A worker who was fired after notifying OSHA about safety hazards will get back wages and a clean record, under a settlement reached between the agency and Environmental Management Specialists Inc. (EMS) of Steubenville, Ohio.

We need to talk. Every year we use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to talk about our love for respirators and personal protective equipment (PPE). We’ve had some good times frolicking through the standards and maintenance requirements. But today we need to address what happens when it’s just not working anymore.

Improper donning and doffing combined with reuse resulted in more viruses transferred to the hands during scenarios simulating the use of filtering facepiece respirator. The importance of covering a cough or a sneeze to prevent spreading germs to those around us, often using the crook of an elbow, is something that most of us learned before starting school. Healthcare providers typically wear personal protective equipment, such as the filtering facepiece respirator, to protect both themselves and their patients.

Introducing the latest addition to the G1 Family – the G1 Industrial SCBA. Based on the G1 SCBA that revolutionized the fire service market, the industrial version incorporates design features such as a light weight facepiece with a wide field of view, easily removable soft goods, and multiple harness configurations – all to improve the safety, ease of maintenance and comfort that workers need.

In a May, 2016 letter of interpretation, OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs answered this question: Question: If an employee with a neatly trimmed goatee is wearing a respirator and it does not interfere with the seal of the face piece or valve function, and has passed a fit test, does this meet the intent of the OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard?

OSHA has cited Tampa Electric Co. and Critical Intervention Services, a security services provider, for $43,458 in total proposed penalties, following a release of anhydrous ammonia – a chemical refrigerant – at its Gibsonton facility. OSHA responded to the incident on May 23, 2017 and determined that the ammonia release occurred when a relief valve activated after a pipeline became over pressurized. As a result, four workers were taken to the hospital for observation and released.

The month of November is full of fun, interesting, and thought-provoking observances. November is National Raisin Bread Month, Historic Bridge Awareness Month, and Inspirational Role Models Month among so much more. November is also the host month to campaigns like No-Shave November and Movember. Campaigns such as these are working hard to raise money for important causes such as cancer research, education, and awareness. These increasingly popular campaigns are a great way to demonstrate your support … unless you need to wear a tight-fitting respirator for your job.

Although confined space rescues comprise a relatively small percentage of the operations performed by fire departments in the U.S., they are among the most challenging and dangerous. In fact, as hazardous as confined spaces are for the people who initially become trapped in them, they are even more deadly for would-be rescuers, who account for nearly 60 percent of all confined space deaths.

CleanSpace Technology, a global manufacturer of powered air purifying respiratory protection, today announced that Central Welding Supply, the Pacific Northwest’s largest reseller of welding products, has joined its growing distribution network. Furthermore, the company is highlighting its CleanSpace2 Power Unit Respirator Trial Kit at the FABTECH Expo this week.