Industrial Hygiene


Employees have both a need and a right to know the identities and hazards of the chemicals to which they are exposed at work.

Think You Know HazCom?

Safety professionals have long had concerns with MSDSs, beginning with issues about the ability of workers to understand them.

With the new transfer method, it was now possible to meet the North Carolina closed-used safety codes for dispensing liquids from five-gallon containers on the fourth floor.

Solving 'Open Use' Storage of Solvents

Dispensing solvents from large containers into smaller ones or spending more to buy solvents in smaller containers weren't appealing. This pharmaceutical company found a different solution for meeting the fire codes.

October 2010

Does Your Gas Monitor Do What You Think It Does?

A standardized technical performance specification template for portable gas monitoring instruments is being developed. Until then, users must be diligent in examining the specifications.

The new "Public Health Preparedness" report says emergency preparedness for public health emergencies is in good shape.

Good Progress Nationwide on Emergency Preparedness: CDC

The agency's second report on all 50 states and four localities receiving federal money for this shows improved ability to meet a public health emergency.

ICC Offers Free Download of Energy Code

According to DOE, the 2009 IECC now available will produce approximately 15 percent in residential energy efficiency gains compared to the 2006 edition.

Dr. Patrick Gallagher, NIST director

NIST Director Creates Blue Ribbon Safety Panel

Meeting Oct. 12 and Oct. 20, the commissioners will examine progress to date on integrating safety throughout the Commerce Department organization.

Harwood Targeted Grants for Green Jobs, MSDs, Nano, More

Sixteen organizations receive $2.75 million in one-year grants to develop training materials about nanomaterials, work zone safety, green roofing jobs, beryllium, and several others.

NIOSH Announces Partnership on Nano Research

The agency and the National Science Foundation Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing, a collaboration of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Northeastern University, and the University of New Hampshire, will study occupational health and safety concerns related to the nanotechnology industry.



The report analyzes the range of respiratory diseases affecting firefighters, with chapters written by experts in the field.

IAFF Report Examines Firefighter Lung Diseases

"Respiratory Diseases and the Fire Service" addresses smoking, pulmonary function testing, World Trade Center responders' respiratory diseases, disaster-related infections, and much more.

Developing a safety and health management programs rule is part of instilling a culture of safety throughout the industry, MSHA indicated.

MSHA Moving on OSH Management Programs Rule

Three informal public meetings next month will gather information from the industry about effective safety and health management programs already in use at U.S. mines. Comments are due by Dec. 17.

Landowners, Businesses Ordered to Halt Hazwaste Pollution at Chemical Processing Site

An inspection’s sampling of water from various locations on the property confirmed the discharge of boron, arsenic, copper, ammonia, zinc, chromium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, selenium, aluminum, barium, cadmium, and 2-Butanone into the Weaver Branch tributary.

AIHA Becomes Signatory of Seoul Declaration for Safety

The declaration was designed as a blueprint for constructing a global ethos of safety and health at work and to promote a preventative safety and health culture and assert the rights of employees to work in a safe environment.

Brass Foundry Cited for 'Deliberate' Lead-Exposure Hazards

The citations allege, among other things, that the company did not take air samples as required for workers who were overexposed to airborne lead nor provide the required annual training associated with the hazards. An additional willful violation alleges that the company stopped providing hearing tests to employees overexposed to noise.

IAQ and Worker Productivity

Better air = better performance.

A sound-level meter, as shown in this Casella USA photo, is a hand-held device that allows a competent third party to take measurements at the ear of a worker with the instrument pointing at the noise source.

The Use of Noise Dosimeters in the Workplace

Margin of error should be accounted for and the worst-case scenario measurement taken as the reading, particularly when close to an action level.

Explosion in Dumpster at Alloy Plant Leads to $44,000 Penalty

The violations include inadequate hearing and respiratory protection programs, electrical hazards, improper use of compressed air, as well as employee exposure to silica, lead, and manganese fumes.

Asphalt Paving Firm Penalized Following 'Willful' Tractor Incident

According to OSHA, an employee operating a tractor struck and hospitalized another worker who was digging a shallow ditch.

Event Rental Co. Fined for Combustible Residues, Electrical Hazards, More

In addition to 18 serious citations, the company received four repeat citations, in part for failing to develop an energy control program, develop and implement a written hazard communication program, and train workers on chemical hazards in their work area.

CSB Issues Final Report on Fatal Flash Fire in Xcel Plant Tunnel

The board also released a 15-minute safety video titled "No Escape: Dangers of Confined Spaces," which includes a detailed animation depicting the tragedy that unfolded at Xcel's Cabin Creek plant on Oct. 2, 2007, taking the lives of five contractors.

Oil Spill Workers Not Being Properly Certificated; OSHA Responds

OSHA head Dr. David Michaels said employers are allegedly withholding written certificates attesting successful completion of HAZWOPER training to prevent workers from leaving their employ.

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