards and training are absent, as they were here," said Edward Jerome, OSHA's area director in Albany.

More Data to Be Required on EPCRA Forms

EPA proposed adding parent company information and e-mail addresses to the Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Forms (Tier I and Tier II) under Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

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