The House of Representatives has given final approval to legislation to reduce the backlog of more than 17,000 cases involving mine operator appeals of safety and health violations.
Indicative of public and political opinion of offshore oil drilling more than 100 days after the BP oil leak began, the House has approved by a vote of 315 to 93 legislation to extend modern whistleblower protections to workers whose employers are engaged in oil and gas exploration, drilling, production, or cleanup on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Currently, individuals working on the OCS have no protection against retaliation by an employer for speaking up on hazardous conditions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to a recent press release, denied 10 petitions challenging its 2009 determination that climate change is real, is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, and threatens human health and the environment.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday that Kansas City Chiefs’ running back Thomas Jones has become a spokesman for the agency’s annual “Stay Out-Stay Alive” public safety campaign, launched in 1999 to warn outdoor enthusiasts, especially children, about the dangers of playing on mine property, according to an MSHA press release.
OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service for six alleged willful violations of safety standards following an inspection at the White River Junction Processing and Distribution Center in White River Junction, Vt., according to an agency press release. The Postal Service faces a total of $420,000 in fines, chiefly for exposing workers to electrical hazards.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced in a recent press release the lineup of 2011 model year passenger vehicles that will receive new safety ratings under the agency’s revamped and updated 5-star safety ratings program.
OSHA has proposed $112,000 in fines against Home Depot USA Inc., chiefly for failing to correct hazards previously cited at the retail chain's West Nyack, N.Y., store.
OSHA has cited Worthen Industries Inc., a Nashua, N.H., manufacturer of glues and adhesives, and S.L. Chasse Welding & Fabrication Inc., a Hudson, N.H., steel erection contractor, for alleged violations of workplace safety standards following a Jan. 23 explosion at Worthen's manufacturing plant, according to an agency press release. Combined penalties against the two employers total $257,500.
ORC Worldwide, an environmental health and safety global consultancy based in D.C. with a client roster of many of the world’s largest companies, issued a generally favorable position piece on HR 5663.
The House Education and Labor Committee approved July 21 legislation that would increase criminal and civil penalties for OSHA violations, strengthen whistleblower protections and speed up hazard abatement. The Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act (H.R. 5663), passed on a largely party line vote of 30-17, would also provide stronger enforcement tools to the Department of Labor to enforce mine safety regulations.
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