As residents of New England recover from flooding and associated damage from the recent multi-day storms that swamped the region, OSHA urges workers and members of the public engaged in cleanup activities to be aware of the hazards they can encounter and the necessary steps they should take to protect themselves, according to an agency press release.
A four-member investigative team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying to the scene of an explosion and fire in a naphtha hydrotreater unit at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington, according to a CSB press release.
OSHA has cited Formosa Plastics Corp. for 27 alleged serious workplace safety and health violations, including exposing workers to combustible dust hazards. Proposed penalties total $133,500.
EPA is proposing to revoke a January 2009 rule that changed the way existing industrial facilities combine upcoming construction projects to determine if Clean Air Act permits are needed, according to an agency press release.
Responding to one of the first major directives of the Obama Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have jointly established historic new federal rules that set the first-ever national greenhouse gas emissions standards and will significantly increase the fuel economy of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States, according to an EPA press release.
Hazardous federal worksites are the focus of OSHA’s Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program 2010 (FEDTARG10), according to an agency press release. The nationwide program emphasizes workplace safety and health for federal workers and contractors supervised by federal personnel.
Shell Chemical L.P. and Shell Chemical Yabucoa have agreed to install pollution reduction equipment on two petroleum refining facilities at an estimated cost of $6 million as part of two comprehensive Clean Air Act settlements, EPA and the Justice Department have announced. The two companies will also pay a combined $3.3 million civil penalty to the United States as well as to Alabama and Louisiana, and $200,000 to Louisiana organizations for environmental education and emergency operations.
In a letter to OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels, American Industrial Hygiene Association President Cathy L. Cole, CIH, CSP writes “there is a need to restore the musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) column on the OSHA 300 log and (AIHA) supports efforts by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to include this column on future OSHA 300 logs.”
The American Industrial Hygiene Association has staked out a position urging OSHA to move ahead with a standard on hearing conservation programs for construction workers.
Since 2003, a steadily increasing percentage of ORC Worldwide (a Washington-based safety and health consultancy) member companies have implemented policies or guidance covering cell phone use while driving on company business, according to an ORC Worldwide web posting. The post pointed to three surveys conducted by ORC in 2003, 2007 and 2009.
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