From a post on ORC Worldwide’s web site, written by Dee Woodhull, CIH: “EPA found in 1985 that methylene chloride (MC) is a probable human carcinogen and poses a long-term danger to human health. OSHA published its final MC Standard (29 CFR 1910.1052) on January 10, 1997, reducing the permissible exposure limit from an 8-hour-time-eighted-average (TWA) of 500 parts per million (ppm) to 25 ppm. OSHA has now completed a review of the MC standard, pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866 on Regulatory Planning and Review. The review was conducted to determine whether the MC Standard has functioned as intended, whether it could be simplified or improved to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses, or whether it is no longer needed and should be rescinded.”
The United Auto Workers Union (UAW) has revived a petition first made to OSHA in October, 1993, calling for an immediate action to promulgate a comprehensive standard for occupational exposure to metal-working fluids (MWF), according to a post on the ORC Worldwide website. ORC Worldwide is a Washington-based environmental health and safety consultancy.
Since the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 22, 2010, EPA has mobilized resources to support the U.S. Coast Guard and protect public health and the environment, according to an agency press release. EPA’s Emergency Operations Center at headquarters has been activated, trained EPA responders are working on the scene, and special mobile equipment has been sent to the Gulf area, according to the agency. EPA has several online resources available:
OSHA requests information and comment on occupational exposure to infectious agents in settings where health care is provided, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, school clinics and correctional facilities, and settings such as laboratories that handle potentially infectious biological materials, medical examiner offices and mortuaries, according to an agency press release.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced in a recent press release that six underground coal mines in Kentucky received numerous citations and closure orders by federal inspectors as a result of the nationwide impact inspections that took place last month.
OSHA has cited Pineville Lumber Inc. with five failure-to-abate violations for workplace hazards identified during two previous inspections, the agency announced in a recent press release. Proposed penalties total $189,730.
Millions of toys have been recalled around the world because of hazardous levels of lead or cadmium, choking hazards, dangerous magnets and other safety hazards. According to a press release from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), two new standards in the ISO 8124 toy safety series aim to reduce the risk of a child being injured by unsafe equipment or dangerous substances.
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