EPA announced in a press release that it is withdrawing a rule intended to provide financial incentives for states to use fees when administering a clean water permit program. The agency issued the rule in September 2008.
According to a press release from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the agency has made the following recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration:
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis yesterday named House Education and Labor Committee senior policy advisor Jordan Barab as deputy assistant secretary for OSHA. Barab will also serve as acting assistant secretary for OSHA beginning Monday. Barab has worked for the committee for more than two years specializing in worker health and safety issues, according to a press released issued from Rep. George Miller's (D-CA) office. Miller chairs the House Education and Labor Committee.
On April 7, global safety consulting firm BST announced five recommendations for business leaders to protect worker safety and health during the economic downturn. The recommendations, released in a new white paper titled "Leading Safety in a Downturn," outlines the effects of a recession on workplace safety and proposes five actions to address them, according to a BST press release.
The European Union’s European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has issued a report estimating that about 74,000 work-related deaths may be linked to hazardous substances at work each year in the EU – about 10 times more than workplace accidents.
Finally, Congress has passed a 2009 budget that was supposed to have taken effect last October 1, according to the American Industrial Hygiene Association. According to AIHA’s analysis, OSHA received an increase in overall dollars, with much of this coming in the form of enforcement appropriations.
This week (April 6-12), the American Public Health Association (APHA) is celebrating National Public Health Week (NPHW) 2009, with the theme of Building the Foundation for a Healthy America, according to a APHA press release.
OSHA has ordered Southern Air Inc., a Norwalk, Conn.-based air cargo carrier, to withdraw a lawsuit it filed against nine former employees and pay them more than $7.9 million in wages, damages and legal fees, according to an agency press release.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined yesterday
that an engine fire on an American Airlines jetliner was
probably due to an unapproved and improper procedure used by
mechanics to manually start one of the engines, according to an agency press release.
Federal and state governments should set a goal of reducing the number of highway work zone fatalities by 50 percent within the next two years as the best way to improve the safety of areas around highway construction sites, Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors said yesterday, according to an AGC of America press release.