Entries categorized as ‘Government Agency’
From Occupational Hazards:
Days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed a petition made by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and other industry groups claiming that OSHA amended its Hazard Communication (hazcom) standard without notice or comment, OSHA and the petitioners reached a settlement.
As per the settlement, OSHA will issue a letter of interpretation addressing specific questions NAM and the Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA) presented to OSHA regarding the agency’s new hexavalent chromium (Cr[VI]) standard for general industry. The letter will be issued by OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs.
In addition, NAM and SSINA have agreed to file a motion with the court to withdraw their petition for review of the Cr(VI) standard on or before May 24.
OSHA and the two other industry groups involved in the settlement – Public Citizen Health Group (HRG) and the United Steelworkers – have agreed not to oppose any motion NAM and/or SSINA may file to intervene in support of the Cr(VI) standard in the remaining cases. (more…)
Categories: Government Agency · Regulations
From Occupational Hazards:
OSHA’s latest semiannual regulatory agenda, published in the April 30 Federal Register, includes predictable delays for long-awaited standards such as crystalline silica and occupational exposure to beryllium, to name a few.
Crystalline silica – a compound that workers in construction, maritime and general industry are routinely exposed to – has been cited as the cause of silicosis, which is a disabling, if not fatal, disease. The standard has been on OSHA’s regulatory agenda for years, but it has not moved past the pre-rule stage. Previously slated for April, OSHA’s latest agenda indicates that a complete peer review of health effects and risk assessment will be done by September.
Occupational exposure to beryllium also has been on OSHA’s plate for some time now. Since 2001, OSHA has been in the process of gathering data through an official request for information in order to determine an appropriate course of action for addressing work-related hazards to beryllium. The agency, in its previous regulatory agenda, had indicated that the a SBREFA (Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act) panel would complete its report by March. The standard has been postponed to September.
(more…)
Categories: Government Agency · Regulations
From Occupational Hazards -
Implementing a globally harmonized system of classification and labeling of chemicals (GHS) would be the next best step in improving hazard communications systems, according to a web poll sponsored by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).
A March 22 technical audio conference revealed that 98 percent of web poll participants – comprised mostly of safety and health professionals – voted “yes”when asked whether they see hazardous communication systems improving as a result of GHS implementation. In addition, 72 percent of poll voters said that their companies are in the process of preparing for GHS and 88 percent said they thought that GHS would help their companies streamline their hazard communication (HAZCOM) issues.
Among other poll results:
72 percent said that their companies have a HAZCOM program with international issues.
52 percent said that their companies dedicate significant resources to international issues.
61 percent said that they have international safety, health and environmental responsibilities.
According to ASSE, the poll results are indicative of the impact GHS is going to have in the safety and health community.
“Hundreds of safety, health and environmental professionals participated in the GHS call,” said Christopher Gates, assistant administrator of the ASSE Management Practice Specialty. “This clearly illustrates that GHS will be a critical issue for the profession in the near future and has the potential to make a significant impact on workplace safety and health when the system is fully implemented.”
Jennifer Silk, OSHA’s former deputy director of the Directorate of Standards and Guidance, and Mary Frances Lowe of EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs were on the call and discussed how GHS would impact hazard communication for manufacturers, importers, distributors and end users in all industries.
They also discussed how GHS would change material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and company HAZCOM programs and the impact GHS will have on EHS professionals. (more…)
Categories: Government Agency · Regulations
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission strikes down OSHA’s interpretation of the training component of the HazCom standard.
by Arthur G. Sapper
You are the new safety manager of a chemical plant, which has about 700 hazardous chemicals. You examine the plant training records, and see that employees spent an inordinate amount of time being trained under OSHA’s hazard communication standard. In fact, every employee is told the name of every hazardous chemical in his work area and given other chemical-specific information.
This puzzles you because you know that Paragraph (h)(1) of OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200, specifically states: “Information and training may be designed to cover categories of hazards (e.g., flammability, carcinogenicity) or specific chemicals.”
You also recall reading my article in the August 2000 issue of Occupational Hazards magazine – titled “Chemical-Specific or Hazard-Category Training?” – which argued that for this very reason, chemical-specific training is not required.
In your previous job, you used hazard-category training instead of chemical-specific training. You told employees that chemicals in their work area posed certain hazards, such as flammability or carcinogenicity, but you did not name every such chemical. You told them to get chemical-specific information from material safety data sheets and labels. (more…)
Categories: Government Agency · Q&A · Regulations
(Reprinted from Occupational Hazards Magazine – March 2006)
OSHA’s list of the 10 most-violated workplace safety and health standards offers employers the opportunity to improve safety.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration recently revealed the 10 most-violated OSHA standards for the 2005 fiscal year. Those standards include Scaffolding (1926.451), Hazard Communication (1910.1200), Fall Protection (1926.501), Respiratory Protection (1910.134), Lockout/Tagout (1910.147), Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178), Electrical (Wiring) (1910.305), Machine Guarding (1910.212), Electrical (General Requirements) (1910.303) and Ladders (1926.1053).
The publication of the OSHA top 10 list serves a greater purpose to employers than merely relaying yearly statistics. The top 10 list sheds light on the enforcement policies and procedures of OSHA. By more-closely focusing compliance efforts on the top 10 standard violations, employers could eliminate employees’ exposure to some serious workplace hazards and reduce their own exposure to 50 percent of the citations given each year.
OSHA has repeatedly stated that inspectors are not asked to look at any possible violation more than another. Unfortunately, logic dictates otherwise. Year after year, the same violations grace the OSHA top 10 list.
It is axiomatic that inspectors will look at hazards that are a common problem. Consequently, if compliance efforts must be limited, any increased efforts should be focused on these common violations. (more…)
Categories: Government Agency
