If OSHA follows through with its recently unveiled new regulatory agenda, employers can expect several changes to the Process Safety Management and Flammable Liquids (PSM) standard that will likely affect their operations, according to Arent Fox, a Washington, D.C. law firm that handles occupational safety and health issues.
Violations stem from combustible dust to PPE to confined space
September 11, 2013
Total Building Services Group in Marietta, Georgia was cited for ten safety and health violations after a recent OSHA inspection conducted under the agency's Site-Specific Targeting Program, which directs enforcement resources to workplaces with higher-than-average rates of injuries and illnesses.
Company failed to implement “most basic of safety precautions”
September 6, 2013
Hagel Metal Fabrication Inc., has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 12 safety and health violations after a 23-year-old worker was fatally crushed Feb. 22 by an automated laser-cutting machine.
When it comes to electric arc flash protection, “layering” can be a cost-effective, practical way to clothe workers as they move between tasks with different hazard ratings.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and a coalition of civil rights groups filed a formal petition yesterday urging OSHA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to improve worker safety in poultry and meatpacking plants, contending that federal policies allow workers in these facilities to operate in hazardous conditions that often leave them with disabling injuries, illnesses and pain.
Aimed at facility owners, emergency planners, first responders
September 3, 2013
The EPA, OSHA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued a chemical advisory that provides information on the hazards of ammonium nitrate (AN) storage, handling and management.
MSHA inspectors turn up a variety of violations in July
August 30, 2013
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) said its inspectors issued 149 citations and 16 orders during special impact inspections conducted at nine coal mines and four metal/nonmetal mines last month.
Create a safe work environment. Minimize hazards from falling or unstable debris. Make sure that tools work and safety features (machine guards) are in place. Make sure that workers (particularly volunteers) know how to use tools properly.
OSHA has cited Enterprize Management Inc. and Schlitterbahn Beach Resort Management LLC, both doing business as Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark and Resort in South Padre Island, Texas, for six safety violations regarding hazardous energy sources that fatally crushed a 20-year-old lifeguard and severely injured a maintenance supervisor.
A warehouse operator’s decision to seal exit doors and block emergency exit routes in order to gain additional storage space for hazardous materials “placed the workers in great jeopardy," said OSHA’s Galen Lemke, who pointed out that the blocked exits could have devastating results in the event of an ammonia leak from piping located throughout the facility.