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OSHA’s illumination standards for construction (29 CFR 1926.56) and shipyard employment (29 CFR 1915.82) are intended to ensure that specific work areas or areas where workers are stationed or passing through are provided with lighting that is sufficient to enable the workers to see hazardous conditions and avoid injury. The standards set minimum lighting requirements […]
OSHA recently cited an Ohio tool manufacturer for not providing adequate protection to an employee who suffered a partial finger amputation when he was caught in the pinch point of a conveyor belt. The employer faces a $213,411 penalty. The company was cited for a similar violation in 2016, says OSHA, which has placed the […]
Respiratory disease in workers resulting from exposure to occupational contaminants is a major area of research that was recently addressed by the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) in its draft National Occupational Research Agenda for Respiratory Health (Agenda).
In a letter of interpretation dated August 3, 2018, U.S. OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs provided several valuable insights into the extent chemical manufacturers, distributors, or importers may make use of trade secret protections when completing safety data sheets (SDSs), formerly material safety data sheets (MSDSs).
When considering the effectiveness of workplace safety regulations, some debate whether strong standards alone are sufficient to protect workers or whether strong standards are of little value without equally strong enforcement. These questions often come up when comparing federal OSHA and Cal/OSHA, and, at least in the area of standard-setting, Cal/OSHA is significantly stricter than […]
OSHA has issued a final rule, published in the August 9 Federal Register, to extend the compliance date for specific ancillary requirements of the general industry beryllium standard to December 12, 2018.
Yesterday we took a look at what OSHA’s doing to protect tree care workers as well as some of their general procedural recommendations to keep employees safe on the job. Today, we look at some of the more specific hazards surrounding tree care work, from traffic control to aerial lifts, and best practices for controlling […]
Tree care operations are among the most hazardous in the U.S. workforce. Nationally, landscape service workers make up less than 1 percent of the workforce but constitute 3.5 percent of all workplace fatalities, according to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, and 75 percent of all fatalities are related to tree removal or […]
On Monday, three news releases from OSHA covered recent enforcement actions. Two of them were taken against construction companies that failed to protect employees from trenching hazards, and one of the enforcement actions was unfortunately taken only after two employees were killed.
In Friday’s Federal Register, OSHA published three Susan Harwood Training Grant funding opportunity announcements for Targeted Topic Training Grants, Training and Educational Materials Development Grants, and Capacity Building Grants. The grants are meant to support worker health and safety training.