A tragic accident in which two workers were asphyxiated inside a nitrogen filled confined space could have been avoided through better hazard awareness training and proper confined space rescue actions, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board reports in a Case Study released recently.
OSHA recently cited a Pevely, Mo., company for 33 willful, including "instance-by-instance" willful, and eight serious alleged violations of job safety and health standards. Proposed penalties total $2,362,500. The citations resulted from the investigation of two fatal workplace accidents within two months involving the painting contractor.
An OSHA Letter of Interpretation (LOI) clarifies several provisions of the final rule regarding Occupational Exposure to Hexavalent Chromium, 71 Federal Register (FR) 10100-10385 (Feb. 28, 2006). Visit the address below for more information about the provisions addressed in the LOI.
OSHA has issued a Directive, CPL 03-00-003, that describes policies and procedures for implementing a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to identify and to reduce workplace machinery and equipment hazards that are causing or likely to cause amputations. This NEP includes four major activities, including outreach and inspection.
Nearly five percent of the 7.1 million private industry business establishments in the United States had an incident of workplace violence within the 12 months prior to completing a new survey on workplace violence prevention, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Electric lift trucks are an excellent choice for moving materials inside a facility. They are much cleaner and quieter than trucks propelled by liquid fuels and they don't create a carbon monoxide hazard. Lead and nickel-iron batteries are the most common types. These batteries present a hazard because they contain corrosive chemical solutions, either acid or alkali. During recharging, a worker may be exposed not only to the acid solution, but to hydrogen gas which is produced during the recharging process.