The building sector argues that the size of the scientific and analytical record that OSHA has amassed to back up the need for control measures in its proposed rule to cut crystalline silica exposures is so huge that it will take much longer than the current 90-day comment period to evaluate and offer feedback on the plan.
Worker safety and environmental advocates in New Jersey are voicing deep concerns about the effectiveness of the state government's rollout of rules intended to require so-called “inherently safer technology” (IST) in chemical plants across the densely populated state, echoing calls at the federal level for rules mandating employers seek alternatives to cut the risks involved in chemicals and processes currently in use.
OSHA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security are working toward a formal partnership in which data would be shared among the agencies regarding chemical plant safety and security, OSHA chief David Michaels recently said.
OSHA appears to be ratcheting up its criminal enforcement efforts by attempting to refer more egregious cases to federal prosecutors, sources say, pointing to a recently reached deferred prosecution and civil settlement with a company that OSHA terms a “severe violator” as emblematic of the agency's increasingly aggressive posture.
Political leaders in both parties made emphatic statements that more effective data sharing among OSHA and other federal agencies -- especially the Environmental Protection Agency -- could help head off chemical releases and explosions stemming from inadequate plant safety measures.
OSHA has cited the fertilizer company in West, TX, where a disastrous fire and explosion occurred in April with 24 “serious” safety violations centered around the company's storage and handling of two hazardous chemicals, ammonium nitrate and anhydrous ammonia -- though it was unclear Thursday (Oct. 10) whether any of the alleged violations center on the process safety management (PSM) standards.
The federal government shutdown means the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) cannot deploy investigators to the site of any industrial catastrophe that may occur during the lapse in funding, and the board has effectively halted one of its major probes, involving the recent fertilizer plant explosion in West, TX, the agency's top official said Tuesday (Oct. 8).
Federal OSHA and the Hawaii state government have agreed under an operating plan for the state OSHA program to allow the state's Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) to re-assume coverage of Hawaii manufacturing industries, in what could signal an early, tentative step toward getting the state plan out from under concurrent OSH jurisdiction with the feds.
Injuries among health care workers are among the highest of any profession, according to a new comprehensive study of the issue published by a group of workplace safety engineers -- a finding that could bolster OSHA's recent efforts to focus attention on the issue and back up worker advocates' concerns that not enough is being done under the OSH Act to protect health care employees.
The involvement of a major hospital accrediting group in health care worker injury and illness prevention may bear out longstanding OSHA and NIOSH concerns about ergonomic hazards in hospital and nursing care settings, particularly when it comes to “safe patient handling,” sources say.
A key manufacturing group has formally asked OSHA to extend by 90 days the public comment period on its planned rule to reduce exposures to crystalline silica, arguing that the nearly 800-page proposal warrants at least that much more time for industries to review and analyze it before OSHA can reasonably move ahead.
OSHA has told a Ventura, CA-based company to pay $1.9 million to its former chief financial officer to resolve a complaint that it illegally fired the official for bringing up concerns under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) -- again emphasizing the agency's determination to fully enforce whistleblower provisions of the financial reform law passed in the early 2000s after the Enron collapse.
Composites manufacturers are expressing concern that OSHA has not adequately assessed the economic and technological feasibility of its proposed new crystalline silica control measures as they would apply to the industry, and are asking the agency to conduct an industry-specific study -- followed by allowing 90 days for businesses to respond to the assessment -- before moving toward a final rule.
Business interests see little chance of OSHA promulgating a final rule tackling respirable crystalline silica exposures before the end of President Obama's second term.
OSHA is now dealing with work force cuts of roughly 90 percent because of the lapse in appropriations for fiscal 2014 that began Tuesday (Oct. 1), with the federal government shutting down all but essential services after the failure of lawmakers to reach a short-term spending deal.
OSHA's work force would be decimated by a federal government shutdown that could occur tonight at midnight if lawmakers don't strike agreement on a short-term spending measure, according to a Labor Department memo, with the agency's staff facing cuts of roughly 90 percent in the event of a lapse in appropriations.
Health and safety advocates are pushing OSHA to toughen its newly proposed crystalline silica standards, even as industry complains that aspects of the planned rule are too strict.
Worker safety advocates are concerned that it may be difficult to get worker protections addressed before the Agriculture Department implements a final poultry line rule, with the agency already rolling out a pilot program on poultry inspections that effectively increases worker line speeds.
OSHA is ramping up both its educational campaign and enforcement initiatives in grain bin handling safety, with the agency coming out with a recent lengthy blog delving into the safety issues involved and how to prevent engulfments.
A government shutdown likely would cause the majority of OSHA staff to be furloughed, according to a 2011 Department of Labor contingency plan that offers insight into how the agency would deal with a shutdown next Tuesday (Oct. 1) in the event Congress fails to pass a short-term funding measure.