WASHINGTON –– With the arrival of cold weather, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is reminding employers to take necessary precautions to protect workers from the serious, and sometimes fatal, effects of carbon monoxide exposure.

Recently, a worker in a New England warehouse was found unconscious and seizing, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Several other workers at the site also became sick. All of the windows and doors were closed to conserve heat, there was no exhaust ventilation in the facility, and very high levels of carbon monoxide were measured at the site.

Every year, workers die from carbon monoxide poisoning, usually while using fuel-burning equipment and tools in buildings or semi-enclosed spaces without adequate ventilation. This can be especially true during the winter months when employees use this type of equipment in indoor spaces that have been sealed tightly to block out cold temperatures and wind. Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure can include everything from headaches, dizziness and drowsiness to nausea, vomiting or tightness across the chest. Severe carbon monoxide poisoning can cause neurological damage, coma and death.

Sources of carbon monoxide can include anything that uses combustion to operate, such as gas generators, power tools, compressors, pumps, welding equipment, space heaters and furnaces.

To reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in the workplace, employers should install an effective ventilation system, avoid the use of fuel-burning equipment in enclosed or partially-enclosed spaces, use carbon monoxide detectors in areas where the hazard is a concern and take other precautions outlined in OSHA's Carbon Monoxide Fact Sheet. For additional information on carbon monoxide poisoning and preventing exposure in the workplace, see OSHA's Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Quick Cards (in English and Spanish).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

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WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is reminding employers to post OSHA Form 300A, which lists a summary of the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during 2012. The form must be posted between Feb. 1 and April 30, 2013.

The summary must include the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2012 and were logged on OSHA Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. To assist in calculating incidence rates, information about the annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year is also required. If a company recorded no injuries or illnesses in 2012, the employer must enter "zero" on the total line. The form must be signed and certified by a company executive. Form 300A should be displayed in a common area where notices to employees are usually posted.

Employers with 10 or fewer employees and employers in certain industries are normally exempt from federal OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping and posting requirements. A complete list of exempt industries in the retail, services, finance, insurance and real estate sectors can be found at http://s.dol.gov/YP.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics may still select exempted employers to participate in an annual statistical survey. All employers covered by OSHA need to comply with safety and health standards. All accidents that result in one or more fatalities or in the hospitalization of three or more employees must be reported verbally within eight hours to the nearest OSHA office.

Copies of OSHA Forms 300 and 300A are available at http://s.dol.gov/YQ in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet format. For more information on recordkeeping requirements, visit the OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements Web page.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

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In Minnesota, state regulators are planning to propose a new set of safety measures in response to the rise of day-care deaths. This would include increased training of day-care staff, stiffer penalties and online access to more licensed records.

"If parents are able to have access to information about child care, we know they are going to take advantage of it," said Jerry Kerber, inspector general for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). "We recognize the need."

Among the recommendations are:

• Stiffer penalties for day-care providers who violate state safety standards.

• Training in safe-sleep practices for infants will be required annually; it is currently required every five years.

• Providers would have to complete more training before getting licensed and more ongoing training, including courses on health and safe supervision.

• Providers would be required to check on sleeping infants every 30 minutes and use a baby monitor when they are not in the same room. Checks would be required every 15 minutes when an infant is new to a day care, which can be the riskiest period for sleep deaths.

“We're all about safety, health and professional development," says Kate Chase, executive director of The Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association, who has not taken a formal position on the proposal.

To view the article, visit http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/188774541.html.

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WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has scheduled five informal stakeholder meetings to solicit comments on preventing injuries and fatalities from vehicle backovers. The purpose of the meetings is to gather information and evaluate backover risks across various industries, determine whether or how backovers may be prevented by new technology or other methods, and discuss the effectiveness of those measures. The meetings will be held Jan. 8-9, 2013, in Washington, D.C. and Feb. 5, 2013, in Arlington, Texas.

OSHA published a Request for Information on backover hazards in the Federal Register on March 29, 2012. The agency received responses from individuals and organizations about how workers get injured and what solutions exist to prevent injury and death. These stakeholder meetings will provide employers, workers, safety professionals and equipment makers with an opportunity to inform OSHA about ways to address backover risks.

OSHA will hold the first round of meetings at 9 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2013, and at 9 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2013, at the U.S. Department of Labor, Room C-5515, rooms 1A&B, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20210. The second round of meetings will convene at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2013, at the University of Texas at Arlington, OSHA Education Center, Bluebonnet Ballroom in the University Center, 300 W. First St., Arlington, Texas. Individuals interested in participating must register electronically, by fax or mail. See the Federal Register notice for registration details.

Seventy-nine workers were killed in 2011 when backing vehicles or mobile equipment crushed them against an object or rolled over them, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. For information on backover hazards and preventing backovers or to view a prevention video, visit OSHA’s Preventing Backovers Web page.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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Revisit last year's post on HERE to view an OSHA video on preventing a vehicle backover fatality!

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OSHA has recently released a new interactive online tool to help protect workers exposed to cadmium. The new interactive online tool will assist employers in complying with OSHA's cadmium standard (29 CFR 1910.1027).

OSHA's Cadmium Biological Monitoring Advisor analyzes biological monitoring results provided by the user. These data, along with a series of answers to questions generated by the cadmium advisor, are used to determine the biological monitoring and medical surveillance requirements that must be met under the general industry cadmium standard. These requirements include the frequency of additional monitoring and other mandatory components of the employer's medical surveillance program.

Cadmium is a soft, silver-white metal used in many industries including metal machining, plastics, ceramics, painting and welding operations. Workers may also be exposed from the smelting and refining of metals or from air in industrial plants that manufacture batteries, coatings or plastics. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry estimates that about 300,000 workers in the U.S. face exposure to cadmium each year. Short-term exposure to cadmium can cause weakness, fever, headache, chills, sweating and muscular pain. Chronic cadmium poisoning can cause kidney damage and cancer of the lung or prostate. Cadmium also is believed to cause pulmonary emphysema and bone disease (osteomalcia and osteoporosis).

The cadmium advisor is primarily intended for use by experienced medical professionals who assess workers' cadmium exposure. It may also be useful as an educational tool for workers and members of the general public by providing information on what constitutes overexposure to cadmium and what to do to prevent exposure on the job.

There is a separate Cadmium Standard (29 CFR 1926.1127) that protects workers in the construction industry. While the new cadmium advisor may be useful in assisting medical analysis of biological monitoring for construction workers, it does not refer to the applicable provisions of this standard, and should therefore be used primarily in a general industry setting.

The OSHA Cadmium Biological Monitoring Advisor is one of a series of elaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) developed by DOL to help employers and employees understand federal employment laws and resources. To access these tools, visit the elaws website at www.dol.gov/elaws.

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Contact: Office of Communications

Phone: 202-693-1999

OSHA requests recommendations to update its construction industry standards

WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is issuing a Request for Information to initiate the fourth phase of its Standards Improvement Project (SIP). The purpose of SIP-IV is to improve and streamline existing OSHA construction standards by removing or revising requirements that are confusing or outdated, or that duplicate, or are inconsistent with, other standards. The agency invites the public, including employers, employees, and employee representatives to submit recommendations for revisions to existing construction standards and the rationale for these recommendations.

SIP-IV will focus primarily on OSHA's construction standards. OSHA began the SIP rulemaking process in 1996 in response to a Presidential memorandum to improve government regulation. The purpose of the regulatory review is to reduce regulatory burden while maintaining or enhancing workers' safety and health. OSHA published the first SIP rule in 1998. Two additional SIP rulemakings were published in 2005 and 2011. OSHA will review public comments submitted to this notice to determine the need for, and the content of, any subsequent SIP-IV rulemaking.

Individuals may submit comments electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Comments may also be submitted by facsimile or mail. See the Federal Register notice for details. Comments must be submitted by Feb. 4, 2013.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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Here’s an interesting article that proves to companies that implementing a safety plan is not only ethically right, but would not costs much more money, especially in the long run.

The company in this scenario is the infamous Wal-Mart Inc. Having a long history of their lack of safety regulations, their opposition to it usually revolves around the “not financially feasible” responses given to the public.

However, according to the Worker Rights Consortium, and independent labor rights monitoring group, the costs of adding fire-safety standards, for example, would only add very minimum costs without being forced to raise their prices by much. An estimate of only about 2.5 percent to their outsourcing costs would be enough to improve some of their fire incidents, for example. This would allow them to implement training and planning to avoid a history of factory deaths, such as a firetrap that took the lives of about 100 workers just last month in Bangladesh.

Here is the article:

Wal-Mart Shouldn't Discount Worker Safety

By Lisa Beyer Dec 5, 2012

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is learning just how hard it is to escape the stain of exploiting human beings for profit.

The company was already roiling from news that the Tazreen factory in Bangladesh, a firetrap that burned down killing more than 100 workers last month, was a Wal-Mart supplier. Now, Bloomberg News has reported that the retailer last year said it would not pay Bangladeshi factories prices sufficient to cover safety improvements that might have prevented the Tazreen blaze.

To read the entire article, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-05/wal-mart-shouldn-t-discount-worker-safety.html.

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US Department of Labor's OSHA files petition against SeaWorld of Florida to comply with subpoenas during follow-up inspection

ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has filed a petition against SeaWorld of Florida LLC to comply with administrative subpoenas that require SeaWorld to provide three managers to be interviewed during OSHA's follow-up abatement inspection. SeaWorld has declined to provide personnel to answer questions regarding abatement or correction of a prior violation related to trainers' exposure to struck-by and drowning hazards when engaged in performances with killer whales.

"The employee testimony for the follow-up abatement inspection, required by a subpoena, allows OSHA inspectors to determine if SeaWorld employees continue to be exposed to unsafe and unhealthy working conditions," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "Abating safety and health hazards in the workplace needs to be as important to an employer as recognizing the hazards in the first place."

The follow-up inspection is being conducted as a result of previous violations that OSHA identified after a February 2010 drowning of a trainer who was grabbed and pulled under the water by a six-ton killer whale during what SeaWorld described as a "relationship session." In August 2010, OSHA issued SeaWorld citations related to the incident. SeaWorld contested OSHA's proposed violations and penalties.

A trial was held by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and in June an administrative law judge upheld OSHA's citations against SeaWorld. Subsequently, SeaWorld was required to abate cited hazards, including those specifically related to trainers working in proximity to the killer whales. However, since the order went into effect, SeaWorld has filed a petition with the review commission seeking additional time to abate the violation regarding trainers' interaction with killer whales. SeaWorld maintains that the petition, which is pending resolution, should restrict the scope of OSHA's follow-up inspection.

The enforcement action has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle of Florida, Orlando Division by the department's Atlanta Regional Solicitor's Office.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov

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A new standard that would capture safety-related data seconds before and during a vehicle crash was proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday. This new rule would require automakers to install event data recorders (EDRs) in all light passenger vehicles beginning September 1, 2014. The EDRs are devices that record specific safety-related data.

"By understanding how drivers respond in a crash and whether key safety systems operate properly, NHTSA and automakers can make our vehicles and our roadways even safer," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This proposal will give us the critical insight and information we need to save more lives."

The NHTSA estimates that almost all 2013 vehicles already have EDRs installed. A car or airbag usually triggers the EDR and collects data in the seconds before and during a crash.

Some of the data recorded include:

• vehicle speed;
• whether the brake was activated in the moments before a crash;
• crash forces at the moment of impact;
• information about the state of the engine throttle;
• air bag deployment timing and air bag readiness prior to the crash; and
• whether the vehicle occupant's seat belt was buckled.

"EDRs provide critical safety information that might not otherwise be available to NHTSA to evaluate what happened during a crash — and what future steps could be taken to save lives and prevent injuries," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. "A broader EDR requirement would ensure the agency has the safety-related information it needs to determine what factors may contribute to crashes across all vehicle manufacturers."

The new safety regulation proposed today would require EDRs as mandatory equipment in passenger vehicles that weigh less than 8,500 pounds. The proposal includes the same standardized data collection requirements established by NHTSA in 2006 for EDRs that are voluntarily installed by automakers (49 CFR Part 563) and mandates that automakers provide a commercially available tool for copying the data. In keeping with NHTSA's current policies on EDR data, the EDR data would be treated by NHTSA as the property of the vehicle owner and would not be used or accessed by the agency without owner consent.

Members of the public are encouraged to provide comment on NHTSA's EDR proposal and will have 60 days to do so once the proposal is published in the Federal Register. The proposal and information on how to submit comments are available HERE.

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