Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In its attempts to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) failed to collaborate or coordinate efforts with other federal agencies, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded in a new report. The OIG pointed out the number of OSHA compliance safety and health officers […]
On April 6, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a pair of stakeholder meetings on the agency’s heat illness prevention activities and whistleblower protections in healthcare (87 Federal Register (FR) 19997, 19997). Both meetings will be held virtually via Zoom. The stakeholder meeting on OSHA’s initiatives to protect workers from heat-related hazards is on […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) should establish federal workplace standards regarding ventilation, appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), physical distancing, and other basic public health precautions in anticipation of future surges in COVID-19 infections, according to a group of public health experts. In a report titled “Getting to and Sustaining the Next Normal: […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced it issued a combined 11 serious violations to four employers and proposed penalties totaling $139,427 following a flash fire and subsequent explosion that seriously injured six workers on September 27, 2021, at Westlake Chemicals in Sulphur, Louisiana. The agency cited Turn2 Specialty Companies LLC with four […]
Are you ready for a wave of new federal worker safety and health regulations? OSHA is moving forward with several rulemakings, three of which are healthcare-specific, that could affect many employers. If you’re in the healthcare field, you could be facing a permanent COVID-19 standard based on the agency’s 2021 emergency temporary standard (ETS) and […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has directed its area offices and state partners to ramp up COVID-19 health and safety enforcement in healthcare facilities. The agency described it as a “highly focused, short-term inspection initiative directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities.” The 3-month enforcement surge in high-hazard healthcare facilities lasts from […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine ladder safety and OSHA’s standards for using ladders in the workplace. Ladders are an integral piece of equipment in many industries and workplaces, but they also are a major hazard if […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue updated employer guidance for controlling workplace COVID-19 exposures as part of a new White House National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan announced March 2. The updated guidance will address COVID-19-related workplace health issues that include: Employer promotion of and support for employee vaccinations and boosters; Accommodations for immunocompromised […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) urged healthcare employers to address a spike in workplace illnesses and injuries among their employees. There was a 249% increase in injury and illness rates in 2020 among nursing assistants, according to the agency, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. There was a 38.3% increase across private […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recently updated the OSHA Technical Manual’s chapter on “Industrial Robot Systems and Industrial Robot System Safety.” The updated and expanded chapter on robotics now includes up-to-date technical information on hazards associated with industrial and emergent robot applications, safety considerations for […]