The “great concerns” uncovered by federal OSHA monitors of the Nevada state OSHA program have raised concerns about OSHA’s monitoring of all state plan states. Jordan Barab, the Labor Department’s acting Assistant Secretary for OSHA, states, “As a result of the deficiencies identified in Nevada OSHA’s program and this administration’s goal to move from reaction to prevention, we will strengthen the oversight, monitoring and evaluation of all state programs.”
OSHA has released a report on Nevada’s occupational safety and health program that reveals a number of serious concerns with the program’s operation, including failure to issue appropriate willful and repeat citations, poorly trained inspectors and lack of follow-up to determine whether hazards were abated.
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Vice President for Energy & Resources Policy Keith McCoy issued the following statement in response to the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require large industrial facilities to obtain construction and operating permits that demonstrate they are using the best practices and technologies to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
In a story posted Monday morning, Reuters declared: "The Chamber of Commerce said on Monday it will no longer oppose climate change legislation, but wants the bill to include a carbon tax."
Panagiotis Lekkas, the captain of the cargo ship, M/V Theotokos, was sentenced in federal court in New Orleans to 10 months confinement, the Justice Department announced. Lekkas pleaded guilty on July 15, 2009, to one count of obstruction of justice, one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, and two counts of violating the Ports and Waterways Safety Act.
MFG Chemical Inc. has agreed to pay $270,000 in civil penalties to resolve claims resulting from a toxic release on April 12, 2004 of extremely hazardous chemicals at the company’s Dalton, Ga., plant, the Justice Department announced.
OSHA has cited NuStar Asphalt Refining Co. LLC for 24 alleged serious workplace safety and health violations found at its Paulsboro worksite. Penalties proposed total $105,750.
You can’t miss it: smack in the center of OSHA’s homepage on its website is a new section on “Weekly Reports of Fatalities, Catastrophes and Other Events.”
The increasing use of special purpose particle accelerators has prompted the OSHA to issue a Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB) identifying the risks and providing information on the safe operation of these devices.