Who’s been OSHA chief the longest? August marks Joe Dear’s 33rd month at the helm, putting him in fourth place on the all-time tenure list. Next month he’ll equal John Pendergrass’ term of duty, and if he stays through the end of the year he’ll tie Thorne Auchter for second longest-serving agency chief (37 months). Dear has a ways to go to set the record, though. Eula Bingham headed OSHA for 45 months during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. OSHA’s nine administrators (not counting interim heads) have served an average of two years and three months.
OSHA slaps a Maine 200 program participant with $3.6 million in penalties. After receiving reports that the Turner, Maine, Decoster Egg Farms facility was reneging on its commitment to Maine 200 -an OSHA/employer cooperative program aimed at bringing companies with the state’s worst health and safety records into compliance- OSHA investigated the job site in January, 1996. The agency alleges it identified numerous safety violations at the 320 worker facility, including unguarded machinery; no personal protective equipment; locked exits; overexposure to ammonia and respirable dust; and nonpotable water. Labor Secretary Reich describes the working conditions at the site as "atrocious...like an agricultural sweatshop." Annual sales estimates for the Turner facility exceed $40 million, according to Dunn and Bradstreet figures.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the leading major disabling condition in terms of days away from work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers recovering from carpal tunnel averaged 30 days away from work, while workers typically took 24 days off after suffering an amputation and 20 days to recover from a fracture in 1994, BLS reports. Other annual lost-time injury and illness statistics for 1994 released by the BLS in May include:
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The guidelines are available on the agency’s Internet site at http://www.osha.gov in the "What’s New" section.
Women working for male-dominated or rigidly patriarchal organizations experience measurable physical and mental health effects, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Physical and psychological symptoms reported by 47 Swedish female employees of the Volvo Group over a ten-year period were linked to autocratic, insensitive leadership. Women’s health improved when job satisfaction was increased through opportunities for growth, influence and job recognition, according to the study conducted by a Goteborg University psychologist.
"Managers are being drawn out of technical specialties and learning business-driven and customer-focused ways of operating," reports the summary from a colloquium sponsored by Arthur D. Little, Inc. The international EHS consulting firm last month gathered industry environment, health, and safety leaders including Monsanto, Rhone Poulenc, Dow Chemical, Ciba Geigy, Novacor Chemicals, Sun Microsystems, Mobil Oil and others to discuss how corporate reengineering has impacted EHS departments. Participants looked at EHS departments’ transitions from compliance-driven to business-based management. To make reengineering work for the EHS department, the companies offer these tips:
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