Statement by Christina Morgan, US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Recommendations Specialist, at a public hearing on Executive Order 13650: Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, November 15, 2013.

It’s been a long time coming. OSHA first proposed updated standards for electrical power transmission and distribution, and electrical protective equipment in 2005. Final rules were scheduled for release early in 2013. There has still been  no final publication, but electrical safety experts say the release date is approaching, based on conversations with DC regulators and the Office of Management and Budget.

The former president of Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES) has been sentenced for occupational safety crimes which resulted in the death of an employee. Matthew Lawrence Bowman, 41, of Houston, was sentenced last month to 12 months in federal prison, after pleading to violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and making a false statement.

One of the largest manufacturers of chromium chemicals in the world has been ordered to pay a $2,571,800 for failing to disclose information about the health risks of hexavalent chromium exposure to its workers.

An asbestos victims’ group says a bill passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives would make it more difficult for those harmed by asbestos to get compensation.

Approximately 72 percent of the construction workers killed on the job in New York City died at sites where workers did not participate in state-approved training and apprenticeship programs, according to a report released today by Public Citizen.

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has approved a baseline groundwater testing rule that many claim is the best in the country. The five-member commission, which includes Gov. Matt Mead, unanimously passed the final rule today in Casper.

OSHA’s proposal to require the electronic submission of workplace injury and illness data – and to make that data publicly available online – has predictably inspired a range of opinions.

This is the time of year when OSHA announces their top ten citations of the past fiscal year.  There are few changes in this top- ten list year after year.  Even though the list is of the complete standard’s name, it is usually only one or two sections of a standard that repeatedly makes this list.