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In December, 2014, OSHA formed an Alliance with NIOSH and the National Service, Transmission, Exploration & Production Safety (STEPS) Network to identify hazards faced by oil and gas workers, and to make protective recommendations. Earlier this year, the Alliance issued a Tank Hazard Alert aggregating its findings on oilfield hazards and possible solutions. Some of […]
It was the deaths of the healthier oilfield workers that raised a red flag. The nine oilfield workers who died between 2010 and 2015 while performing tank gauging or sampling were initially ruled by medical examiners to have died of natural causes. But a lot of those workers were too young, and too healthy, for […]
OSHA’s Confined Spaces in Construction standard was published in May 2015 and took effect in August. A temporary enforcement policy was in effect for all covered employers through October 2. OSHA has now extended that temporary enforcement policy through January 8, 2016, but only for employers engaged in residential construction work. Nonresidential construction employers please […]
In December 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Request for Information to be used in updating its process safety management (PSM) standard. One of the changes under consideration by OSHA was the addition of a definition for recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP)—a term that is used, but not […]
The latest fatality statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are out. Read the article to find out what sectors are seeing an increase in workplace deaths.
By: Charles B. Palmer and Miguel A. Manriquez You send workers up on the flat roof to fix an HVAC unit. Is the work considered “maintenance,” covered under OSHA’s general industry fall protection rules, or “repair,” subject to OSHA’s construction rules? You send workers in to a tank to clean and paint it. Is the […]
UST owners and operators are facing a new set of requirements issued by the EPA. According to the EPA, the new UST regulations shift the focus from the design, construction, and installation of equipment; release detection; and cleanup of releases to the proper maintenance of existing equipment and the need for operator training.
A chemical that meets the definition of “flammable” requires special precautions in handling, use, transfer, and storage. But the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has changed the definition of “flammable” throughout its general industry and construction standards to align them with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). Most employers […]
However, under OSHA’s new confined spaces in construction standards (29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA), attics can be considered confined spaces and permit-required confined spaces. According to this OSHA fact Sheet, attics present hazards such as: