Articles Tagged with ''rulemaking''

OSHA’s final rule revising the standards for power generation, transmission and distribution will be published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2014.  It will be effective 90 days following publication, although OSHA has adopted delayed compliance deadlines for certain requirements.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is urging OSHA to set aside its proposed rule to publicly disclose injury and illness data, saying that it will not contribute to the goal of improving workplace safety.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) this week sent its official comments to OSHA on the agency's Request for Information (RFI) to the Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard, which was published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2013, Volume 78, No. 236, beginning on Page 73756. OSHA said RFI was in response to an Obama Administration request that the agency identify issues related to modernization of its PSM standard and related standards necessary to meet the goals of preventing major chemical accidents.

In a public hearing last week, the American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) expressed support for OSHA’s proposed rule on occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

OSHA’s effort to reduce the permissible exposure limits for silica began a new phase this week, with an intensive three week period of public hearings that wrap up on Friday, April 4. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels said his agency’s rulemaking is an open process, “and the input we receive will help us ensure that a final rule adequately protects workers, is feasible for employers, and is based on the best available evidence."

The question of whether or not injury and illness data collected should be reported electronically is one that is difficult for AIHA to answer. While we support the use of technology that would make the reporting requirements much easier and timelier, AIHA is more concerned that the data collected is accurate and meaningful.

One of the questions I am constantly asked is “why can’t OSHA get anything done?” A fair question with a difficult answer. It would be easy to simply respond that OSHA is subject to a lot of politics, and I mean a lot of politics. It would also be easy to simply answer that it depends on who asked the question, and more importantly, when they asked it.

OSHA rulemaking, temp workers around the world and the high fall fatality rate of communications tower workers were among the top EHS-related stories this week on ISHN.com.

OSHA will be spending the rest of 2014 holding public hearings and reviewing the approximately 3,000 comments it has already received on its proposed crystalline silica rule. Although OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels has stated the the silica rule – which would reduce occupational exposure limits to the substance – is the agency’s top priority, the issue is “a long, long way from every being finalized,” according to Aaron K. Trippler of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).

OSHA’s silica and injury/illness tracking proposals, the Kleen Energy plant explosion legacy and the dangers of indoor tanning were among the week’s top EHS-related stories featured on ISHN.com: