White House releases executive order on improving chemical facility safety and security

The President signed an Executive Order to improve the safety and security of chemical facilities and reduce the risks of hazardous chemicals to workers and communities. Incidents such as the devastating explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas in April are tragic reminders that the handling and storage of chemicals present serious risks that must be addressed. 

Secretary of Labor
Thomas E. Perez

The Executive Order directs Federal agencies to work with stakeholders to improve chemical safety and security through agency programs, private sector initiatives, Federal guidance, standards, and regulations. 

New Labor Secretary arrives with commitment to workplace safety and health

Thomas E. Perez, nominated by President Obama as the nation's 26th Secretary of Labor, was sworn in July 23. Previously assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice and secretary of Maryland's Department of Labor, 

Nursing Facilities Have Higher Incidence Of Workplace Injury Than Construction

Today's post comes from guest author Nathan Reckman from Paul McAndrew Law Firm.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics “Workplace Injuries and Illnesses – 2010” report, the United States is becoming a safer place to work. In 2010, there were 3.1 million non-fatal work injuries reported. This translates to 3.5 injuries per 100 full-time equivalents, a slight decrease from the 2009 rate of 3.6 injuries per 100 full-time workers. The rate of injuries per 100 workers has been decreasing every year since 2002. In 2010, Iowa reported an above average number of work injuries, averaging 4.4 injuries per 100 full-time equivalent workers.

OSHA Advances Recording of Musculoskeletal Disorders

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in partnership with the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, today announced a series of three teleconferences to reach out to the small business community for input on OSHA's proposal to add a column for work-related musculoskeletal disorders on employer injury and illness logs. This proposal would require those employers already mandated to keep injury and illness records to add the step of checking a column when recording work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Small businesses from around the country are encouraged to participate in the teleconferences. The first will be held on Monday, April 11 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The second and third will be held Tuesday, April 12, 2011, at 9 a.m. EDT and 1:30 p.m. EDT. Participants may provide input about their experiences in recording work-related MSDs and how they believe the proposed rule would impact them.

The proposed rule only covers MSDs that employers are already required to record under the longstanding OSHA rule on recordkeeping. Prior to 2001, OSHA's injury and illness logs contained a column for repetitive trauma disorders that included hearing loss and many kinds of MSDs. In 2001, OSHA proposed separating hearing loss and MSDs into two columns, but the MSD column was deleted in 2003 before the provision became effective. OSHA's proposal would restore the MSD column to the Form 300.

Interested businesses that wish to participate in one of the teleconferences should contact Regina Powers at powers.regina@dol.gov by April 4, and indicate the teleconference in which they wish to participate. For more information, contact Robert Burt, director of OSHA's Office of Regulatory Analysis, at 202-693-1952 or Bruce Lundegren, assistant chief counsel for SBA Advocacy, at 202-205-6144.

Additional information is available online at http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/MSD_Column_Meeting_General_Info.html.

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