OSHA's 1996 funding rollercoaster ride took another twist at press-time in mid-March: Congress had just voted to continue to bankroll the agency for another week. The idea is to give the Senate time to approve an omnibus budget bill that will fund agencies like OSHA and EPA for the remainder of the fiscal year. Specifically, the Senate bill would boost OSHA’s funding level to $289 million—a $25 million increase. (OSHA’s budget in fiscal year 1995 was $312.5 million.) The version of the bill already passed by the House would boost the agency’s funding by $16 million for the remainder of FY96. Whatever the sum to be settled on by a conference committee, it could be a good-news/bad-news scenario for OSHA: Most of the money will probably be earmarked for state OSHA programs. "That won't do Joe Dear any good," says one source close to OSHA.
OSHA introduced workplace violence prevention guidelines for health care and social service industries, where nearly two-thirds of all non-fatal assaults and the majority of fatal job-related assaults occur. The 16-page advisory, based on OSHA’s generic safety and health program management guidelines, instructs employers on: ensuring management commitment and employee involvement in a violence prevention program; establishing a written program for job safety and security; conducting a worksite analysis; preventing and controlling hazards; responding to incidents; training and educating the work force; and recordkeeping. OSHA’s document, "Guidelines for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs for Health Care and Social Service Workers" is available on the Internet at http://www.osha.gov under "What’s New." To obtain the document by mail send a self-addressed label to OSHA Publications, PO Box 37535, Washington, D.C. 20013-7535.
Revisions to OSHA’s grain handling standard take effect this month. The agency issued a final rule March 7 to ensure greater protection for workers in the country’s 24,000 grain elevators and mills. The revision prohibits "walking down" grain to make it flow within or out from a grain storage structure, which is how a Florida man suffocated in a corn storage accident in 1993. Workers will also be required to wear a harness with a lifeline or a boatswains’ chair for protection when walking or standing on grain that poses an engulfment hazard. The final rule, published in the Federal Register March 8, becomes effective April 8, 1996.
Troy, Ohio, Auto Parts Manufacturer Tube Products, Inc. has agreed to pay $750,000 in penalties to OSHA and to correct safety hazards and inadequate employee training following an investigation into worker complaints about job injuries suffered at the plant. OSHA proposed penalties against the firm totaling $1.2 million for, among other issues, alleged failure to properly guard pipe-fabrication equipment or to properly train employees in equipment operation. Tube Products also agreed to engage a qualified consultant to verify machine-guarding hazard abatement and assist with related issues.
A new coalition of occupational health and safety professional groups is urging legislators to revise sections of both House and Senate OSHA reform bills that exempt employers from routine inspections if their facility undergoes a third-party review. The coalition representing the American Society of Safety Engineers, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the National Society of Professional Engineers, wants to mandate a method for instituting minimum training, educational and experience criteria for third-party workplace auditors. Legislation should allow OSHA-approved national private-sector organizations to credential these reviewers, the groups say.
OSHA cuts nearly 275 out of 3,000 pages of rules with a final rule published in the Federal Register March 7. The agency action is a response to congressional pressures and an effort to help fulfill the President’s promise to reduce regulatory paperwork. Among the strategies used to cut pages:
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