OSHA watch

Enforcement of the Beryllium standard delayed two months

To ensure that stakeholders understand their obligations and there is time to provide consistent instruction to inspectors, the enforcement date of the rule lowering occupational exposure to beryllium has been pushed back to May 11, 2018 from March 12, 2018.

Budget justification reveals upcoming regulatory actions

According to the congressional budget justification, a revised final rule on beryllium in the construction industry and shipyards will be released prior to FY 2019, which begins October 1. The agency also is set to issue revisions to its Recordkeeping rule and Respirator Fit Testing Procedures (1910.134 App A) in FY 2018, as well as a proposed update to its Hazard Communication Standard (1910.1200) to align it with the current version of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling.

Another long-awaited proposal to revise the crane operator certification requirements in the Cranes & Derricks in Construction Standard (1926.1427) is on the horizon, as is one to include ANSI Consensus Standards in OSHA's Powered Industrial Trucks Standard (1910.178).

THE Standards Improvement Project IV, including LOTO, is scheduled to be completed in FY 2018.

Inspection goals

With a target goal of 30,840 inspections (1,556 fewer than in FY 2017), inspections will focus on "the highest-impact and most complex inspections at the highest-risk workplaces." The FY 2019 proposed budget by the Trump administration is the same as the agency's current budget and includes an addition of 42 new fulltime employees for enforcement and 32 for areas such as compliance assistance, outreach, and the Voluntary Protection Programs.

Standard interpretation of cold compression therapy as medical treatment beyond first aid

While several individual components of a cold compression therapy device are included on the list of first aid treatments, physical therapy is considered medical treatment. In response to a letter about a cold compression therapy device that uses cold therapy, non-rigid wraps, and compression to treat an injury, a standard interpretation was issued that found cold compression therapy devices are medical treatment for purposes of recordkeeping requirements.

New publications on tree care and silica offer worksite safety solutions

Solutions for Tree Care Hazards highlights common hazards in the tree care industry and provides safety measures for employers and workers.

A revised fact sheet that summarizes the major requirements of the respirable crystalline silica standard for general industry and maritime is now available.

Enforcement notes

California

• A-1 Roof Management and Construction, Inc., in Novato, faces $80,620 in fines for exposing workers to fall hazards from unprotected floor openings and failing to install barriers near skylights. A worker suffered serious injuries after he fell 23 feet through a skylight.
• Napa-based Gorilla Tree Service was cited for $23,200 for serious workplace safety violations following an investigation of an accident that killed a 24-year-old worker.

Florida

• An administrative law judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) affirmed citations issued against Fort Walton Beach-based Elmer Cook Construction Inc., but lowered the assessed penalties to $2,100 for each violation, noting the company's small size (4 employees) and because there was no evidence of a history of violations.

Georgia

• Dalton-based, First Source Worldwide LLC, faces $256,088 in penalties for willful citations for failing to install a fall protection system, and develop and implement a written permit-required confined-space program as well as other violations relating to machine guarding and PPE.
• Thomson-based auto parts manufacturer HP Pelzer Systems Automotive Inc. was cited for safety violations and proposed penalties totaling $129,336 after an employee suffered a finger amputation.

Illinois

• Manuel Gallardo, owner of Gallardo's Construction Services based in Palatine, faces $281,286 in proposed penalties after inspectors observed employees exposed to fall hazards on six Chicago-area residential roofing projects between August and November 2017.

Massachusetts

• A Beverly-based general contractor, A.C. Castle Construction Co. Inc, argued it was wrongly held responsible for the acts and omissions of a subcontractor, the sole proprietorship of Daryl Provencher. However, an administrative law judge of the commission determined that the subcontractor and A.C. Castle "acted as a single employer in the worksite" and that Mr. Provencher "was a supervisory employee working for A.C. Castle." The decision was upheld by the Appeals Court.

New York

• Carthage Specialty Paperboard Inc., has reached a settlement agreement to improve efforts to prevent safety and health hazards in their Carthage facility after being cited for 62 health and safety violations in June 2017. The company will pay $175,000 in penalties.

Tennessee

• An administrative law judge of the OSHRC vacated a safety citation and $5,000 in penalties issued against a barge building facility in Ashland City operated by Trinity Marine Products Inc. after determining that regulators failed to prove the technological and economic feasibility of engineering and administrative controls of airborne pollutants.