Every day, about 14 Americans fail to come home from work to their families. Tens of thousands die from workplace disease and more than 4.6 million workers are seriously injured on the job annually. OSHA, in an effort to address urgent safety and health problems facing Americans in the workplace, is implementing a new Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) and increasing civil penalty amounts.
“For many employers, investing in job safety happens only when they have adequate incentives to comply with OSHA’s requirements,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Dr. David Michaels. “Higher penalties and more aggressive, targeted enforcement will provide a greater deterrent and further encourage these employers to furnish safe and healthy workplaces for their employees.”
The new SVEP is intended to focus OSHA enforcement resources on recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law. This supplemental enforcement tool includes increased OSHA inspections in these worksites, including mandatory OSHA follow-up inspections, and inspections of other worksites of the same employer where similar hazards and deficiencies may be present. SVEP will become effective within the next 45 days.
In 2009, OSHA assembled a work group to evaluate its penalty policies and found currently assessed penalties are too low to have an adequate deterrent effect. Based on the group’s findings and recommendations, several administrative changes to the penalty calculation system, outlined in the agency’s Field Operations Manual, are being made. These administrative enhancements will become effective in the next several months. The penalty changes will increase the overall dollar amount of all penalties while maintaining OSHA’s policy of reducing penalties for small employers and those acting in good faith.
The current maximum penalty for a serious violation, one capable of causing death or serious physical harm, is only $7,000 and the maximum penalty for a willful violation is $70,000. The average penalty for a serious violation will increase from about $1,000 to an average $3,000 to $4,000. Monetary penalties for violations of the OSH Act have been increased only once in 40 years despite inflation. The Protecting America’s Workers Act would raise these penalties, for the first time since 1990, to $12,000 and $250,000, respectively. Future penalty increases would also be tied to inflation. In the meantime, OSHA will focus on outreach in preparation of implementing this new penalty policy.
“Although we are making significant adjustments in our penalty policy within the tight constraints of our law, this administrative effort is no substitute for the meaningful and substantial penalty changes included in PAWA,” said Dr. Michaels. “OSHA enforcement and penalties are not just a reaction to workplace tragedies. They serve an important preventive function. OSHA inspections and penalties must be large enough to discourage employers from cutting corners or underfunding safety programs to save a few dollars.”
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Revised Z87.1-2010 Eye & Face Standard Takes Hazard-Based Approach
The chief U.S. consensus standard for protective eyewear and face protection products has been revised for 2010, with the committee behind it reorganizing it so that it is focused on the hazards workers experience rather than the configuration of the product. Dan Torgersen, chairman of the Z87 Committee on Eye and Face Protection and also vice president of Walman Optical of Minneapolis, said this approach will encourage end users to evaluate the hazards at their sites and select the PPE based on the analysis—the classic and recommended way to choose PPE.
“Regardless of protector type, the risk to the wearer remains the same. With the end user in mind, the committee agreed early on that the standard should represent a more hazard-based approach,” Torgersen said.
Torgersen said the Z87.1-2010 standard “attempts to harmonize with already existing global documents and safety practices” and noted manufacturers of eye and face PPE have an important role to play in educating end users about matching their hazards with the product markings. The standard includes a “Selection Chart” that can be posted to assist in product selection, ISEA said.
Comment Period for Proposed Rule on Total Inward Leakage for APR Respirators Extended
In response to requests from interested parties for additional time for comments, the comment period for the proposed rule on total inward leakage requirements for respirators is extended until September 30, 2010.
The proposed rule establishes total inward leakage (TIL) requirements under 42 CFR Part 84 for half-mask air-purifying particulate respirators, including both elastomeric facepiece and filtering facepiece types. The proposed new requirements specify TIL minimum performance requirements. Also included is testing to be conducted by NIOSH and respirator manufacturers to demonstrate that these respirators, when selected and used correctly, provide effective respiratory protection to intended users against toxic dusts, mists, fumes, fibers, and biological and infectious aerosols.
CSB Investigators Determine Cause of Explosion that Killed a Member of the Public April 14
A fiery explosion that took the life of a 21-year-old member of the public in Weleetka, Oklahoma, on April 14 occurred at an unattended oil and gas production site that was unsecured and likely lacked fire or explosion warning signs, Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigators have determined following a four-day field assessment. Investigators arrived in Weleetka on Sunday evening and have been examining the site, conducting witness interviews, and gathering other information throughout the week.
The accident occurred at approximately 9:00 p.m., while six individuals aged 18 to 32 were socializing at the rural site, which was normally unmanned. The site, which had four petroleum storage tanks and two brine storage tanks, was operated on private land by two production firms, Three MG Family Inc. and Enterprise Energy, who leased the mineral rights. A third company, ScissorTail Energy, operated a gas metering and collection system connected to the production equipment.
The blast occurred about 10 minutes after the group arrived at the site. Witnesses stated that they were drawn to the site when they saw the open gate while driving along a public roadway. Witnesses further stated that oil sites were a common gathering place for local residents and that they were largely unfamiliar with the hazards.
The deadly blast occurred one day after the release of a new CSB safety video at a public meeting in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.The video tells the story of the tragic deaths of 18-year-old Wade White and 16-year-old Devon Byrd, killed October 31, 2009, when an oil tank, located in a clearing in the woods near the home of one of the boys in the rural town of Carnes, suddenly exploded while the two were hanging out at the site.
Based on witness interviews, CSB investigators determined that a lit cigarette or lighter was the likely ignition source for the explosion, which happened as the 21-year-old male who later died was peering into the hatch on top of one of the tanks. That tank contained what was later described as approximately 160 barrels of light crude oil. The resulting explosion and fire engulfed the victim and caused a second explosion in an interconnected tank. The victim suffered third-degree burns over 85% of his body. He was able to describe the accident to emergency response and ambulance personnel, but died the following morning at a Tulsa burn unit. Another individual suffered second-degree burns. A fire burned for more than three hours at the site until it could be extinguished by several responding fire departments using foam.
“The catwalk leading to the top of the tank was unsecured and readily accessible,” said CSB Investigator Vidisha Parasram. “The tank hatches had no mechanism which would permit them to be secured or locked. No fire or explosion warning signs or other warning signage was visible anywhere on the site following the accident.” Ms. Parasram said the CSB would continue to study whether any signage could have been destroyed in the fire, but that even the undamaged portions of the facility and the entrance gates had no posted warnings. Eyewitnesses said they saw no signs on the night of the accident or during previous visits to the site.
The site entrance was protected only by an unmarked gate which multiple witnesses described as being wide open on the night of April 14, and generally open and unlocked at other times. Apart from the gate the site had no fencing or other protective measures that would keep members of the public safe from hazards on the site.
“Following this accident, our investigative team was able to observe a number of other oil and gas production sites in the area. The vast majority were unsecured and had no warning signs,” said CSB Investigations Supervisor Don Holmstrom, who leads the CSB regional office in Denver. “Oil and gas sites that lack security measures and warning signs are an accident waiting to happen.” State officials told the CSB that Oklahoma has approximately 257,000 active and unplugged oil and gas production sites and that Oklahoma requires fencing and warning signs only at sites that have toxic hydrogen sulfide gas hazards.
A CSB preliminary analysis released on April 13 showed that 24 similar explosions and fires occurred at oil and gas production sites between 1983 and 2009. Those accidents resulted in 42 fatalities and a number of injuries; all the fatalities occurred among teenagers and young adults under the age of 25. In most cases, the explosions were ignited by a cigarette, match, or lighter. The CSB found no specific federal standards or industry guidance for security or public protection measures at oil and gas production sites. Certain states including Ohio and Colorado require fencing and other public safety measures at sites in urban areas. Ohio requires tank hatches to be sealed and locked at unattended oil sites.
Counting the accident on April 14, the CSB has thus far identified a total of seven oil site explosions and fires in Oklahoma since 1990 that killed or injured members of the public, the highest total for any state. Four of these accidents caused multiple fatalities.
CSB Board Member William Wark said, “The CSB is concerned about these ongoing accidents across the country that are needlessly taking the lives of young people. To me, it is self-evident that hazardous oil and gas sites should be secured against unauthorized entry and posted with extensive and specific warning signs. And we need to educate teenagers and young adults to stay away from these sites—they are dangerous.”
The day prior to the explosion in Weleetka, the CSB Board issued a statement “urging oil and gas production companies to ensure that they provide adequate security and warning signage around sites that have tank fire or explosion hazards; and further urging state legislatures, local governments, and regulators to review rules governing oil and gas tank sites to ensure they require adequate barriers, security measures, and warning signs.” Mr. Wark said a CSB task group will be working over the next several months to develop additional specific safety recommendations, incorporating the findings from the recent accidents in Mississippi and Oklahoma.
OSHA fines American Packaging Corp. More than $100,000 Following Worker’s Death
OSHA has cited American Packaging Corp. in Columbus, Ohio, with 29 alleged serious violations of federal workplace health and safety standards following an investigation into a worker’s death. OSHA began its inspection in October 2009 after learning from the company that a maintenance technician was killed during an explosion at the plant. Flammable vapors were present when the worker was using a grinder to cut off a bolt while installing a metal floor threshold.
American Packaging has been issued $127,350 in proposed penalties. Some of the violations in the case include failing to provide safe work practice procedures for hot work in a confined space, failing to properly train workers in procedures to safely maintain equipment, the lack of a proper emergency response plan, the lack of procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services, not having appropriate personal protective equipment for workers, the absence of lockout/tagout procedures for energy sources, and various process safety management deficiencies.
The company also has been cited with three serious safety violations with $18,900 in proposed penalties for failing to take adequate precautions to prevent the ignition of flammable vapors, failing to prevent cutting operations in the presence of explosive atmospheres, and failing to maintain safe handling of equipment in cutting operations.
An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.
"These types of violations show the company’s disregard for the safety and welfare of its employees,” said OSHA Area Director Kim Stille in Madison, Wisconsin. “Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
H&H Woodworking Inc Fined $130,800 for Fire, Chemical, and Amputation Hazards
H&H Woodworking Inc., a Yonkers, New York, manufacturer of custom architectural woodwork, has been cited for 26 alleged willful and serious violations of safety and health standards after an employee sustained a partial hand amputation on an unguarded radial arm saw. The company faces a total of $130,800 in proposed fines.
“Our inspection found that the blades on this and other saws lacked the guarding designed to prevent just this type of accident,” said Diana Cortez, OSHA’s area director in Tarrytown, New York. “In addition, we identified a range of mechanical, chemical and fire hazards that, if uncorrected, expose employees to the dangers of flash fires, eye injury, hazardous substances and an inability to exit the workplace swiftly in the event of a fire or other emergency.”
The unguarded saw blades resulted in OSHA issuing the company two willful citations with $84,000 in proposed fines. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
The inspection also identified potential fire hazards including the accumulation of combustible wood dust, a failure to ground and bond segments of the plant’s dust collection system, unbonded containers of flammable liquids, combustible residue accumulation on surfaces of spray booths, and no training in fire extinguisher use. Other hazards included a locked exit door, obstructed exit route, untrained forklift operators, no lockout-tagout program for energy sources, respirator deficiencies, no chemical hazard communication program, allowing workers to consume food in areas where hazardous chemicals are used, a lack of quick drenching facilities for workers exposed to corrosive liquids, and insufficient protective measures for employees working with methylene chloride.
These conditions resulted in the issuance of 24 serious citations, with $46,800 in fines.
Daehan Solution Alabama Fined $63,700 Following Amputation Accident
OSHA is proposing $63,700 in penalties against Daehan Solution Alabama LLC in Hope Hull, Alabama, for safety violations.
An inspection in October 2009 began after an employee sustained an amputation of three fingers on one hand. The investigation revealed that the company had violated OSHA standards by failing to provide proper machine guarding. The employer allowed the light curtains, an invisible infra-red beam used for employee protection, to be overridden and remain inoperable for a period of two years. If the light curtain had been operating correctly, the amputation could have been avoided.
As a result, OSHA is proposing one willful violation carrying $49,000 in proposed penalties.
Seven serious violations, with proposed penalties of $14,700, included open-sided floors, electrical hazards, other machine guarding deficiencies and failure to label stop buttons.
“If the employer had implemented the recommended safety procedures by having proper machine guarding on equipment, these needless injuries could have been avoided,” said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA’s area director in Mobile.
Ceva Freight Issued $64,000 in Fines for Serious and Repeat Safety Violations
OSHA has cited Ceva Freight LLC, a logistics and freight management solutions company for national and multi-national companies in Elk Grove, Illinois, with $64,000 in proposed penalties for alleged serious, repeat, and other-than-serious violations of federal workplace safety standards.
As a result of a January 2010 inspection, OSHA has cited the company with two serious violations and proposed a $10,000 penalty for not ensuring industrial trucks were properly inspected before use and for failing to provide legible name plates on the trucks.
Ceva Freight LLC also has received two repeat violations and a proposed $50,000 penalty for failing to provide proper load backrest extensions and to take trucks with safety defects out of service. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously was cited for the same or similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facilities in federal enforcement states within the last three years.
Additionally, the company has been cited with two other-than-serious violations carrying a proposed $4,000 penalty for failing to record injury and illness on OSHA 300 forms and to provide those forms to OSHA when requested.
“Employees that work with and around powered industrial trucks face serious injury or even death if proper OSHA safety regulations are not followed,” said OSHA Area Director Diane Turek in Des Plaines, Illinois. “Those who ignore these safety regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
OSHA Proposes More than $133,000 in Penalties against Scovill Fasteners
OSHA has cited Scovill Fasteners in Clarksville, Georgia, for 60 safety and health violations. Penalties total $133,350.
OSHA began its inspection in October 2009 after receiving a complaint concerning a partial amputation of an employee’s index finger. Inspectors found a number of deficiencies at the plant including unguarded power presses, failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures for energy sources, lack of training for forklift operators, improper personal protection equipment for employees handling acids and caustics, and failing to provide a written hazard communications plan. The investigation was expanded to all areas of the facility when inspectors observed a high number of safety hazards.
The company is being cited with 40 serious safety violations with $99,050 in proposed penalties. The violations are associated with several instances where mechanical power presses were unguarded, exposing employees to amputation hazards. Other violations are related to fall hazards, damaged storage racks, crane and overhead hoists exposing employees to struck-by hazards, lack of adequate lighting and signage for emergency egress, and several electrical deficiencies.
A separate health inspection revealed 14 serious violations with $34,300 in proposed penalties. They include hazards associated with abrasive blasting, noise overexposure, lack of noise training for employees, failing to address all the required elements in the emergency response plan, failing to provide an appropriate eye wash and shower station, failing to perform a personal protection equipment assessment, as well as deficiencies in the respiratory protection program and the permit required confined space program.
The facility is also being cited with six other-than-serious violations with no proposed penalty. The violations concern dip tank ventilation deficiencies, improper use of respirators, lack of a written exposure control plan, and failing to label containers. 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.
Cal/OSHA Issues More than $100,000 in Fines in Meningitis Exposure Case
Cal/OSHA has issued $101,485 in citations to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California, for ten violations of the state safety and health standards in connection to a life-threatening exposure of bacterial meningitis. The case also involves citations issued to the Oakland Police Department and Fire Department as well as a continuing investigation of meningitis exposure involving ambulance employees of American Medical Response. The exposure resulted in the emergency hospitalizations of an Alta Bates employee and an Oakland police officer.
“The new Aerosol Transmittable Disease (ATD) Standard was designed to protect workers from just this type of exposure,” said DIR Director John C. Duncan. “Protection of medical facility staff and first responders is critical in the process of assisting the public in need of the life-saving services they offer. We cannot allow the spread of diseases caused by airborne aerosols in these critical professions when preventive measures are readily available, and have been required since August 2009.”
On December 3, 2009, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland received a patient with bacterial meningitis. The patient was transported by American Medical Response with the assistance of a fire department paramedic. The ambulance service responded to the home of the patient where the Oakland Police and Fire Departments had previously arrived. Employees of all three responders at scene were exposed to bacterial meningitis.
“This is a textbook case of why the ATD Standard was developed and why it is so important that it be implemented,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Len Welsh. “This case is also a “wake-up call” for other medical facilities and first responders to make sure their ATD program, procedures and employee training meet the requirement of the standard and will be effective in preventing situations like this, which are completely preventable and should never happen.”
Cal/OSHA was notified on December 15 by Alta Bates that a respiratory therapist, who directly treated the patient, was hospitalized at another hospital and in the Intensive Care Unit being treated for bacterial meningitis. The respiratory therapist was hospitalized for 11 days.
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center was issued citations for not implementing an ATD program, not providing post exposure information to employees, not properly fit testing employees for respirators and not providing medical treatment to the exposed employee. They also received two willful citations: one for not reporting the meningitis case to the local health authorities and other employees in a timely manner, and one for failure to conduct an exposure analysis of employees exposed to bacterial meningitis for a week after the exposure.
The Oakland Police Department, which had an officer hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of another hospital for five days with bacterial meningitis, was cited $31,520 for nine violations that included failure to develop and implement the required ATD standard, failure to properly notify the Oakland Fire Department and American Medical Response of the exposure, not obtaining a medical evaluation of the exposed employee, failure to report the officer’s hospitalization to Cal/OSHA, and for not notifying the exposed employee of his exposure to meningitis.
The Oakland Fire Department, whose paramedic assisted in transporting the exposed patient, was cited $2,710 for five violations that included failure to develop and implement an ATD standard, not properly notifying the Oakland Fire Department and American Medical Response of the exposure, and providing exposed employees with a copy of their medical evaluations. None of the responding fire fighters, who all used personal respirators, developed the disease.
All employers involved in the transportation and treatment of a patient exposed to bacterial meningitis are required to provide respiratory protection, report the case to the local health authority and to employees or other employers exposed, and initiate appropriate medical treatment. This investigation revealed a failure to comply with these requirements.
An investigation involving American Medical Response is still open.
Oregon OSHA to Adopt Federal Changes for Hexavalent Chromium Exposure
Oregon OSHA has published a proposed rule that would keep Oregon regulations pertaining to hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) in harmony with recent changes to Federal OSHA’s standards.
Federal OSHA revised the notification requirements in the Hexavalent Chromium (Cr (VI)) standard in general industry, construction, and maritime activities. Employers will be required to notify employees of the results of all exposure determinations regardless of exposure levels.
Web Chat Participants Comment on Planned OSHA Goals
During two 45 minute Web chats on Wednesday, April 7, Assistant Secretary David Michaels received questions and suggestions on how OSHA can best protect America’s workers. Assistant Secretary Michaels was joined by senior OSHA management to answer 70 questions from members of the public and OSHA staff on the Agency’s new six-year strategic plan. Topics included the future focus of enforcement activities and priorities for developing safety and health standards.
Assistant Secretary Michaels closed by saying, “We look forward to your continued comments as we move forward through the strategic planning process. Your input is important to us as we develop and refine our goals, measurements and outcomes to move us toward healthier and safer workplaces in this country.”
New OSHA Publication on Preventing Hazards Facing Flood Workers
The fact sheet explains how workers should be trained to prevent back strains and other injuries caused by repeatedly lifting and carrying heavy loads, and frequently working in awkward positions filling and stacking sandbags. The fact sheet also encourages employers to provide equipment such as safety glasses and waterproof work boots, gloves, and other gear that protects workers from such hazards as exposure to chemically treated sandbags and polluted floodwater.
Canadian Confined Space Standard Nears Approval
The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) says CSA Z1006, Management of Work in Confined Spaces, would be the country’s first comprehensive national standard on the topic and would solve a puzzling problem: Jurisdictions haven’t agreed on a consistent definition of “confined space.”
The standard is pending approval as a national Standard of Canada and is important because current standards and regulations vary across jurisdictions; there is not even an agreed definition of “confined space” among them, according to CSA, which says the standard was developed so it does not conflict with existing regulations but works with them to ensure a high degree of safety. It defines a confined space according to the characteristics of the space and the ability of a worker or rescuer to enter and exit it uninjured. The standard provides guidance on roles required for safe entry, training requirements for and competency of the entry team and rescuers, and qualification requirements for training providers.
“Even the most skilled workers can become trapped, injured, or overcome by toxins in a confined space,” said Suzanne Kiraly, CSA’s president. “This new CSA standard, the first of its kind in Canada, defines what a confined space is and provides guidelines to managers, workers, and rescuers for identifying and avoiding potential risks while not becoming victims themselves.”
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