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.
"Respiratory Diseases and the Fire Service" addresses smoking, pulmonary function testing, World Trade Center responders' respiratory diseases, disaster-related infections, and much more.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Better air = better performance.
Margin of error should be accounted for and the worst-case scenario measurement taken as the reading, particularly when close to an action level.
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.
According to OSHA, an employee operating a tractor struck and hospitalized another worker who was digging a shallow ditch.
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.
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.
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.
The standard covers electrical and fire safety, VOC emissions, materials safety, and stability and load performance, and it includes requirements for desks, chairs, tables, visual communication products, audio-visual equipment, seating equipment, flooring, lab equipment, and more.
MSHA decided to distribute this alert based on testimony delivered during a House Education and Labor Committee hearing in Beckley, W.Va., in May that raised serious questions as to whether or not the Upper Big Branch mine was properly following ventilation standards prior to the explosion on April 5.
At one of the sites, the farmer-owned company failed to test the atmosphere before entry and to have an employee entering wear a safety harness and lifeline. It also failed to post an employee to observe the entry. Both facilities failed to turn off and lock out power to the auger before workers entered the grain bins, investigators said.
The agency's May 2010 request for information attracted comments for and against a rulemaking that would address workers' protection against exposure to H1N1, TB, and other diseases.
The 24 alleged serious violations that resulted from a site-specific targeting program investigation included a failure to have at least two suitable gas masks available and accessible; lack of developed confined space procedures; and grinding wheel, compressed air, and electrical shock hazards.
It was one of the five large unions to join the Change to Win Coalition in 2005, targeting high-growth occupations in the U.S. economy, including health care, transportation, and hospitality.
Last year's event in San Antonio, Texas (pictured), drew 2,836 attendees representing all areas and professions affiliated with the safety and health industry. For this year's conference in Orlando, organizers are expecting to up that number to at least 3,000.