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Showing posts with label Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Show all posts

Thursday, July 24, 2014

NIOSH Fact Sheet: NIOSH Approval Labels—Key Information to Protect Yourself

Today's post was shared by Safe Healthy Workers and comes from www.cdc.gov
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2011-179

cover of 2011-179
cover of 2011-179

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) specifies minimum approval requirements for respiratory protective devices in Title 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 84. NIOSH reviews respirator approval applications, which contain technical specifications, drawings, and other related information. NIOSH also inspects, examines and tests the respirators to determine that the applicable requirements are met for individual, completely assembled respirators, as described in §84.30(a).
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Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Deadly silica standard is killing UK workers



Photo: Jawad Qasrawi

Today's post is shared from hazards.org. Silica exposure was the the trigger in the US during the 1059's that incorporated occupational diseases into the workers' compensation acts throughout the US.
Silica exposures kill over 1,000 workers a year in the UK and leave many more fighting for breath. But, unlike its US counterpart, finds Hazards editor Rory O’Neill, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is following the industry line and says our deadly silica exposure standard is just fine.
When the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited Teesdale Architectural Stone Ltd (TASL) in September 2007, it discovered workers were facing unacceptably high exposures to crystalline silica, a dust that can cause lung cancer, the breath-stealing disorder silicosis and other serious diseases.
In two letters, the regulator told the Barnard Castle firm to clean up its act. Then it did nothing. After all, the company had written twice to assure the watchdog improvements had been made.
Only they hadn’t. Five more years passed before a return HSE visit discovered workers were still facing a lung-clogging and potentially deadly daily dose of dust.
What’s the problem?

The US regulator says clear the air, the UK regulator says eat dust
In the UK, the official workplace safety regulator the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is resisting behind closed doors any shift to a more stringent silica exposure standard that would help prevent cancers, lung and kidney diseases and other potentially fatal conditions. Affected workers have no say.
In the US, the official workplace safety regulator, OSHA, is arguing at public hearings...
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Sunday, January 12, 2014

OSHA will hold live Web chat on its proposed silica rule

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will host a live Web chat to discuss the agency's proposed rule on occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica from 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Jan. 14. Visit http://www.osha.gov/silica/webchat.html to participate.

The Web chat will provide participants the opportunity to ask questions, get clarification from OSHA on the proposed silica rule and learn how to participate in the regulatory process. OSHA staff will be available to clarify the proposed standards related to silica for general industry, maritime and construction. Staff will also answer questions on OSHA's underlying analysis of health risks, potential costs and benefits, and economic impacts associated with the proposed rule and how to submit comments to the rulemaking record.

The deadline to submit written comments and testimony on the proposal is Monday, Jan. 27. Members of the public may submit comments by visiting http://www.regulations.gov.

Additional information on the proposed rule can be found at http://www.osha.gov/silica.

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.

Friday, January 3, 2014

OSHA announces proposed new rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses

"Three million injuries are three million too many," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "With the changes being proposed in this rule, employers, employees, the government and researchers will have better access to data that will encourage earlier abatement of hazards and result in improved programs to reduce workplace hazards and prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities. The proposal does not add any new requirement to keep records; it only modifies an employer's obligation to transmit these records to OSHA."The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a proposed rule to improve workplace safety and health through improved tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. The announcement follows the Bureau of Labor Statistics' release of its annual Occupational Injuries and Illnesses report, which estimates that three million workers were injured on the job in 2012.

The public will have 90 days, through Feb. 6, 2014, to submit written comments on the proposed rule. On Jan. 9, 2014, OSHA will hold a public meeting on the proposed rule in Washington, D.C. A Federal Register notice announcing the public meeting will be published shortly.OSHA is also proposing that establishments with 20 or more employees, in certain industries with high injury and illness rates, be required to submit electronically only their summary of work-related injuries and illnesses to OSHA once a year. Currently, many such firms report this information to OSHA under OSHA's Data Initiative.The proposed rule was developed following a series of stakeholder meetings in 2010 to help OSHA gather information about electronic submission of establishment-specific injury and illness data. OSHA is proposing to amend its current recordkeeping regulations to add requirements for the electronic submission of injury and illness information employers are already required to keep under existing standards, Part 1904. The first proposed new requirement is for establishments with more than 250 employees (and who are already required to keep records) to electronically submit the records on a quarterly basis to OSHA.

OSHA plans to eventually post the data online, as encouraged by President Obama's Open Government Initiative. Timely, establishment-specific injury and illness data will help OSHA target its compliance assistance and enforcement resources more effectively by identifying workplaces where workers are at greater risk, and enable employers to compare their injury rates with others in the same industry. Additional information on the proposed rule can be found athttp://www.dol.gov/find/20131107/ and http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/proposed_data_form.html.

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.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Determinants of Respirable Crystalline Silica Exposure Among Stoneworkers Involved in Stone Restoration Work

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from annhyg.oxfordjournals.org


Objectives: Crystalline silica occurs as a significant component of many traditional materials used in restoration stonework, and stoneworkers who work with these materials are potentially exposed to stone dust containing respirable crystalline silica (RCS). Exposure to RCS can result in the development of a range of adverse health effects, including silicosis and lung cancer. An understanding of the determinants of RCS exposure is important for selecting appropriate exposure controls and in preventing occupational diseases. The objectives of this study were to quantify the RCS exposure of stoneworkers involved in the restoration and maintenance of heritage properties and to identify the main determinants of RCS exposure among this occupational group.

Methods: An exposure assessment was carried out over a 3-year period amongst a group of stonemasons and stone cutters involved in the restoration and maintenance of heritage buildings in Ireland. Personal air samples (n = 103) with corresponding contextual information were collected. Exposure data were analysed using mixed-effects modelling to investigate determinants of RCS exposure and their contribution to the individual’s mean exposure. Between-depot, between-worker, and within-worker variance components were also investigated.

Results: The geometric mean (GM) RCS exposure concentrations for all tasks measured ranged from <0 data-blogger-escaped-.02="" data-blogger-escaped-0.70mg="" data-blogger-escaped-m="" data-blogger-escaped-sup="" data-blogger-escaped-to="">−3. GM RCS exposure concentrations for work involving limestone and lime mortar were <0 data-blogger-escaped-.02="" data-blogger-escaped-m="" data-blogger-escaped-mg="" data-blogger-escaped-ndash="" data-blogger-escaped-sup="">...
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