Industrial Hygiene


OSHA Blasts Chicago Sandblasting Firm for Inadequate PPE, Lead Exposure, More

This contractor has been inspected by OSHA 25 times since 1991 and has been issued numerous willful, serious, and repeat violations, including many lead violations, the agency said.

Missouri Warehouse Firm Ordered to Comply with Hazwaste Storage Laws

The stored materials uncovered by inspections included xylene, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, paint wastes, petroleum distillates, flammable liquids, sodium hydroxide, waste aerosols, and broken fluorescent bulbs, among others.

Metalworking fluids can cause respiratory problems including occupational asthma from aerosol exposure and dermatitis from skin absorption.

Dermatitis Reference Being Added to Metalworking Standard

A revision of ASTM E2148-06, Standard Guide for Using Documents Related to Metalworking or Metal Removal Fluid Health and Safety, will add a reference to the new E2693-09, Standard Practice for Prevention of Dermatitis in the Wet Metal Removal Fluid Environment.

MIOSHA to Host Symposium on Asbestos Hazards, Protection

"Employers have a legal responsibility to protect their workers and the general public from the hazards associated with the improper removal and/or disturbance of asbestos," said MIOSHA Director Doug Kalinowski.

gas detection

Build a Stronger Gas Detection Program

If you are responsible for the health of your gas detection program, now is a great time to get it into shape. And if you want to keep your gas detection program healthy and keep your people going home safely at the end of each day, exercise your data analysis muscles by following a routine of reviewing the information stored in your gas detectors.

Denver

Mile-High Safetydom

The last time the nation's foremost industrial hygiene groups gathered in Denver in a large-scale way, American astronaut Neil Armstrong was still two months away from stepping down from the Apollo 11 landing craft, making "one giant leap for mankind."

This confined space gas detector, the Biosystems MultiPro, provides real-time readings of up to four gases simultaneously and offers one-button operation and calibration.

Calibration: Who Needs It?

It's time we laid down the law on what, where, and how often to calibrate portable gas detectors.

Carbon nanotubes have been found to quickly cause adverse lung health effects in mice.

Ominous Nano Findings Win a NIOSH Award

Among the 2010 winners and honorable mentions for the Alice Hamilton Award announced Wednesday is a paper published last month in Toxicology that found mice exposed to multi-walled carbon nanotubes quickly suffered lung damage.



This F17 laser safety eyewear from Laservision, a St. Paul, Minn., company, can be fitted with several types of filters or prescription lenses.

New Non-Ionizing Radiation Duties for UK Employers

The Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations took effect April 27 and make employers responsible for analyzing visible light hazards, such as from lasers, and protecting and training workers exposed to them.

ILO estimates some 6,300 people die from work-related injuries and illnesses daily and 337 million lost-time workplace accidents occur annually.

Workers Honored, Mourned

Today is a day to grieve for workers who have died on the job and to focus on improving conditions for workers around the world, the ILO's director-general, Juan Somavia, said.

OSHA gave an October 2010 date to complete analyzing comments submitted in 2008 about a proposed confined spaces rule for the construction industry.

Construction Confined Spaces Rule Still in Proposed Stage

The latest semiannual regulatory agenda does not advance the rulemaking except to give an October 2010 date to complete analyzing comments submitted in 2008. EPA's agenda says NPRMs will be issued in July 2011 to enhance pesticide protection for applicators and agricultural workers.

Firefighters' Cancers Studied by NIOSH, USFA

Whether cancer risk rises becasuse of their exposures to smoke, soot, and other contaminants in the line of duty is the point of the study.

Woodworker's Partial Hand Amputation Opens Door to 26 Citations

"Our inspection found that the blades on this and other saws lacked the guarding designed to prevent just this type of accident," said Diana Cortez, OSHA's area director in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Flammable Vapors Lead to Fatality, $127K Fine

Cited violations against the company include failing to provide safe work practice procedures for hot work in a confined space, failing to prevent cutting operations in the presence of explosive atmospheres, and the lack of procedures for summoning resuce and emergency services.

OSHA is rolling out a Severe Violator Enforcement Program and raising its penalties, if only slightly.

OSHA Announces Severe Violator Enforcement Program

Are we seeing the new face of OSHA? David Michaels said the agency is doing what it can to administratively raise the dollar amounts of its penalties and adopting a new structure for penalty reductions based on the company's employee count.

April 22 Deadline Looms for Contractors to Become Lead-Safe Certified

To date, EPA has certified 184 training providers who have conducted more than 4,900 courses. Based on current estimates, the agency expects more than 125,000 contractors to be certified by the deadline, with many more seeking and obtaining the training afterward.

MSHA Announces Final Rule on Coal Mine Dust Sampling Devices

"The final rule upgrades the approval requirements for the existing dust sampler that has been in use since passage of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.

EPA Proposes Adding 16 Chemicals to Toxics Release Inventory List

Each of the chemicals is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen," the agency said, noting the additions would be the first program chemical expansion in more than a decade.

FDA Provides Information to Consumers About Triclosan

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently updated its Web site with information about triclosan, a common ingredient added to many consumer products to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. It may be found in antibacterial soaps and body washes, toothpastes, and some cosmetics--products regulated by the FDA.

29 Confirmed Dead in Mine Blast; Officials Respond

"The investigation team will work tirelessly to evaluate all aspects of this accident to identify the cause of the disaster," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for MSHA.

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