To combat the hazards associated with extreme heat exposure – both indoors and outdoors – the White House this week announced enhanced and expanded efforts the U.S. Department of Labor is taking to address heat-related illnesses.
OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER 29 CFR 1910.120, 1926.65, EPA 40 CFR 311), aims at preventing or minimizing worker exposure to hazards during operations and emergency response to unplanned events such as releases or spills. It mandates training for various categories of workers including the First Responder.
On the last day of ASSP’s in-person show in Austin, Jim Frederick, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, spoke to attendees on COVID-19 and OSHA’s current priorities.
With full federal approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for those 16 and older, corporate employers, the military, hospitals and other workplaces have begun announcing vaccine mandates.
Controlling the dust generated by manufacturing processes is critical to maintaining indoor air quality. A high-efficiency dust collector with cartridge-style filters can help, but it must be designed specifically for your operation to effectively filter hazardous dust to make the indoor environment safer.
As brutal heat continues this summer, a report published in August by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) says outdoor workers in the United States could face four times as many days with hazardous heat by mid-century if action isn't taken to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
- The National Safety Council (NSC), the nation’s leading workplace safety advocate, urged all employers to implement a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for their workers and unveiled a guide outlining four levels of requirements for various workplace risk profiles.
On OSHA’s Top 10 list of the most frequently cited standards in fiscal year 2020, Hazard Communication (HazCom) took the no. 2 spot, as it has for the last eight years. Although the HazCom standard has numerous requirements, training violations are among the most common for employers.
Not only does OSHA have regulations for the forklifts themselves, they also have specific requirements for forklift operators. The Powered Industrial Truck Standard outlines the topics that must be included during training, as well as requirements for refresher trainings.
Heat illness is 100% preventable, yet 11 workers suffer serious heat-related injury or death every day in the United States. Without federal standards for preventing heat illness on the job, the problem persists and stands to increase dramatically as the climate warms.
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