This is the safety news blog for the Safe Workplace web site. We cover workplace safety related news with a focus on how safety, or a lack of safety, impacts employers, employees and their families. We also cover topics such as safety training, safety tools, and legal issues related to safety.For regular safety news and information enter your email address in the box above the Subscribe button to the right (then click on the button).
A regular news feature summarizing workplace safety related news.We scan newspapers, magazines and the internet for safety news that isn't being reported elsewhere. The following are links to safety related news that came out during the week ending January 5th.
OSHA Says A Wide Range of Tools Are Needed to Enforce Rules on Worker Safety
As reported in Bloomberg BNA the head of OSHA, David Michaels, last week said that increasing numbers of U.S. employers are embracing the notion that protecting worker safety is good for business.? "It's hard for me to judge overall changes," Michaels told Bloomberg BNA, "but I certainly have seen many employers recognize that managing for safety is useful not only to prevent injuries and fatalities, but in fact leads to a more profitable company."Mr. Michaels also said, "There are many,many other employers who are unaware of our standards, or have some idea that they might be making a mistake, or that there might be a violation, but for whatever reason don't feel like they need to abate that hazard immediately."
Read about the complete interview in Bloomberg BNA.
Aaron Trippler, AIHA's Government Affairs Director, Expects an OSHA Reform Bill in New Congress
In addition to Hilda Solis' replacement as secretary of Labor, a number of bills effecting OSHA expected. While over 300 bills have already been filed in the House, the Senate has not yet allowed a bill to be filed. So it's still too soon to know what bills will be filed. But several effecting OSHA appear likely.? This include new laws on "site-controlling employers" and VPP, as well as more than a dozen regulatory reform bills.Read the article in Occupational Health and Safety magazine.
OSHA Announces The Return Of Site-Specific Targeting
The National Law Review has an article about OSHA's announcement that Site Specific Targeting will return for 2013.? At least 1,260 randomly selected establishments will be inspected by OSHA as part of its Site-Specific Targeting (SST) Program. The initial focus will be on workplaces with above-average injury and illness rates in high-hazard industries.Read the complete article here.
MSHA Announces New Rules For Mines
An article in the Huffington Post states, "New federal rules approved Thursday could help save lives at dangerous mines with a pattern of safety violations and put more responsibility on companies to find and fix hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor said."But the National Mining Association, which had objected to the rule when it was proposed in February 2011, said its concerns remain. It argues that because unsafe conditions must be fixed under current law, "no miner is put in harm's way if a citation is appealed."? Stripping the appeal from the current system denies operators their due-process rights, the association contends.
Read the story in the Huffington Post
OSHA finds 58 violations at Nevada's Hoover Dam
The federal agency operating Hoover Dam must correct 58 health and safety violations, including eight repeat violations, that OSHA investigators found in recent inspections at the massive Colorado River water retention and hydroelectric power plant east of Las Vegas.Fifty serious safety and health violations include fall and electrical hazards, a lack of required guards on machinery, inadequate personal protective equipment, lead contamination, and the potential for overexposure to hexavalent chromium. OSHA also identified violations for failing to properly maintain and inspect firefighting equipment, provide unobstructed access to emergency exits, and insufficient lockout/tagout procedures for energy sources that could lead to amputations.
As required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, federal agencies must comply with the same safety standards as private sector employers. However, no fines were proposed as OSHA may not fine other Federal Agencies.
Read more: on the Fox News web site\
How much can you safely lift? Try Oregon OSHA's new lift calculator
Let's say you have a basic lifting task - moving boxes off a conveyer, for example - that you have to repeat frequently for an hour. You know where the lift begins and where it ends. What's the maximum safe weight that you can lift?Go here for more information.
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Related past posts:
Safety News Briefs - Week Ending January 12th
Safety News Briefs - Week Ending January 5th
Safety News Briefs - Week Ending December 24th
Labels: OSHA, osha information, safety regulations
Source: http://blog.safe-workplace.com/2013/01/weekly-safety-news.html
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