OSHA has cited Day & Zimmerman NPS, Inc., for exposing employees to electric shock hazards at the Tennessee Valley Authority Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant in Soddy Daisy, Tenn. The company faces $71,599 in proposed penalties.
Two employees pulling electrical cable suffered burns from an arc flash.
Arc eye, or welder’s flash, is an inflammation of the cornea, caused by the UV rays from the arc during welding. The symptoms, which appear a few hours to several hours after exposure, can include mild to severe pain, red watery eyes, sensitivity to light and the feeling of a foreign object in the eye. Typically, arc eye is temporary, but repeated or prolonged exposure can lead to permanent eye injury.
OSHA has cited Dana Railcare – based in Wilmington, Delaware – for confined space hazards after an employee fatality in Pittston, Pennsylvania. The railcar service provider faces $551,226 in proposed penalties. An employee was asphyxiated in May 2019, while servicing a rail car containing crude oil sludge. OSHA cited the company for four willful and three serious violations for failing to protect employees from the hazards of entering permit-required confined spaces, and inadequate respiratory protection procedures.
OSHA inspections increase, the crew of a fishing vessel escapes a sinking ship and two young UPS workers lose their lives in a California workplace incident. These were among the occupational safety and health stories featured on ISHN.com this week.
"This report is further evidence that the tobacco industry is succeeding in addicting a new generation to nicotine."
December 6, 2019
Twenty-three percent of middle and high school students in the U.S. – a total of 6.2 million youth – have used a tobacco product in the past 30 days, according to the The National Youth Tobacco Survey results released yesterday.
Why that matters: Most long-term tobacco product use begins during adolescence – and tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in this country and many others.
Crane operators take note: OSHA will not accept crane operator certifications or re-certifications issued by Crane Institute Certification (CIC) after December 2 because CIC is not compliant with OSHA’s operator certification requirement, according to a temporary enforcement policy announced this week by the agency.
The EPA said yesterday that it will not impose new financial responsibility requirements for the petroleum and coal products manufacturing industry (the industrial sector that transforms crude petroleum and coal into usable products) “because the financial risk to the federal government from those facilities is already addressed by various existing federal and state technical and financial requirements and modern material management practices.”
In many of today's workplace environments, a respirator and a proper respirator fit test are critical components of the employee respiratory protection program.
OSHA has released fiscal year (FY) 2019 final statistics showing a significant increase in the number of inspections and a record amount of compliance assistance to further the mission of ensuring that employers provide workplaces free of hazards.
Federal OSHA conducted 33,401 inspections—more inspections than the previous three years.
Workers in various industries can be exposed to dangerous airborne contaminants. The dangers range from nuisance level dusts to serious, life-threatening exposure, each requiring respiratory products at various levels of protection.