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Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine OSHA’s respiratory protection requirements. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) respiratory protection standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1910.134) is one of its top 10 most-cited standards. In […]
Renée Lefrançois is passionate about helping organizations boost their hearing conservation programs (HCPs), remain compliant, and protect workers from hearing loss. She is the director of audiology at SHOEBOX Ltd., a provider of hearing testing solutions based in Ottawa, Canada, with an office in Paris, France, and a consult/remote audiometer developmental team located in Israel. […]
South Marine Systems of Westlake, Ohio, faces $164,540 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a large fire erupted in the cargo hold of the Cuyahoga, a commercial iron ore vessel moored at the Port of Ashtabula, the agency announced September 16. According to OSHA, workers narrowly avoided disaster after a large fire […]
The construction industry fall protection standard remained the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) most frequently cited standard for the 14th straight year, the agency announced September 17 at the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Safety Congress & Expo in Orlando. Two days after OSHA announced its annual “top 10” list of most cited standards, the […]
On September 17, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) responded to concerns about the agency’s rulemaking on emergency response and its potential impact on voluntary emergency responders. On February 5, OSHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for an emergency response standard to replace its decades-old fire brigades standard. Federal OSHA doesn’t directly […]
Strauss Feeds LLC, a Watertown, Wisconsin, animal food manufacturer, faces $161,332 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines for exposing its employees to the risks of explosions, fires, and long-term respiratory illnesses from excessive amounts of airborne dust, the agency announced September 12. OSHA inspectors cited Strauss Feeds with two dozen violations, including 19 […]
Doug Parker, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, will address the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Safety Congress & Expo in Orlando on September 16, the NSC announced August 28. Parker, who heads the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), will speak about “Safety as a Core Value.” The conference and expo will […]
Florenza Marble & Granite Corp., a Chicago countertop manufacturer, faces over $1 million in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after the agency learned an employee needed a double lung transplant after suffering accelerated silicosis, OSHA announced August 26. OSHA cited Florenza Marble & Granite with eight egregious willful, four willful, and 20 serious […]
As violence against healthcare workers occurs with greater frequency than in any other industry, the state of Texas is requiring healthcare facilities to adopt workplace violence prevention plans by September 1, 2024. The measure, Senate Bill 240, was proposed by Sen. Donna Campbell, MD (R-New Braunfels) and adopted by the Texas legislature in 2023. “What […]
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials have ordered the Dallas area location of a national childcare provider to reinstate an employee and pay $43,295 in back wages and damages after firing the employee for reporting concerns about unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the facility’s kitchen to Texas health officials, the agency announced August 22. […]