Energy industry officials are questioning whether the Environmental Protection Agency will ever issue a potential Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA) policy to obtain health and safety data on chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, after EPA moved the rule to the long-term actions section of its latest unified agenda of pending rules and says it is weighing "next steps" on how to proceed -- an issue that arises as other agencies including OSHA and NIOSH study the health effects of fracking on workers (see related story).
NIOSH has issued a new guidance document for grocery employers to head off worker ergonomic injuries by providing a host of illustrated protective measures -- an effort that comes as OSHA increasingly sets its sights on preventing hazards in retail environments, though NIOSH chief John Howard tells Inside OSHA Online the purpose behind drafting the guidelines was not to support OSHA enforcement actions.
Newly released government data on occupational injuries and illnesses reported last year show what OSHA chief David Michaels calls an “extraordinarily high” number that is cause for concern, but he also says the data confirm a slow, steady decline in overall rates, crediting that to rigorous efforts in recent years in the safety and health field.
OSHA is preparing to extend to the construction sector standards similar to those it tells general industry employers to take into account to protect workers from injury and death in “confined spaces,” moving forward a rule that in several iterations has been under study for decades.
The U.S. government has selected 35 hospitals nationwide to serve as central hubs to treat suspected cases of the Ebola virus, a move that could partially placate health workers' concerns that hospitals generally are not ready in case of an outbreak -- a concern on which OSHA has increasingly focused in recent months.
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday warned device makers that “latex-free” or “does not contain latex” labels on medical devices could lead to a false sense of security for those allergic to natural rubber because some products could come into contact with natural rubber in the manufacturing process.
The Obama administration's decision to delay by more than a year and also shelf as a leading priority OSHA's efforts to put together a highly complex rule aimed at reducing the risk of catastrophic combustible dust accidents in workplaces has occupational safety advocates livid, with some labor organizers saying fiscal policymakers should have set aside more resources to ensure the politically dicey new regulations would get done before Obama leaves office.
OSHA is moving quickly with plans to advance a long-attempted proposed rule that would sharply reduce allowed worker exposure levels to beryllium in general industry and possibly in construction-sector activities, with a formal draft coming out as soon as early next year and perhaps even ahead of the new Republican-controlled Congress.
Science advisors appear to be backing key aspects of the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to assess the human health risks of exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) -- following epidemiology studies of exposed medical sterilization workers that raised new concerns -- with some panelists pressing the agency to finalize the long-running assessment, while also casting aside several industry complaints about the latest draft assessment.
The length of time it could still take for OSHA regulators to pore over the massive trove of documents related to their long-proposed rule to reduce exposures to crystalline silica dust in general industry and construction – with an analysis not wrapping up until at least next spring, they say – means it could be nearly impossible for the agency to finish the rule before President Obama leaves office, considering the Republican takeover of Congress, Washington insiders say.
The government's lead agency in regulating how thousands of clinical laboratories reliably conduct testing on human specimens is urging state health officials to ensure that labs follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines in specimen collection to stop the potential spread of Ebola – and hew to safety mandates and guidelines including those issued by OSHA as part of infection control.
The House Republican conference has again selected Rep. John Kline as chair of the work force committee, which oversees OSHA, with the Minnesota congressman pledging Wednesday (Nov. 19) to bring more “certainty” to workplaces – which fits with Kline's longtime approach to OSHA that the agency should craft policies that he deems more flexible and cooperative with the business community.
OSHA's enforcement arm is gearing up to look for any possible violations of what the agency describes as large retailers' obligations under the OSH Act to prevent injuries to workers during the upcoming crush of holiday shoppers, re-emphasizing an issue that falls under its broad general-duty authority to address known hazards.
The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is reiterating its 2002 call for the Environmental Protection Agency to add ammonium nitrate to its facility safety program, saying regulation of the substance under the Risk Management Plan (RMP) rule could have prevented or mitigated the April 2013 explosion in West, TX, that killed 15 people and prompted a federal review of plant safety.
A key safety equipment trade group is endorsing a set of new international specifications for choosing personal protective equipment (PPE) for stopping the spread of Ebola among health care workers and patients, saying selection of PPE should be tied to established performance standards and not “panic buys” stemming from Ebola-related crises.
Federal chemical safety officials launched an investigation Saturday into a chemical release incident that took four workers' lives at the La Porte DuPont Plant near Houston, potentially bringing new attention to the substance involved, which is frequently used to odorize natural gas.
A Senate Democratic counsel who has worked extensively on OSHA and other employment issues for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), outgoing chair of the labor committee, has been tapped by President Obama as the next member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), as Obama withdrew a contentious nominee who had earlier been named using “recess appointment” powers that led to a Supreme Court battle.
OSHA considers the core principle that health care employees should be made “whole” compensation-wise if they are temporarily removed on a medical basis from their work settings an essential aspect of the agency's planned rule to help prevent the spread of airborne- or droplet-based infectious diseases, officials said Wednesday (Nov. 12) after small employers raised concerns about the provision.
OSHA has again decided to delay full implementation of its new electrical power generation and distribution safety rule by issuing a new “temporary citation” policy that pushes back enforcement of the specific regulatory mandates until the end of this year, though it remains possible for compliance officers to allege violations of existing requirements.
OSHA's decision to wield the OSH Act general duty clause against a poultry processing facility in Alabama -- an action precipitated by a complaint from the Southern Poverty Law Center -- reflects, according to observers, both an eagerness on OSHA's part to enforce against alleged ergonomic hazards and agency concern that new government rules allowing accelerated chicken processing lines could lead to severe occupational injury risks.