Government Safety Regulations

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OSHA has cited Thiele Dairy in Clearwater, Nebraska for failing to develop and implement safety and health programs related to grain bin entry after an employee suffered fatal injuries. OSHA inspectors determined that an operating sweep auger lacerated an employee's leg as he attempted to remove corn from inside a grain bin at the dairy.

Just days after OSHA rushed its final “Electronic Recordkeeping” regulation into OMB review, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled against OSHA’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Public Citizen concerning OSHA’s suspension of requirements in its “electronic recordkeeping” regulation.

When you’re shivering in the snow, the dangers of heat and flame probably aren’t the first things that come to mind. But even in cold weather, thermal hazards such as arc flash and flash fire pose a serious concern. In fact, when winter brings dry air and strong winds, it can literally help fan the flames.

When the federal government examines widely sold dietary supplements and finds that they are falsely labeled, shouldn’t consumers be warned? That’s an issue some critics are raising following a recent evaluation by the Government Accountability Office of three leading dietary supplements marketed as memory boosters.

Being cited four times in the past five years for fall hazards apparently did not cause a Florida roofing contractor to change its workplace safety practices. In its most recent interaction with OSHA, Turnkey Construction Planners Inc. was cited for failing to provide fall protection to its workers. The Melbourne-based company faces $199,184 in penalties.

A change in the beryllium standard, future occupational safety and health goals and a “green” implication for heart disease risk were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

When you receive an employee injury report, your thoughts may range from, “How did it happen?” to “Well, there go my plans for the day.” After you make sure the employee is taken care of, you’ll need to investigate, determine what happened and how it could have been prevented, and figure out if the incident needs to be recorded on your OSHA 300 Log.

Cal/OSHA has cited a Riverside, California construction company $66,000 for serious workplace safety violations that resulted in the death of a worker when a 17-foot-deep trench he was in collapsed. Cal/OSHA determined that Empire Equipment Services, Inc. did not properly classify the soil and failed to correctly slope the excavation.

OSHA has cited Parts Authority LLC - a wholesale auto and truck parts distributor based in Norcross, Georgia - for exposing employees to fire, electrical shock, and struck-by hazards. The company faces $133,406 in penalties.

One month after ISHN published its October issue cover story on Tesla’s quest to have the safest factory in the world, Tesla’s safety and health practices were again in the news. On November 5, 2018, the Center for Investigative Reporting published an article, “Inside Tesla’s factory, a medical clinic designed to ignore injured workers.”