Fall Protection: Avoiding the Focus Four Hazard and Top 10 Citation
Is OSHA more likely to inspect your worksite now that the agency assigns greater weight to inspections for its Focus Four hazards—falls, struck by, caught in, and electrocution?
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AIHA, Other Groups Form Indoor Environmental Quality Alliance
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and five other groups formed a new international association on indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The Indoor Environmental Quality Global Alliance (IEQ-GA) will serve as a platform for the exchange of indoor environmental knowledge and information and will promote education and research into the health and environmental quality in buildings.
For Safety-Sensitive Jobs, NSC Opposes Cannabis Use
The National Safety Council (NSC) issued a policy position on recent moves to decriminalize or legalize cannabis (also commonly known as marijuana) use, saying there is no acceptable level of use for workers in safety-sensitive positions. The NSC called on employers to restrict marijuana use by any employee in a position that impacts the safety […]
New York’s Cross-State Pollution Petition Denied by EPA
In its denial of a petition from New York State, the EPA continues to disagree with downwind states that argue that sources in upwind states should be forced to eliminate air pollution the downwind states allege contribute significantly to their inability to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone.
Agency Guidance Documents Restricted by Executive Orders
The Trump administration extended its campaign to curtail the power of federal agencies to “stifle economic growth and hurt small businesses” into the area of guidance documents. In two Executive Orders (EO) published October 9, 2019, President Donald Trump placed restrictions on the issuance of significant guidance documents as well as on how guidance documents […]
Without an OSHA Ergonomics Standard, How Should You Address the Issue?
An employee of a California school district recently wrote to experts at Safety.BLR.com®, asking how ergonomic issues in the workplace can be addressed when no ergonomics standard from OSHA exists. It’s a good question—and while there is no standard, there are resources available. See what the experts had to say on the matter.
Enhancing Corporate Safety Training with Virtual Reality
Electrical accidents are considered among the deadliest workplace accidents, with 1 out of 10 resulting in a fatality, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In fact, only 1/10 of an amp is all it takes to stop a human heart. Despite this, company safety training courses are traditionally delivered in nonengaging ways, […]
How to Prepare Your Workplace for Disasters
With hurricane season here to stay until the end of November, it’s important to think about how prepared (or unprepared) your workplace is for a disaster. Tornadoes. Fires. Floods. They’re all happening much more frequently than they did decades ago, and they’re dangerous and expensive.
Texas Company Cited by OSHA in Airport Confined Space Fatality
OSHA cited a Texas employer for two willful and three serious violations after a worker fatality at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The agency is seeking $301,188 in penalties.
Industry Says EPA’s Ethanol Fix Falls Short
Less than 2 weeks after the White House said it would reallocate billions of gallons (gal) of ethanol waived under the small refinery exemption (SRE) allowed under by federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the EPA announced an approach that farmers and ethanol manufacturers say fails to satisfy that assurance.