Both safety advocates and the railroad industry are expressing disappointment with new rules announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Transportation that are intended improve the safety of rail tank cars carrying crude oil and other flammable liquids.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a final rule to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces. “This rule will provide construction workers with protections already afforded to workers in manufacturing and general industry, with some differences tailored to the construction industry,” said OSHA chief David Michaels, who predicted that it will prevent 800 serious injuries and save five lives a year.
1910.138(a): General requirements. Employers shall select and require employees to use appropriate hand protection when employees' hands are exposed to hazards such as those from skin absorption of harmful substances; severe cuts or lacerations; severe abrasions; punctures; chemical burns; thermal burns; and harmful temperature extremes.
A proposed bill that would allow some teenagers to work in the logging industry is drawing opposition from safety advocates. House Bill 1215 was introduced to a congressional committee last month by Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho). The bill, called the “Future Logging Careers Act,” would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to be exempt from child labor laws if they work in logging or mechanized operations under parental supervision.
For chemical and manufacturing companies, safety data is nothing new. Material safety data sheets and container labels have been the core components of OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) since 1983. Most companies managed to comply by way of manual tools—including spreadsheets or homegrown chemical inventory databases.
The White House has reviewed a draft of the rule and signed off on OSHA’s proposal – returning it to the agency with several undisclosed recommendations, according to Aaron Trippler, government affairs director for the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
OSHA and the White House say the silica rule will be finalized before the end of the Obama administration, according to Aaron Trippler, government affairs director for the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
In 1968, a powerful explosion rocked an underground West Virginia coal mine, killing 78 miners. While the disaster's cause remains uncertain, the Farmington mine disaster was a flashpoint for reform after years of mining fatalities and injuries and a growing awareness of black lung disease.
A new website that compares and contrasts federal and state OSHA regulations was unveiled yesterday by Public Citizen and the Public Health Law Research (PHLR) program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
For the first time the agency will use TSCA authority to collect data on nanoscale chemicals already in use
March 27, 2015
The EPA is proposing one-time reporting and recordkeeping requirements on nanoscale chemical substances in the marketplace. The agency currently reviews new chemical substances manufactured or processed as nanomaterials prior to introduction into the marketplace to ensure that they are safe.
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