Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
As today’s workplace becomes more complex, regulation of that workplace increases. In this section, you’ll find the practical advice you need to understand exactly what OSHA, other federal agencies, and their state counterparts, require of you, and to comply in the ways that best satisfy both your and their needs. Look also for important court decisions, advice on how to handle enforcement actions, and news of upcoming changes in workplace health and safety law.
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Kabco Builders Inc., a Boaz, Alabama, mobile home manufacturer, received an $81,463 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fine following an employee’s fatal fall, the agency announced June 20. Investigators determined that an employee was alone loading shingles as they straddled a 2-foot-wide space between a platform and a mobile home’s roof when they slipped […]
Doskocil Manufacturing Inc., an Arlington, Texas, pet products manufacturer and distributor operating as Petmate, is facing $278,851 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties after an employee suffered severe facial burns, the agency announced June 17. OSHA investigators learned that three employees were using a pry bar to break off excess plastic, called “drool,” […]
J.H. Routh Packing Co., a Sandusky, Ohio, pork processing facility, faces a more than half-million-dollar Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fine after exposing workers to a release of ammonia gas, the agency announced June 18. OSHA cited the company with 43 safety violations and proposed penalties of $528,441. Agency investigators opened inspections at HK […]
In a Priority Open Recommendations document released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on May 28, 2024, the federal watchdog detailed 12 open high-priority recommendations the EPA has yet to address: For more information about EPA progress and plans to address these items, see the Priority Open Recommendations document. “Priority open recommendations are the GAO […]
On June 14, OSHA cautioned emergency responders, recovery workers, and residents in areas of Florida recently flooded by intense rainfall to exercise caution when facing the hazards of a storm’s aftermath. Once storms subside, workers are needed to restore electricity, communications, water, and sewer services. These activities may involve removing standing floodwater from structures, performing […]
Maestro Construction Inc., a Bolingbrook, Illinois, construction contractor that has been cited seven times since 2020, faces $264,407 in new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties for again exposing employees doing framing work to the risk of deadly falls at two homes under construction in Hanover Park, the agency announced June 12. OSHA inspectors […]
In March 2024, the EPA issued its final Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention Rule (SCCAP rule), which became effective on May 10, 2024. The SCCAP rule amends the Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations that were established to prevent the accidental release of toxic and explosive substances, reduce the severity of any accidents that may […]
MTD Products Inc., doing business as Stanley Black + Decker, faces $222,392 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a 29-year-old maintenance electrician suffered severe burns during an electrical arc blast at the company’s Willard, Ohio, facility, the agency announced May 28. An arc flash occurs when an electric current travels from one […]
In our EHS Safety Training Week installment of Ask the Expert, brought to you by KPA, we hear from Shawn Smith, Product Director, Training at KPA, who provides guidance, tips, and advice about safety training and how you can more effectively provide it. Ensuring the safety and well-being of employees is paramount in an ever-evolving […]
Fall hazards are one of the construction industry’s “Fatal Four” safety hazards, along with caught-in or -between, electrocution, and struck-by hazards. Here’s what you need to know about compliance with OSHA’s fall protection standard.