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Following Typhoon, OSHA Deploys to Guam

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced June 2 it’s deploying workplace health and safety experts to the areas of Guam that were hit the hardest by Typhoon Mawar to protect the health and safety of recovery workers. As part of recovery efforts in the U.S. territory, OSHA temporarily suspended programmed and planned enforcement […]

Back to Basics: Onboarding New Employees

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we look at onboarding new employees and the required safety training. As summer begins and new employees enter the workforce, it is important that employers take a look at their onboarding processes and […]

Contractor Management for Construction

Construction sites can often be among the most dangerous places to work, with the potential for serious accidents and injuries always present. With a high number of workers, heavy machinery, and complex workflows, it can be a challenge to maintain a safe working environment. However, effective safety and compliance management can help improve construction safety […]

EHSDA Song of the Week: Tornadoes

According to the National Weather Service, peak tornado season is March through June, with 70% of all tornadoes occurring during this time period. This week, we feature “Tornadoes,” a 2004 song by Drive-By Truckers that details how a tornado hit the hometown of singer Patterson Hood. Specifically, the song describes how Hood’s former band, Adam’s […]

Eye-to-Eye with Hurricanes: Lessons Learned for Business Owners

By James Junkin, CSP, MSP, SMS, ASP, CSHO Last year, the Atlantic Hurricane season produced fourteen named storms, eight classified as hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or greater. Due to the culmination of decades of increasing intensity, frequency, and duration of severe storms, this phenomenon results from rising ocean sea surface temperatures caused by […]

Dollar General Facing $268K in New OSHA Fines

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced May 30 that discount retailer Dollar General Corp. and its parent, Dolgencorp LLC, face $267,622 in new OSHA penalties for two repeat and three serious violations at stores in southeast Oklahoma. OSHA inspectors discovered boxes of merchandise blocking walkways at Dollar General stores in Hartshorne and Wilburton […]

Why PPE is the Last Line of Defense

Every year, millions of workers get injured on the job, and a significant number of reported occupational injuries are hand related. Depending on the severity, not only do these injuries have a huge medical cost associated with them but are also expensive in terms of lost productivity and wages. Believe it or not, reducing these […]

Amputations: OSHA’s Ongoing Enforcement

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has an ongoing National Emphasis Program (NEP) of enforcement and outreach to address amputation hazards across several manufacturing industries. Is your facility a target for OSHA’s enforcement? Industries targeted by the NEP include fabricated metal products, food, furniture and related products, machinery, nonmetallic mineral products, paper, plastics and […]

CSB Issues Final Report on Fatal Acetic Acid Release

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its final report on a fatal acetic acid release at the LyondellBasell La Porte Complex in La Porte, Texas, on July 27, 2021. The inadvertent removal of the pressure-retaining components of a valve caused the release of 164,000 pounds (lb) of an acetic acid mixture, […]

OSHA Cites Workplace Violence at Columbus Children’s Hospital

The Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion at Nationwide Children’s Hospital of Columbus, Ohio, faces $18,080 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for workplace violence hazards, the agency announced May 25. The hospital failed to protect employees, including nurses and mental health professionals, from patients whose bites, kicks, punches, and other assaults caused serious […]