OSHA watch
SVEP targets more employers
On September 15, 2022, policies and procedures for the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) were updated in Directive Number CPL 02-00-169. The instruction, which took effect immediately, aims to expand the scope of the SVEP and target many more employers. Details are explained in the first article, Important OSHA news: Top 10 most cited standards and expansion of SVEP.
Employers are reminded of protecting workers before, during, and after hurricane
Worker safety and health resources before and during hurricanes can be found on osha.gov/hurricane/preparedness. The Hurricane eMatrix outlines the activities most performed during hurricane response and recovery work and provides detailed information about the hazards associated with those activities.
New fact sheets and webpage
- Reducing the risk of worker exposure to disease-carrying ticks
- Avian influenza (bird flu) fact sheet
- Webpage on avian flu
- Shipyard employment fire watch duties during hot work
Midwest employers urged to emphasize lawnworker safety
In two incidents in September, workers in Nebraska and Missouri operating riding mowers suffered fatal injuries when the machines rolled over on top of them. Since fall 2019, 35 workers nationwide suffered fatal injuries in roll-over incidents. Employers are urged to train workers on the hazards they face and how to avoid them.
PMS Stakeholder meeting
An informal stakeholder meeting to address the resurrection of rulemaking for amendments / updates to the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard will take place October 12, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT via Webex. Stakeholders can register online here to attend the meeting or reserve time to provide verbal comments. The public is also invited to submit written comments by November 14, 2022 to the Federal eRulemaking Portal using Docket Number OSHA-2013-0020.
State OSHA
Cal/OSHA issues guidance on protecting workers from monkeypox
New guidance on monkeypox for workplaces including health care facilities, public health services, medical transport, and police was issued on September 13, 2022. The guidance applies to workplaces covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases rule. Monkeypox spreads primarily by close or direct contact but can also become airborne.
The MIOSHA Training Institute (MTI) introduces a new pilot course
A new course on required written programs, MIOSHA General Industry Safety Documentation - Are You in Compliance? is launching Oct. 12. The course is for those who want to learn what programs require written policies or documentation such as reporting and recording of occupational injuries and illnesses, emergency exits, and personal protective equipment as well as employers who must perform MIOSHA's required inspections of equipment or machinery at their workplaces. They'll learn how to help workers properly document inspections and gain familiarity with the permitting requirements to operate specific equipment.
To learn more about this course or the MTI, contact MIOSHA'S Consultation Education and Training Division at 517-284-7720 or visit www.michigan.gov/mti.
Oregon OSHA adopts permanent COVID safety rule
Effective September 12, 2022, a new rule makes substantial changes and reductions in requirements for protecting workers from COVID-19. It scales back requirements on contact tracing, testing, and masking. Mask mandates will remain for workplaces deemed to be of exceptional risk, including hospitals, doctor offices, dental offices, urgent care, dialysis centers, and emergency medical providers.
Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association (OSHSPA)
OSHSPA, represents all 28 state plans. Its recent publication, FY 2021 OSHSPA Grassroots Workplace Protection: State Plan Activities of the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association describes what state plans did during FY 2021.
Recent fines and awards
Connecticut
- Manchester-based Phoenix Environmental Laboratories Inc. was cited for six willful violations, 10 serious violations, and one other than serious violation for allegedly exposing employees to a carcinogen. Following employee complaints, an investigation found that inadequate ventilation and recurring leaks from equipment in work areas, combined with the use of methylene chloride in analyzing environmental samples, exposed employees to the chemical above the allowed limits. Proposed penalties are $907,253.
Illinois
- B & R Repair Inc. of Lemont, a trucking repair company, faces two willful and 10 serious violations, and proposed penalties of $326,306 after a worker was fatally injured inspecting a tanker trailer. The inspection determined that the company failed to identify and evaluate atmospheric hazards in the confined space, train workers on the confined space program, and ensure employees filled out a confined space permit before entry into a confined space.
- In response to a complaint of unsafe work conditions, a workplace safety inspection found a Chicago-area candy manufacturer, Ferrara Candy Co., exposed workers to amputation hazards and failed to utilize lockout procedures for the third time in five years at its Bellwood location. The company received citations for one repeat violation and four serious safety violations, with proposed penalties of $201,379.
Indiana
- The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission found that Peabody MidWest, a Francisco coal mine, violated mandatory safety standards when it continued to operate an energized drill during a methane inundation, creating the risk of a catastrophic explosion. The mine manager who oversaw the dangerous work was also found personally liable for the violations. The company faces a $96,000 penalty and the manager a $6,000 penalty.
Massachusetts
- Despite employee expressions of safety concerns, a heavy equipment operator doing demolition on the eighth floor of the Government Center garage in downtown Boston died on March 26, 2022, when the partially demolished floor collapsed, and the 11,000-pound excavator and its operator fell 80 feet. It was the employee's first day on the job. Inspectors found that Brockton-based contractor JDC Demolition Company. Inc. failed to adequately train its workers on the demolition plan and safety management system to help them recognize and avoid unsafe conditions and deviated from the demolition plan by imposing unsafe loads, in the form of heavy equipment. The company received eight egregious-willful violations, two serious violations, and one other than serious violation of workplace safety standards and faces proposed penalties of $1,191,292.
- The project's general contractor, John Moriarty and Associates Inc., was also cited and faces $58,008 in proposed penalties for four violations, including failing to ensure that partially demolished concrete floors were of sufficient strength to support mechanical equipment.
New Jersey
- Engineered Precision Casting Co., a steel and aluminum foundry in Middletown, was cited for 14 violations that included failure to provide employees with personal protective equipment, a lack of training on the use of chemicals, the absence of an inspection program for overhead cranes and other issues. Proposed penalties are $303,106.
Ohio
- A Clayton company, Woodbridge Englewood Inc. dba Hematite Inc., was cited for exposing workers to fires and failing to train them on initial stage fire identification and use of fire extinguishers after investigators received a referral from a local fire department that responded to 13 fires at the auto parts manufacturer in two years. The company was cited for one willful and nine serious safety violations and faces proposed penalties of $271,403.