Previous meetings in this series addressing combustible dust hazards were held in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. OSHA will consider participants' comments in developing its proposed standard on the issue.
The "informal" public hearing will take place at the Marriott Pittsburgh City Center; OSHA decided to cancel a second hearing in Los Angeles.
Several agencies within the department, including OSHA, have their own presentations on the DOL page that explain how they support the draft plan. It will be posted for review and comment in July.
According to investigators, the company has not maintained OSHA 300 logs for two years and has failed to develop and implement a hazcom program, train employees on hazardous chemicals, and develop and implement a respiratory protection program, among other problems.
An appeals court told OSHA to explain why it decided to require disclosure to workers only when the PEL for hexavalent chromium was exceeded, and now the safety agency has changed its mind. Most U.S. workers who are exposed to Cr(VI) compounds on the job are welders, according to OSHA.
"Employers should not assume this [combustible dust] hazard is minor or non-existent. Addressing it requires ongoing attention and effort, but proper precautions can prevent or minimize the possibility of a devastating explosion or fire," said William Coffin, OSHA's area director for Maine.
Exposure to the toxic chemical can affect the nervous system and can cause changes in color vision, fatigue, slowed reaction time, concentration problems, and balance problems.
The settlement addresses the Jan. 6, 2005, Norfolk Southern train derailment in Graniteville, S.C., that resulted in the death of nine people from chlorine exposure, hundreds of people seeking medical care due to respiratory distress, and the evacuation of more than 5,000 people living and working within a 1-mile radius of the release area.
The new guidance does away with the old Survey Type 1, 2, and 3, replacing those with the more comprehensive Management Survey and Refurbishment and Demolition Survey.
A commentary published this month in Toxicological Sciences, the Society of Toxicology's journal, says the latest research "closes the door" on claims the chemical is an environmental hazard of concern.
An inspection found workers unable to open emergency exit doors from inside the workplace; a lack of specific procedures to lock out machine power sources; missing guardrails; improperly stored oxygen cylinders; several electrical hazards; and more.
The March 4 "OSHA Listens" meeting did not lack for out-of-the-box thinking. What OSHA does with the input from ASSE President Chris Patton and others is the crucial part, of course.
Among the products considered most likely to lead to the danger of an explosion or fire are zinc and other metallic powders, wheat flour and other food products, and certain plastics and resins. In all of these cases, if unprotected, normal processing steps can produce enough static electricity to ignite a dust cloud.
"OSHA standards are designed to minimize the risk of exposure and its potential impact on workers' health, but they are effective only so long as employers adhere to them," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.
The four-year Hazardcheck campaign unveiled on March 1 builds on the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan and Clean Air Agenda.
Specifically, the agency found instances of improper transfer and storage of flammable liquids; lack of specific lockout/tagout procedures and training to prevent the unintended startup of machines during maintenance; lack of hearing protection; inadequate respirator training, fit-testing, medical evaluation, inspection, and maintenance; unguarded grinders; and more.
Exposure to hand and arm vibration in the workplace can range from severe and debilitating to nuisance level. Fortunately, there are simple solutions to this under-reported, under-regulated problem.
According to the government's lawsuit, the tax preparers allegedly sold interests in the fictive facilities to thousands of customers in at least 14 states across the country and prepared income tax returns for customers claiming tax credits based on the concocted methane sales.
Former ACOEM President Dr. Robert McCunney, on a panel assembled by the American Wind Energy Association to review the published literature on possible health effects caused by today's wind turbines, said the experts found no risk at all.
"This facility has not experienced an injury resulting in lost time in the last four years," noted Richard S. Terrill, OSHA's regional administrator. "Their outstanding efforts have included significant management commitment and employee involvement."