“Nail gun injuries are responsible for approximately 37,000 emergency room visits annually. In some cases, workers have died from their injuries,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “This document will help construction employers make necessary changes to improve nail gun safety and protect their workers from preventable injuries and death.”
“NIOSH is pleased to partner with OSHA in presenting effective, evidence-based guidance for safer nail gun use,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D.
Construction workers, particularly those in residential construction, use nail guns nearly every day. Although this tool is easy to operate and increases productivity, there have been reports of internal and external bodily injuries. These injuries occur as a result of unintended nail discharge; nails that bounce off a hard surface or miss the work piece and become airborne; and disabling the gun’s safety features, among other causes. Injury prevention is possible if contractors take steps such as using full sequential trigger nail guns; establishing nail gun work procedures; and providing workers with personal protective equipment.
Safety Consultant/Trainer
Environmental Resource Center has a new opening for a safety consultant and auditor. We are looking for a former OSHA CSHO, OSHA trainer, or state inspector for this position in our Cary, North Carolina, office. Applicants should have excellent writing and speaking skills and be willing to travel 7–14 days per month. We are looking for an expert in all of the General Industry and Construction standards who is capable of performing audits of industrial facilities as well as conducting on-site training.
Strong consideration will be given to applicants who also have experience providing HAZWOPER, Hazcom, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, and machine guarding training.
The position includes maintenance of training materials (books and presentations), working on consulting projects, development of classes and computer-based training programs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
How to Prepare for OSHA Adoption of the GHS for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
This means that virtually every product label, material safety data sheet (soon to be called “safety data sheet”), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on MSDSs.
Environmental Resource Center is offering webcast training courses where you will learn how the new rule differs from current requirements, how to implement the changes, and when the changes must be implemented. Dates for the upcoming webcasts include:
- September 27
- October 14
- October 25
- November 10
Advertising Opportunities Available
EnPro Safety Summit
EnPro Industries, one of America’s safest companies, is opening the doors to its annual safety conference to the readers of Environmental Resource Center’s Safety Tip of the Week. Until now, this conference has only been open to EHS managers from this leading manufacturer of sealing products, engineered products, and engine products. Enpro has about 3,600 employees in the US, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. At this meeting, you’ll learn how EnPro achieved an accident and employee lost time rates that are amongst the safest among similar industries. You’ll also learn how your employees can empower your safety machine, how to get the best in class workers compensation rate, key policies and procedures, and you’ll get to feel and touch a true safety culture.
The conference will be held October 24–25 in Houston. For more information, contact Rick Rudy at 303-433-3282 and mention that you were invited to attend as a reader of Environmental Resource Center’s Safety Tip of the Week.
Supermarket Cited for Locking in Night Shift Workers
OSHA has cited a Brooklyn, New York, supermarket for alleged willful and serious violations of workplace safety standards after an inspection found that night shift employees were locked in and not allowed to leave the building without the employer’s permission. Mermaid Meat Co., doing business as Fine Fare Supermarkets at 2901 Mermaid Ave., faces a total of $62,300 in proposed fines.
“One hundred years ago in New York City, 146 workers died in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Many of them died because they were locked in and unable to escape swiftly,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “A century later, we still find employers locking in their employees or otherwise obstructing emergency exit access. These are imminent danger situations, potential catastrophes in the making. Conditions from 1911 should not continue to exist in 2011.”
“Our inspection found that all five exit doors were locked at night and could not be unlocked without a manager’s permission. These workers were essentially caged and that is completely unacceptable,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director based in Manhattan. “Employees must be able to exit the workplace swiftly in the event of a fire or other emergency. When they cannot do so, they face serious injury or death from burns and smoke inhalation.”
OSHA standards require that employees be able to open an exit route door from inside at all times, without keys, tools, or special knowledge. A device such as a panic bar that locks only from the outside is permitted on exit doors. OSHA cited the company for one willful violation with a fine of $49,000 for the locked exits. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Four serious violations with $13,300 in fines involve obstructed exit routes as well as electrical and tripping hazards. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
“One means of preventing hazards such as these is for employers to establish an injury and illness prevention program in which they work with their employees to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
OSHA Updates Hazard Alert on Formaldehyde Dangers at Hair Salons
. The revised alert was prompted by the results of agency investigations, a warning letter issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and factually incorrect information recently sent to salons by a company that manufactures hair products.
During recent investigations, OSHA’s air tests showed formaldehyde at hazardous levels in salons using Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution and Brasil Cacau Cadiveu, resulting in citations for multiple violations. OSHA found that workers were exposed to formaldehyde in these salons at levels higher than the agency’s protective limits. OSHA also cited two manufacturers and two distributors of hair smoothing products for violations that included failing to list formaldehyde on product labels as well as on accompanying hazard warning sheets, known as material safety data sheets, that are provided to the products’ users.
The FDA issued a warning letter on August 22 to the importer and distributer of Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution stating that the product is adulterated and misbranded. Although the solution contains methylene glycol, which can release formaldehyde during the normal conditions of use, the product is labeled “formaldehyde free” or “no formaldehyde” and does not list formaldehyde on the material safety data sheet.
“Misleading or inadequate information on hazardous product labels is unacceptable,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels. “Salon owners and workers have the right to know the risks associated with the chemicals with which they work and how to protect themselves.”
Formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and nose; cause allergic reactions of the skin, eyes and lungs; and is a cancer hazard. OSHA further requires manufacturers, importers, and distributors of products that contain formaldehyde as a gas or in solution, or that can release formaldehyde during use, to include information about formaldehyde and its hazards on product labels and in the material safety data sheets. The alert also now includes details about the information that is required to be listed on the labels and the material safety data sheets of products that contain or could release formaldehyde.
Pallet Manufacturer Fined Nearly $88,000 for 18 Violations
Wooden pallet manufacturer Charles Greer Lumber Co., has been cited by OSHA for 18 safety and health violations following an April inspection of the company’s plant in Suwanee, Georgia. Penalties total $87,780.
Five repeat safety violations with $47,520 in fines involve failing to install machine guards on the pulley system, enclose sprocket wheels and chains, provide barriers to prevent employees from entering the space where logs are moved, ensure that electrical boxes had covers, and conduct an annual maintenance inspection of fire extinguishers. Additionally, one repeat health violation with a $6,600 fine was cited for failing to establish a program to test the hearing of workers exposed to loud noises. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule, or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company was cited for similar safety violations in 2009 and for a similar health violation in 2008.
Eleven serious safety violations with $33,660 in fines involve failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures for when employees conduct servicing and maintenance on equipment to prevent accidental startup, provide locks or suitable hardware for the lockout/tagout process, install machine guards on band saws, provide employees using chainsaws with leg protection, properly light exit signs, and ensure fire extinguishers were readily available and visually inspected each month. The violations also include several electrical hazards, such as damaged equipment, exposed live parts, uncovered openings in cabinets and boxes, flexible cords spliced together, and a lack of strain relief for cords.
One other-than-serious safety violation with no monetary penalty was cited for failing to certify that employees were trained in procedures to lock out/tag out the energy sources of equipment. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
“Management must take a proactive approach to recognizing and eliminating workplace hazards that jeopardize the safety and health of employees,” said William Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office.
Ice Cream Company Cited for Process Safety Management and Energy Control Hazards
OSHA cited Perry’s Ice Cream Co., Inc., for eight alleged serious violations of workplace safety standards following an inspection at its Akron, New York, manufacturing plant. The ice cream manufacturer faces a total of $51,000 in proposed penalties.
In this case, the chemical was ammonia, used in the plant’s refrigeration system. The violations involve uncorrected deficiencies in ammonia processing equipment, not developing and implementing safe work practices for all mechanical and maintenance tasks, incomplete written standard operating procedures, and failure to provide process safety management training to employees at least every three years.
“The purpose of process safety management is to prevent catastrophic incidents such as fires, explosions and uncontrolled releases of highly hazardous chemicals, including ammonia,” said Arthur Dube, OSHA’s area director for western New York. “Employers must ensure that their PSM programs and training are up-to-date and ready for any contingency.”
Inspectors also found deficiencies in the plant’s hazardous energy control program, which involves powering down and locking out machines’ power sources to prevent their unintended start up during maintenance. Specifically, lockout procedures were not developed for tasks that resulted in recordable worker injuries, all lockout procedures were not inspected periodically and employees were not trained on lockout procedures. Additionally, unapproved electrical wiring and equipment was used in a Class I, Division 2 hazardous location.
“One means of preventing hazards such as these is for an employer to develop and implement an illness and injury prevention program in which management and workers proactively identify and eliminate hazardous conditions on a continual basis,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional director in New York.
OSHA Sues Dentist for Allegedly Firing Employee who Raised Concerns about Contaminated Needle Disposal
OSHA sued N. Terry Fayad, and his practice for allegedly firing an employee for raising concerns about needlestick hazards and filing a health hazard complaint with OSHA.
“No employer should ever treat employees this way,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator. “Workers have the right to perform their jobs without being exposed to life-threatening hazards as well as the right to raise concerns when faced with such hazards. The Labor Department will take all appropriate legal steps to ensure these rights are enforced.”
According to the complaint filed in U.S. district court in Boston by the department’s Office of the Regional Solicitor, Fayad discharged a dental assistant in November 2010 after the employee raised concerns about an office procedure that required workers to remove protective caps from contaminated needles before putting the needles in disposal containers for sharps. This procedure exposed the employees to injury and possible infection by bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis and HIV.
The lawsuit seeks the employee’s reinstatement; payment of lost wages, benefits, interest, and compensatory and punitive damages. The suit also seeks to enjoin Fayad from violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the future.
A separate OSHA health inspection of the dental practice begun on November 23, 2010, resulted in Fayad being cited for eight alleged serious violations of OSHA’s bloodborne pathogen and hazard communication standards, including having employees remove the caps from contaminated needles. Fayad has contested those citations and the accompanying $26,400 in proposed fines to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
OSHA Cites City Brewing Co. for Ammonia, Other Hazards
These include, among others, a failure to comply with the requirements of OSHA’s process safety management standard, which resulted in workers being exposed to ammonia during maintenance of pipe lines. The company faces $108,000 in proposed fines.
“Failing to follow process safety management procedures to reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous chemicals such as ammonia is unacceptable,” said Kim Stille, OSHA’s area director in Madison. “Employers have a responsibility to ensure that work environments are healthful and safe.”
The violations cited are for failing to ensure employee participation in a process safety management program; evaluate contractors’ safety performance; conduct a process safety management compliance audit; perform inspections and tests to maintain mechanical integrity of equipment such as a reciprocating compressor, and pressure relief and solenoid valves; and implement and train employees in an emergency response plan.
OSHA Cites Grocer $126,000 After Worker Suffers Leg Fracture from Fall
OSHA initiated an inspection after a worker who was riding on the forks of a powered industrial truck fell and sustained compound fractures. The company faces $126,000 in proposed fines.
“Employers have a responsibility to use equipment in accordance with acceptable operating procedures. Too often, shortcuts are taken that result in injuries to workers,” said George Yoksas, OSHA’s area director in Milwaukee. “Employers have a responsibility to ensure work environments are healthful and safe.”
The violations involve exposing a worker to a recognized fall hazard while lifted on a forklift that did not have an approved personnel elevating platform, and failing to train and evaluate employees in the safe operation of powered industrial trucks.
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