An OSHA whistleblower investigation found that New Jersey Transit violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it retaliated against an employee for reporting a work-related illness, according to an agency press release.
Shipbreaking workers are exposed to asbestos, falls, electric shock and fires when removing gear and equipment from outdated ships and breaking down these vessels for recycling. According to an OSHA press release, a new document, Safe Work Practices in Shipbreaking, offers ways to help protect workers from injury and death and outlines employers' obligations for providing safe work environments for their workers.
Standards play a critical role in the field of occupational safety and health, providing a set of regulations and a level of excellence that must be met to improve safety and quality of life, while enhancing competitive advantage for global businesses. The American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Standards Development Committee announced in a recent press release the reaffirmation of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) A10.42-2000 (R2010) standard. The standard, “Rigging Qualifications and Responsibilities in the Construction industry,” was reaffirmed March 24, 2010, and establishes the minimum criteria of knowledge and performance requirements for a qualified rigger in the construction and demolition industry.
The U.S. Department of Labor has unveiled a new regulation that is the first substantive rulemaking on the Trade Adjustment Assistance program in more than 15 years, according to a press release. The rule will implement changes to the TAA funding formula, as required by the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These changes to the funding formula will improve the way the department provides TAA funding to states. The rule also requires that TAA-funded personnel administering services and benefits to workers covered by certifications be state employees covered by a merit system of personnel administration.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it will consider the special issuance of a medical certificate to pilots who are taking medication for mild to moderate depression, conditions that now bar them from all flying duties.
NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard blogged on the NIOSH website about the health prevention aspects of the recently enacted healthcare reform legislation. Here’s what he had to say:
EPA is proposing to add 16 chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of reportable chemicals, the first expansion of the program in more than a decade.
Rescue workers continued the extremely risky job early today of removing explosive methane gas from the Upper Big Branch Mine coal mine in West Virginia where at least 25 miners died two days ago; four miners are still missing as of this posting.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the death of 25 miners yesterday at the Upper Big Branch South Mine in Whitesville, W.Va.:
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis used the historic setting of Chicago’s famed Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, on the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois, to unveil the U.S. Department of Labor’s “We Can Help” campaign, according to a recent press release. Solis committed to helping the nation’s low-wage and vulnerable workers, and reminded them that her agency’s personnel will not waver in protecting the rights guaranteed by law to every worker in America.