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The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is seeking public comment on the design of a Congressionally mandated study on the use of methyl isocyanate (MIC) in the manufacturing of certain pesticides, and the feasibility of implementing safer alternatives to protect workers and the public from a potential release.

OSHA has cited Antorino Sewer & Drain, an Islandia, N.Y., contractor, for seven alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards following a Dec. 8, 2009, incident in which a worker became trapped in a 16-foot hole while installing a cesspool at an East Hills, N.Y., residential worksite, according to an agency press release. The contractor faces a total of $11,700 in proposed fines.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has announced seven new members to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH), according to an OSHA press release. The new appointees will serve two-year terms.

OSHA has cited Scovill Fasteners in Clarksville, Ga., for 60 safety and health violations. Penalties total $133,350.

In an April 22, 2010 memorandum to OSHA regional administrators, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels outlined "Administrative Enhancements to OSHA's Penalty Policies,” as explained in an analysis posted on the ORC Worldwide web site. ORC Worldwide’s Washington, DC office is a global environmental health and safety consultancy. ORC Worldwide consultant Scott Madar authored the following analysis.

The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow featuring the following speakers:

A statement issued by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis lamented the loss of worker lives this April, the month Shakespeare called “the cruelest.”

OSHA, in an effort to address urgent safety and health problems facing Americans in the workplace, is implementing a new Severe Violator Enforcement Program and increasing civil penalty amounts, according to an agency press release.

The heads of five agencies of the U.S. Department of Labor will host live Web chats — open to the public and members of the press — to discuss their respective regulatory agendas, according to a press statement.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a rule to remove saccharin and its salts from the agency’s lists of hazardous wastes, hazardous constituents and hazardous substances because it is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health, according to an EPA press release.