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OSHA Roundup for Oct. 5, 2015

October 5, 2015

News

What standards are most-frequently cited by OSHA? Find out here.

OSHA will focus less on the number of inspections conducted and more on the quality, the agency announced.

Employers should comply with chemical exposure limits that are more stringent than OSHA’s requirements, agency administrator David Michaels said.

Michigan OSHA launches an emphasis program on exterior contractors.

A new OSHA guidance document focuses on confined space compliance.

Notable proposed fines

$604,300 to a chicken processor and its cleaning contractor for lockout/tagout, electrical and hazard communication violations related to separate amputation incidents at an Ohio plant in which one worker lost a leg and another worker lost two fingers

$305,300 to a laundry company in New Jersey for lockout/tagout, training, guarding and electrical violations

$217,720 to a Georgia manufacturing facility for mechanical power press and guarding violations in response to a worker’s two fingers being amputated

$197,000 to a weapons manufacturer in Texas for a variety of violations, including noise and guarding

$169,000 to a discount chain store with repeat violations for obstructed exits and electrical boxes at two West Virginia locations

$135,000 to a propane supplier for several alleged deficiencies in its Process Safety Management program, including a lack of rescue procedures, inadequate evaluations and documentation failures

$119,700 to an Indiana shipyard for allegedly failing to improve safety conditions following a previous inspection

$114,800 to an Illinois electronics recycling facility for high airborne concentrations of lead and cadmium

$113,960 to an excavation employer in Wisconsin for allegedly exposing workers to trench cave-in hazards

$109,000 to a railcar company in Illinois for failing to provide injury and illness reports, and electrical and scaffolding violations hfollowing a worker’s 12-foot fall when his aerial lift collapsed

$51,000 to a concrete company in Illinois for equipment and scaffold violations related to a nearly 20-foot fall that severely injured a worker

$47,200 to a subcontractor and general contractor for the fatal fall of a worker at an apartment construction site in Texas

$5,900 to a masonry contractor in Delaware for heat hazards related to a worker’s hospitalization due to excessive heat exposure

$2,800 to a Connecticut-based decontamination services company with a General Duty Clause violation for severe heat conditions that led to the hospitalization of one worker for acute dehydration and kidney failure due to heat stress

Happening this week

Oct. 7-8 – Washington Governor’s Industrial Safety & Health Conference

Oct. 9 – Deadline to submit comments for OSHA’s Request for Information concerning chemical management and permissible exposure limits 

Review Counter

Below is a count of how many days recent OSHA proposals have been under review, as of Oct. 5:

# of Days OSHA Proposal
 
95 Walking/Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems (final rule)

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs – part of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget – reviews proposed regulations. The process is required for most rules before they can move forward, and typically takes 90 days.

The opinions expressed in "On Safety" do not necessarily reflect those of the National Safety Council or affiliated local Chapters.

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