Pursuant to section 25306(i), OEHHA will ask the CIC to consider at a future meeting whether nitrite in combination with amines or amides, or a subset of chemicals of this class, have been clearly shown through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principles to cause cancer.
The time, date, location, and agenda of the CIC meeting where nitrite in combination with amines or amides will be discussed will be provided in future notices published in the California Regulatory Notice Register and posted on OEHHA’s website.
The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is the lead agency for the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65).
The Carcinogen Identification Committee (CIC) advises and assists OEHHA in compiling the list of chemicals known to the State to cause cancer as required by Health and Safety Code section 25249.8. The Committee serves as the State’s qualified experts for determining whether a chemical has been clearly shown through scientifically valid testing according to generally accepted principles to cause cancer.
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, safety data sheet (formerly called “material safety data sheet” or MSDS), 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 safety data sheets.
Hilton Head RCRA and DOT Training
Orlando RCRA and DOT Training
Baltimore RCRA, DOT, and IATA/IMO Training
Record Numbers of Construction Workers Get Prevention Message in 2015 National Fall Safety Stand-Down
Today is a day like any other. The sun rose. People went to work to build our homes, our businesses, and our bridges. By day’s end, not all of them will go home. Each year, hundreds of workers die and thousands more suffer serious injuries because they fell and lacked the right safety equipment or knowledge to prevent it. For constructions workers, falls are the leading cause of death.
“Last year’s Stand-Down was a big success. More than 5,000 employers talked about fall protection with more than a million workers. It was a tremendous commitment to safety on the part of businesses and workers alike. I am confident that we can do even better this year,” said US Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “The construction industry is so important to our economy. We all depend on it every day. It drives growth and prosperity. It generates good, middle-class jobs that can support a family. But we have to make sure those jobs are as safe as they can possibly be. That’s why fall prevention and this Stand-Down are so important.”
During the two-week Stand-Down, employers and workers will voluntarily stop work to focus on these hazards and preventing them. Industry and business leaders, including universities, labor organizations, and community and faith-based groups, have scheduled Stand-Downs in all 50 states. In addition, the US Air Force will be hosting fall Stand-Downs at bases worldwide and a major event will be co-hosted at the United States Capitol Dome with Turner Construction.
“The people that fall are not just numbers, they are mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “The cost of building our nation and economy cannot be the lives of its workforce, and that’s what this Stand-Down is all about. These deaths are preventable if we plan ahead, provide workers the right equipment and train each and every one of them how to use it.”
“Construction workers help build our communities, and we must look to keep these communities whole by preventing these tragedies,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “This safety Stand-Down serves as an important opportunity for everyone to take the time to learn how to recognize and prevent fall hazards.”
Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of all events taking place across the country.
Secretary of Labor Appoints Members to the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health
Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez recently appointed six members to serve on the Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health.
This includes providing advice on how to reduce the number of injuries and illnesses in the federal workforce and how to encourage each federal executive branch department and agency to establish and maintain effective occupational safety and health programs.
The following members are newly appointed and will serve through December 31, 2017:
- Dr. Gary Wayne Helmer, chief, safety division, National Transportation Safety Board – federal agency management representative
- Dr. Patricia R. Worthington, director, Office of Health and Safety, Office of Health, Safety and Security, US Department of Energy – federal agency management representative
The following members were reappointed and will serve through December 31, 2017:
- Catherine Emerson, chief human capital officer, US Department of Homeland Security – federal agency management representative
- Dr. Richard S. Williams, chief health and safety officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration – federal agency management representative
- Gregory Junemann, international president, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers – labor representative
- Milagro Rodriguez, occupational health and safety specialist, American Federation of Government Employees – labor representative
Under Section 19 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and Executive Order 12196, the head of each agency is responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for all federal employees by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.
Lack of Protective Equipment for Republic Steel Plant Electrician Results in 1st and 3rd Degree Burns
An electric technician at the Republic Steel Corp., steel manufacturing plant in Blasdell was removing wiring from a fan motor in an overhead crane on October 16, 2014, when an ungrounded electrical conductor touched a grounded surface causing an arc flash. The electric technician sustained third degree burns on her hand and first degree burns on her face.
An investigation by the Buffalo Area Office of OSHA found that Republic Steel failed to provide and ensure the use of effective face and hand protection by its employees.
In this case, that would include a face shield and rubber insulating gloves. The company should be especially aware of this, since OSHA cited Republic Steel earlier in 2014 for similar hazards at its Lorain, Ohio, facility,” said Michael Scime, OSHA’s area director in Buffalo.
As a result of these conditions, OSHA cited Republic Steel for two repeat violations, with proposed penalties of $70,000 each for the lack of hand and face protection. Total proposed penalties are $147,000.
An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists. A repeated violation exists when an employer has been cited previously 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.
Republic Steel has contested its citations and proposed penalties to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
5 Contractors Face $125,000 in Penalties for Safety Violations
Employers who ignore safety in search of profit put their workers at risk. This idea was apparent to safety and health inspectors as they drove by a Bojangles’ restaurant under construction in Lilburn, Georgia, in October 2014.
Hundreds of these workers die each year and thousands more suffer catastrophic, debilitating injuries.
After the inspection, OSHA found willful, repeated, and serious safety violations. It cited contractors Greenway Construction Inc., W.H. Bass Inc., Juan Diaz, MMC Construction LLC and TWS Floor Covering LLC.
“Our investigation found that several contractors were ignoring basic rules about fall protection and created unsafe working conditions,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office. “In this case, the project was behind schedule and the employers chose to put profits ahead of the safety of their workers.”
Additionally, Greenway, Juan Diaz and MMC were each cited for one serious violation for exposing workers below them to falling debris. Diaz received a serious violation, and Greenway a repeated citation, for not fully planking the scaffold. Diaz was also cited for a willful, and MMC a repeated violation, for permitting workers to climb the scaffold instead of using a ladder. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
The repeated violation was for exposing workers to falls up to seven feet by not having a ladder at the rear of the scaffold. The serious violations involve not ensuring the scaffold boards extended beyond the centerline for support and allowing employees to stand on a pile of blocks, while on the scaffold, to increase the worker’s reach.
The serious violations include exposing workers to an unprotected belt and pulley on the mortar mixer and failure to install connecting pins on the scaffolding and to extend the scaffold boards beyond the centerline for support. Additional serious violations include not installing guardrails on the scaffolding and allowing employees to work at heights up to 13 feet without fall protection. The other-than-serious violation involved failure to certify that employees were trained to wear fall protection.
DHC Contracting Puts Workers at Risk of Trench Collapse Hazards
OSHA inspectors were driving by the excavation when they observed an unprotected trench that could collapse and trap the workers.
OSHA requires that all trenches and excavation sites 5-feet or deeper be protected against sidewall collapses. Protection may be provided through shoring of trench walls, sloping of the soil at a shallow angle or by using a protective trench box. Additionally, three serious citations were issued for failing to provide a safe entrance and exit from the trench, not requiring employees to wear head protection while working in a trench where falling objects could result in injury, and allowing employees to use a chop saw to cut concrete without wearing proper eye protection.
“James Marlowe was at the work site watching his employees work in an unprotected excavation and recognized the hazardous condition that existed, but didn’t take action to protect them from being engulfed and crushed by a wall collapse,” said Robert Vazzi, OSHA’s area director in Savannah. “For an employer to knowingly disregard the lives of their workers is unconscionable.”
Proposed penalties total $57,900.
Sabel Steel Service Inc. Exposes Workers to Unsafe Levels of Lead, Fall, and Electrical Shock Hazards
Lead exposure can cause impaired kidney function, high blood pressure, and other negative health effects. One other violation was cited for not performing a periodic inspection of the locomotive crane in 12 months.
“Lead exposure is a serious health concern and employers such as Sabel Steel need to understand that the fumes produced when cutting metal could exceed OSHA’s permissible exposure limits. As a result, they need to evaluate health hazards employees are exposed to in the workplace,” said Joseph Roesler director of OSHA’s area office in Mobile. “OSHA holds employers accountable for correcting conditions that threaten workers’ safety and health.”
Proposed penalties total $51,476.
Suburban Plastics Fails to Correct Workplace Hazards
The failure-to-abate citation was issued for not developing procedures to avoid accidental machine start up while employees performed maintenance or service. Two repeated violations involved failure to protect live electrical parts from accidental contact and not protecting electrical conductors. The serious violation was cited for not having electrical conductors in conduit or another enclosure.
“OSHA expects and will ensure employers take immediate action to correct hazards identified during an inspection,” said Eugene Stewart, OSHA’s area director in Jackson. “It’s disappointing to know that after being notified of the hazards, Suburban Plastics failed to abate workplace hazards that put workers at risk of serious injury or death.”
Proposed penalties total $50,000.
Pacemaker Steel & Piping Co. Inc. Exposes Workers to Laceration, Crushing, Exit Access, and Fall Hazards
Pacemaker Steel & Piping Co., Inc., provides steel, aluminum, and other metals and pipe to the construction trade.
The inspection found several hazardous conditions similar to those cited during OSHA inspections of company facilities in Binghamton and Manchester, New York, in 2010 and 2014. Newly identified hazards included an exit door blocked by snow and other deficiencies that could prevent employees from exiting the workplace swiftly and safely in the event of a fire or other emergency; falls from a stairway that lacked a required safety railing; and slipping hazards from water on the shop floor. As a result of these conditions, OSHA cited Pacemaker Steel & Piping for three repeat and four serious violations of workplace health and safety standards.
Proposed penalties total $45,500.
“Left uncorrected, these hazards could cost employees their lives or their well-being. The fact that a number of these hazards are similar to those found during prior inspections shows that Pacemaker Steel must take additional and effective steps to adequately identify, eliminate and prevent future hazards at all its locations,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse.
OSHA and the National Center for Transgender Equality Form Alliance to Protect Safety, Health of Transgender Workers
“Through this alliance, we will jointly work with the NCTE to develop products and guidance materials to improve workplace safety and health for all workers,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels.”
The alliance will provide opportunities for OSHA to speak, exhibit, or appear at conferences, local meetings, or other events sponsored by the NCTE or allied organizations. Additionally, the alliance will focus on sharing information on OSHA initiatives, workers’ rights and employer responsibilities and other safety and health information. NCTE will also review, promote, and disseminate new guidance products. The alliance agreement will be for two years.
NCTE, founded in 2003, is a national social justice advocacy organization for transgender people. A report released by NCTE and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found that 55% of transgender people surveyed lost a job due to bias. Twenty-two percent of workers in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey reported that they were denied access to gender-appropriate restrooms on the job.
The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources, and to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. Alliance Program participants do not receive exemptions from OSHA inspections or any other enforcement benefits.
MIOSHA and CMMA Sign Alliance to Foster Safer, More Healthful Workplaces
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) and Central Michigan Manufacturers Association (CMMA) Safety Special Interest Group (SIG) recently established a cooperative relationship to provide CMMA/SIG members and others with information, guidance, and access to training to reduce and prevent exposure to workplace hazards. MIOSHA is part of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA).
The ceremony was hosted by Aircraft Precision Products in Ithaca where MIOSHA, CMMA/SIG and approximately 75 others from local manufacturers gathered to sign the agreement and present the annual CMMA Safety Awards.
“This alliance offers a platform to bring together resources from our organizations to increase opportunities for education, outreach and information sharing through the state,” said MIOSHA Deputy Director Bart Pickelman. “I am confident the discussions and sharing of information that will take place in the coming three years will strengthen our alliance, partnership, and friendship, and lead to even safer and healthier work environments here in Michigan.”
The key goals of the alliance include:
- Raising awareness of MIOSHA’s rulemaking and enforcement initiatives
- Developing effective safety and health training and education programs for CMMA member companies
- Increasing outreach and communication on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards
“The CMMA is excited with the new opportunities the alliance agreement will give our central Michigan manufacturers to increase the emphasis, dialogue and tools needed to improve safety on the shop floor,” said CMMA President Jim Shoemaker Jr. “This three-year program will enhance our Safety Special Interest Group’s ability to provide effective training resources, on site consultation, hazard surveys, and MIOSHA’s assistance on special projects.”
MIOSHA and CMMA Sign Alliance MIOSHA alliances enable organizations committed to workplace safety and health to collaborate with MIOSHA to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. Alliances are open to all groups, including trade or professional associations, businesses, labor organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies.
There are many benefits to participating in an alliance with MIOSHA, including:
- Building trusting, cooperative relationships
- Networking with others committed to workplace safety and health
- Exchanging information about best practices
- Leveraging resources to maximize worker safety and health protection
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