Government Safety Regulations - Articles - Page 52

CSB finalizes chemical incident reporting rule

February 6, 2020

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has approved a final rule on accidental release reporting. The CSB has posted a prepublication version of the final rule available at the following link: https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/6/prepublicationcopy2-3-20.pdf. The official version is expected to be published early next week in the Federal Register.

One roofing contractor cited for fall hazards at three different worksites

February 5, 2020

A Pennsylvania roofing contractor faces $605,371 in penalties after being cited by OSHA for exposing employees to fall hazards at three separate worksites in the Lehigh Valley area. OSHA initiated an inspection of the Webb Contractor Corp. worksites on September 6, 2019, after a compliance officer observed employees performing residential roofing work without fall protection at a worksite in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

Construction co. owner gets prison time after employee’s fatal fall

February 4, 2020

The former owner of a framing company in Florida has been sentenced to 30 days in prison, after pleading guilty to one count of willfully violating federal fall protection standards. Stalin Rene Barahona – former owner of the now-dissolved SB Framing Services Inc. in Naples will begin serving his sentence on Feb. 26, 2020.

Real-world glove use: Cut-resistant test results can be misleading

Kwan Lo

February 4, 2020

In considering very cheap cut-resistant gloves we may well be led to wonder, how could these supposedly hi-tech gloves be so cheap, and are they real or fake? Having been involved in the PPE glove industry for many years, I believe the truth lies somewhere in between.

The problem with the OSHA rate

Too often it is the only measure of safety performance

Dave Johnson

February 4, 2020

I have found that the companies that do not really ‘get’ safety and health measure their entire program on the OSHA rate (recordable injuries and illnesses). That is all they care about,” says a former OSHA official.

Fatal U.S. mining accidents dropped in 2019

Respirable quartz and dust fell to all-time low

February 3, 2020

There were 24 mining fatalities in the U.S. in 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reports. This is the fewest annual fatalities ever recorded, and only the fifth year in MSHA’s 43-year history that mining fatalities were below 30.

Mich. school district surveilled, fired employer who blew the safety whistle

Asbestos, pesticide exposure at core of case

February 3, 2020

A school district in Michigan ran afoul of federal laws protecting whistleblowers when it fired an employee who reported unsafe working conditions. That determination against the Dearborn Heights School District – made last week by OSHA - carries with it a $102,905.78 penalty, for back wages, damages and other compensation.

Safety Training

How to create an effective arc flash training program

Megan R. Nichols

February 3, 2020

Electricians, like any trade professional, must complete several training programs to learn the ropes and ultimately earn certification. However, no matter how extensive, their learning is never officially complete.

Weekly news round-up

February 1, 2020

Employers grapple with the coronavirus, flight attendants cheer a proposed comfort animals on planes rule and indoor air quality affects construction workers, too. These were among the top occupational safety and health, environmental health and safety and regulatory stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

Steel plate falls from crane, injuring worker

“Aluminum Shapes continues to disregard their legal responsibility to comply with safety and health standards"

January 31, 2020

OSHA has cited Aluminum Shapes LLC for workplace safety and health hazards after a crane operator was injured in August 2019 at the aluminum manufacturer’s Delair, New Jersey, foundry. The company faces $169,524 in penalties for these violations.