This rulemaking will help keep OSHA standards up-to-date and will help employers better understand their regulatory obligations.
For example, OSHA is proposing in SIP-III to update the definition for “potable water” in the Sanitation standard (1910.141) with the current EPA clean water standard. OSHA is also proposing to remove an outdated provision in the Bloodborne Pathogens standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) which requires employers to provide hand dryers that use warm air. This will allow use of newer technologies that use room temperature air.
These SIP-Phase III recommendations evolved through the agency’s review of its standards, suggestions, and comments from the public, as well as through recommendations from the Office of Management and Budget. The proposal builds on the success of SIP-Phase I published June 18, 1998, and SIP-Phase II published January 5, 2005.
OSHA will accept comments until September 30, 2010.
General information inquiries regarding the proposal can be directed to Ryan Tremain, OSHA Directorate of Standards and Guidance, at 202-693-1950.
Advertising Opportunities Available
Environmental Resource Center is making a limited number of advertising positions available in the Safety Tip of the Week™, the Environmental Tip of the Week™, and the Reg of the Day™.
New Screening Tool to Protect Workers from Skin Allergies
NIOSH Scientists and colleagues reported the development of a simple, rapid, inexpensive test for chemicals that can cause allergic contact dermatitis.
$430,000 Fine for Electrical Hazards at Post Office
OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service for alleged willful and repeat violations of safety standards following an inspection at the Southern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough, Maine. The Postal Service faces a total of $430,000 in fines, chiefly for exposing workers to electrical hazards.
“These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service’s failure to equip its workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to safely work with live electrical parts,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The Postal Service knew that proper and effective training was needed for the safety of its workers but did not provide it.”
OSHA’s inspection, which began December 29, 2009, in response to a complaint from workers at the Scarborough facility, found employees working with or near live electrical equipment without adequate training or qualifications, personal protective equipment, safety-related work practices, and warning signs.
These conditions exposed the workers to electric shock, arc flashes, and arc blasts and resulted in OSHA issuing six willful citations, with $420,000 in proposed fines, to the Postal Service. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
In addition, OSHA found that access to electrical panels was blocked in several instances by materials being stored adjacent to them. This situation resulted in one repeat citation, with a $10,000 fine, since the Postal Service had been cited in November 2007 for the same type of hazard at a Toledo, Ohio, postal facility.
Protect Healthcare Staff from Risks Associated With Disinfectants and Cleaners
Disinfectants and cleaners are essential products for preventing disease transmission in healthcare facilities, but they pose risks for work-related eye and respiratory irritation, sensitization, asthma-like symptoms, and respiratory distress for workers.
NIOSH Issues Report on 3M Model 8000 Respirator
In a May 2010 report, NIOSH issued findings and recommendations from an evaluation of the 3M Model 8000 respirator. The evaluation was requested by the state of California in January after a large healthcare organization reported that it was unable to successfully fit test their healthcare workers with units of the Model 8000. The organization had received these respirators from the California pandemic preparedness stockpile of FFRs, which included approximately 32 million 3M Model 8000 N95.
Real World Proof of Hand Washing Effectiveness
Scientists are reporting dramatic new real-world evidence supporting the idea that hand washing can prevent the spread of water-borne disease. It appears in a new study showing a connection between fecal bacteria contamination on hands, fecal contamination of stored drinking water, and health in households in a developing country in Africa.
Alexandria Boehm, Jenna Davis, and their students note that almost half of the world’s population—over 3 billion people—have no access to municipal drinking water supply systems. They obtain drinking water wells, springs, and other sources, and store it in jugs and other containers in their homes. Past research showed that this stored water can have higher levels of bacterial contamination than its source, but the reasons for these higher levels were not known.
The scientists found a strong link between fecal contamination on the hands of household residents and bacterial contamination in stored water in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Stored water contained nearly 100 times more fecal bacteria than the source where it was collected. “The results suggest that reducing fecal contamination on hands should be investigated as a strategy for improving stored drinking water quality and health among households using non-networked water supplies,” the report notes.
Mystery Unraveled: How Asbestos Causes Cancer
More than 20 million people in the U.S., and many more worldwide, who have been exposed to asbestos are at risk of developing mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the membranes that cover the lungs and abdomen that is resistant to current therapies. Moreover, asbestos exposure increases the risk of lung cancer among smokers. For the past 40 years researchers have tried to understand why asbestos causes cancer.
The answer appears in a study published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., Drs. Haining Yang and Michele Carbone at the University of Hawaii’s Cancer Research Center led a research team that included collaborators at New York University, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, San Raffaele University of Milano, and the Imperial College in London.
These researchers addressed the paradox of how asbestos fibers that kill cells could cause cancer, since a dead cell should not be able to grow and form a tumor. They found that when asbestos kills cells, it does so by inducing a process called “programmed cell necrosis” that leads to the release of a molecule called high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1). HMGB1 starts a particular type of inflammatory reaction that causes the release of mutagens and factors that promote tumor growth. The researchers found that patients exposed to asbestos have elevated levels of HMGB1 in their serum. Therefore, they state that it may be possible to target HMGB1 to prevent or treat mesothelioma and identify asbestos-exposed cohorts by simple HMGB1 serological testing.
In the article, the researchers propose that by interfering with the inflammatory reaction caused by asbestos and HMGB1, it may be possible to decrease cancer incidence among cohorts exposed to asbestos and decrease the rate of tumor growth among those already affected by mesothelioma. Drs. Yang and Carbone, the lead authors, state that to test this hypothesis, they are now planning a clinical trial in a remote area in Cappadocia, Turkey, where over 50% of the population dies of malignant mesothelioma. If the results are positive, the approach will be extended to cohorts of asbestos-exposed individuals in the U.S.
This research emphasizes the role of inflammation in causing different types of cancers and provides novel clinical tools to identify exposed individuals and prevent or decrease tumor growth. The researchers question if it will be possible to prevent mesothelioma, like colon cancer, simply by taking aspirin or similar drugs that stop inflammation. They are about to test this hypothesis.
The article is titled “Programmed Cell Necrosis Induced by Asbestos in Human Mesothelial Cells Causes High-mobility Group Box 1 Protein Release and Resultant Inflammation,” by Haining Yang, Zeyana Rivera, Sandro Jube, Masaki Nasu, Pietro Bertino and Michele Carbone at the University of Hawaii’s Cancer Research Center; Harvey I. Pass and Chandra Goparaju at New York University; Thomas Krausz at the University of Chicago; Michael T. Lotze at the University of Pittsburgh; Guido Franzoso at the Imperial College of London, U.K.; and Marco E. Bianchi at the University of San Raffele Milano, Italy. It will be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. the week of June 28, 2010, and later in print. The study was supported by grants from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
Louisiana Department of Health Publishes Summary of Oil Spill Health Effects
In just the week of June 20–26, there have been 162 reports of health complaints believed to be related to exposure to pollutants from the oil spill. 128 reports came from among workers and 34 from among the general population, with 21 individuals having short hospitalizations. Most workers reported having symptoms that cleared up quickly resulting from exposures attributed to a variety of chemicals. The general population complaints were related to odors, and symptoms were considered mostly mild.
The state’s syndromic surveillance system is monitoring emergency department visits in 7 hospitals in regions 1, 3, and 9 to determine if there are increases in upper respiratory illnesses (URI) and asthma increasing in the region. This year’s weekly data (percentage of asthma and URI among emergency department visits) are compared with the past 3 years.
Hastings Manufacturing Company Fined $118,750 for Failure to Protect Employees from Serious Health and Safety Hazards
Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG) Director Stanley Pruss announced the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) has cited Hastings Manufacturing Company, LLC, of Hastings, with $118,750 in proposed penalties for allegedly failing to adequately protect employees from serious health and safety hazards.
“The conditions found during the MIOSHA inspection were very serious. It is imperative that Hastings Manufacturing Company correct the serious health hazards which are endangering their employees,” said DELEG Director Pruss. “They must fulfill their obligations under the MIOSH Act and provide a safe and healthy work environment for their employees.”
The MIOSHA General Industry Safety and Health Division (GISHD) conducted a planned, joint safety and health inspection at Hastings Manufacturing Company, LLC, in Hastings. The company designs and manufactures piston rings for the engine manufacturing and remanufacturing industries and employs about 185 workers. The Hastings location is considered a high-hazard facility, based on the type of work being performed. The current owners acquired the company in 2005.
On January 5, 2010, a GISHD health compliance officer began a health inspection at the company. The inspection identified numerous violations of the following MIOSHA standards: hexavalent chromium, dipping and coating operations, asbestos, formaldehyde, and noise. The most serious violations involved employee overexposures to highly hazardous air contaminants. The health inspection identified seven willful, four serious, and three other-than-serious violations, with a total penalty of $115,000.
Exposures to hexavalent chromium can occur among workers handling pigments, spray paints and coatings containing chromates, operating chrome plating baths, and welding or cutting metals containing chromium, such as stainless steel. Workers breathing hexavalent chromium compounds in high concentrations over extended periods of time may risk developing lung cancer, irritation or damage to the eyes and skin, and an allergic reaction that can result in occupational asthma.
Failure to maintain deteriorated asbestos products, as well as improper removal and/or disturbance of asbestos, can cause asbestos fibers to become airborne. Inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, a lung disease known as “asbestosis,” and mesothelioma, a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities.
On December 22, 2009, a GISHD safety compliance officer began a safety inspection at the company. The safety inspection identified nine serious violations involving unguarded machinery, with a total penalty of $3,750. These citations were issued on January 27, 2010. The company has abated all safety items, did not appeal the citations, and paid the penalty.
A serious violation exists where there is a substantial probability that serious physical harm or death can result to an employee.
Draft Legislation to Tighten Mine-Safety Rules
Workers Cleaning Oil by Day, Inhaling Formaldehyde by Night
The trailers, originally provided to Gulf residents following Hurricane Katrina, were found to have unhealthy levels of formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen. The story was first reported in The New York Times.
“There are oil spill workers who are cleaning up toxic oil by day and then inhaling carcinogenic fumes by night, sometimes with their families,” said Rep. Markey, who chairs the Energy and Environment Subcommittee in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “These toxic trailers are like a recurring nightmare for the people of the Gulf.”
“First hurricane survivors were exposed to hazardous fumes in these FEMA trailers, and now—five years later—oil disaster workers are facing the same threat from the exact same trailers,” said Rep. Melancon. “We want to know why these trailers are still being used as housing, despite the many warnings and safeguards that have been put in place to prevent this situation. Workers along the Gulf Coast face enough dangers in the oil spill clean-up, without unknowingly being exposed to another danger when they come home at night.”
In the letter, Representatives Markey and Melancon ask the GSA to explain how these trailers, which were never intended to be used as homes again, ended up being used for exactly that purpose. The Congressmen ask for details on whether proper procedures were followed when these trailers were sold, and what efforts are being taken to look into the matter.
NIOSH Seeks Assistance
NIOSH is seeking assistance from commercial organizations that manufacture or use the two products listed below. NIOSH is looking to establish typical workplace exposure concentrations for possible future toxicological studies.
- Products containing ethylene glycol 2-ethylhexyl ether (EGEHE, CAS No.: 1559-35-9). EGEHE is used in ink-jet inks, gas supply pipe sealant, electrodeposition coatings for catalytic converters, lens manufacturing cleaning solutions, termite repellent, liquid bleach, dishwashing detergents, flower preservatives, and air fresheners.
- Products containing 1-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl) benzene, also known as parachlorobenzotrifluoride (PCBTF, CAS No.:98-56&-6). PCBTF is widely used as a solvent, specifically in automobile body coatings and parts cleaning, although it also has uses as an intermediate in the synthesis of dyes, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides.
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