Safe Workplace and Safety News

Here is an unusual news story from yesterday's edition of the Fresno Bee.

A 52-year old woman has been traveling around California posing as a CAL-OSHA inspector. She finds safety "violations," levies and collects a fine, and then charges for training classes to clear up the alleged violations. She was tracked through other states such as Nevada and Washington before she was found and arrested, so I wonder if her "inspection" activity extends outside of California.

Read the story in the Fresno Bee here.

Labels: safety fraud

Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth (DELEG) Director Stanley "Skip" Pruss today announced the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) has cited V&S Detroit Galvanizing LLC, of Redford, following a fatal accident, with $245,000 in proposed penalties for allegedly failing to adequately protect employees during overhead crane operations.

On Nov. 3, 2009, V&S Detroit Galvanizing employees were attaching parts to be galvanized onto two 1½ ton racks (steel I-beams). The racks were supported by rack stands. A crane operator moved the first rack up and over employees who were hanging parts on the second rack. The crane clipped the rack stands, causing the remaining rack to fall. A temporary employee, Darryl Johnson, was caught and crushed under the weight of the rack, resulting in his death.

"This tragic workplace fatality could have been prevented. V&S Detroit Galvanizing knew their rack system was unstable, and yet they continued to expose their employees to daily hazards during overhead crane operations, which led to the death of this worker," said Pruss. "This failure to protect their workers will not be tolerated. We are sending a clear message to all employers that they must be proactive and consistently protect their workers."

V&S Detroit Galvanizing LLC, of Redford, employs approximately 39 employees, with some employees represented by Teamsters Local 299. The plant is over 50,000 square feet and does hot dip galvanizing of all types of metal parts, for a wide variety of industries.

On Oct. 21, 2008, a V&S Detroit employee received multiple fractures to his left leg in a very similar incident. A rack that was loaded with parts fell on him and crushed his leg as a crane lifted another rack off the same supporting pair of rack stands. "This accident should have been a warning to the company to alter their procedures to protect their workers," said Pruss.

In V&S Detroit's normal racking procedure there are two rackers, a crane operator and a hi-lo operator. This is a permanent operation at the facility and the company had several alternatives available to protect their workers:

* They could have bolted the rack stands to the concrete floor in order to prevent them from moving when the first stand is lifted.
* They could have changed the set up so that only a single rack was supported by a rack stand.
* They could also have required employees to move to the side of the building when a crane was lifting and moving a rack.

General Industry Safety Standard, Part 18, Overhead and Gantry Cranes, is a comprehensive standard that covers the equipment, installation, maintenance, and operation of top running overhead and gantry single and multiple girder cranes in, about, and around places of employment, in order to safeguard employees. It also details the necessary employee training and certification that employers must provide.

From Nov. 3, 2009, to Feb. 11, 2010, MIOSHA conducted the fatality investigation, as well as a companion investigation at V&S Detroit Galvanizing LLC. As a result of these two investigations, MIOSHA is issuing citations for 10 alleged violations of MIOSHA regulations. The combined citations for both investigations include seven Serious and three Willful Serious violations. The combined penalty for both investigations is $245,000.

The responsibility to protect employees lies with the employer. It is anticipated that issuing these citations will cause the employer to strengthen their safety and health efforts by maintaining corrections. (The Summary of Violations for both cases are below.)

"MIOSHA is committed to helping employers who want to do the right thing. Our Consultation Education and Training (CET) Division can help employers build an effective safety and health system," said MIOSHA Director Doug Kalinowski. "However, MIOSHA will not tolerate employers who place their employees at risk of injury or death and will take appropriate enforcement action to protect workers."

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Labels: hazard prevention, Industrial Safety, safety management, workplace fatalities

Employers who ignore OSHA's rules and risk workers' lives should pay higher penalties, Assistant Secretary Michaels told Congress.

In testimony given by Dr. David Michaels to the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, he stated, "Safe jobs exist only when employers have adequate incentives to comply with OSHA's requirements. Meaningful penalties provide an important incentive to do the right thing."

Monetary penalties for violations of the OSH Act have been increased only once in 40 years. Michaels offered a revealing disparity between OSHA penalties and those of other agencies: In 2001, a tank full of sulphuric acid exploded at a refinery killing a worker and literally dissolving his body. OSHA's penalty was only $175,000. Yet, in the same incident, thousands of dead fish and crabs were discovered, allowing an EPA Clean Water Act violation amounting to $10 million -- 50 times higher. "Unscrupulous employers who refuse to comply with safety and health standards as an economic calculus will think again if there is a chance that they will go to jail for ignoring their responsibilities to their workers." Read Michaels' testimony for more information.

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Labels: OSHA Fines, osha information

A whistleblower investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that New Jersey Transit violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it retaliated against an employee for reporting a work-related illness.

According to OSHA's findings, in February 2008, the railroad brought an employee up on charges for missing work after suffering a work-related illness from witnessing a fatal accident involving another worker. The railroad also retaliated against the worker by cutting his pay and then suspending him. These retaliatory acts caused the employee significant financial and personal losses. The employee filed a whistleblower complaint with OSHA, alleging that the railroad had retaliated against him for reporting his work-related illness. OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program conducted an investigation under the whistleblower provisions of the FRSA, found merit to the complaint and ordered relief.

"Railroad employees have the legal right to report work-related injuries and illnesses without fear of retaliation," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "This case sends a clear message: Railroads that retaliate against employees for exercising their rights will be held accountable."

As a result of its findings, OSHA has ordered New Jersey Transit to take corrective actions, including expunging disciplinary actions taken against the employee and references to them from various records as well as compensating the worker for back pay, lost benefit payments, interest, compensatory damages and attorneys' fees totaling almost $500,000. In addition, OSHA has ordered the railroad to pay the complainant $75,000 in punitive damages. The railroad must also post and provide its employees with information on their FRSA whistleblower rights.

New Jersey Transit and the complainant have 30 days from receipt of the findings to file an appeal with the Labor Department's Office of Administrative Law Judges. Under the FRSA, employees of a railroad carrier and its contractors and subcontractors are protected against retaliation for reporting on-the-job injuries and illnesses, as well as reporting certain safety and security violations and cooperating with investigations by OSHA and other regulatory agencies.

OSHA enforces the whistleblower protection provisions of the FRSA and 16 other whistleblower statutes protecting employees who report violations of various workplace safety, securities, trucking, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, public transportation and consumer product safety laws. Detailed information is available online at http://www.osha.gov/dep/oia/whistleblower/index.html.

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Labels: OSHA Fines, whistleblower

The National Safety Council has released a white paper describing the risks of using a cell phone while driving. The white paper, "Understanding the distracted brain: Why driving while using hands-free cell phones is risky behavior," addresses the lack of understanding about the dangers of cell phones and hands-free devices.

The white paper includes references to more than 30 scientific studies and reports, describing how using a cell phone, hands-free or handheld, requires the brain to multitask – a process it cannot do safely while driving. Cell phone use while driving not only impairs driving performance, but it also weakens the brain’s ability to capture driving cues. The white paper is available for free download on the NSC Website.

The paper describes how drivers who use cell phones have a tendency to "look at" but not "see" up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment. A form of inattention blindness occurs, which results in drivers having difficulty monitoring their surroundings, seeking and identifying potential hazards, and responding to unexpected situations.

Numerous public opinion surveys show most drivers believe using a cell phone while driving is dangerous. However, many admit they regularly talk or text while driving. At any time, 11 percent of all drivers are using cell phones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NSC estimates more than 1 out of every 4 motor vehicle crashes involves cell phone use at the time of the crash.

"Cell phone use while driving has become a serious public health threat," said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO. "This white paper provides the necessary background and context for lawmakers and employers considering distracted driving legislation and policies. Several states and municipalities have passed legislation allowing hands-free devices while driving. These laws give the false impression that hands-free phones are a safe alternative, when the evidence is clear they are not. Understanding the distraction of the brain will help people make the right decision and put down their cell phones while driving."

To learn more about cell phone use while driving, visit distracteddriving.nsc.org

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Labels: NSC, Transportation Safety, Vehicle Safety

As a part of its efforts to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses, and especially with seasonal roadway construction just around the corner, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) is co-sponsoring a free webinar about work zone safety . It will be held April 21 at 1 p.m. (EDT).

This one-hour webinar will address the hazards of work zone safety, preventive efforts aimed at protecting the worker, and the new American National Standard ANSI/ASSE A10.47-2009 "Work Zone Safety for Highway Construction".

The ASSE work zone safety standard, which became effective last February, is a comprehensive standard covering several practices including flagger safety, run over/back over prevention, equipment operator safety, illumination, personal protective equipment (PPE), and much more.
"OSHA has few standards that cover work zone safety," said A10.47 Subcommittee Chair Scott Schneider. "The Federal Highway Administration is focused on safety for motorists and workers but also on reducing delays to the traveling public. Work zone safety standards also vary by state. The A10.47 standard is intended to fill the gap and to help contractors develop best practices to protect the safety and health of road construction workers. Each year, many construction workers are killed in work zones. They are run over by motorists, backed over by construction vehicles and electrocuted by overhead power lines."

"This standard deals with this wide range of hazards. Following it could save many of these lives," Schneider said.

Schneider, also the director of safety for the Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America will provide a detailed overview of the standards during the webinar and take questions at the end of his presentation.

ASSE serves as the secretariat for the A10 Accredited Standards Committee on construction and demolition operations. The A10 voluntary consensus standards serve as guides to contractors, labor and equipment manufacturers in the construction and demolition industry.

The webinar will be offered free of charge. Those interested in attending can register on The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse website (http://www.workzonesafety.org/training/record/10234).

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Labels: Construction Safety, Safety Training

An article in HR Morning provides a dramatized version of a real-life case in which a worker complains about a supposed safety violation, and shortly afterwards, he’s fired for poor peformance. The worker then sues his former employer, claiming retaliation for reporting the safety violation. Read the dramatized version of the case, and see if you can determine who won.

Labels: safety and law, safety management, workplace safety

On March 4, the American Industrial Hygiene Association(AIHA) participated in the "OSHA Listens" public meeting. The all-day, live webcast addressed issues posed by the agency, and featured input from numerous stakeholders, including AIHA, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), representatives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and ordinary citizens who lost family members due to worksite accidents.

In February, AIHA held its own virtual town hall meeting to solicit comments and suggestions from individual members and AIHA Volunteer Groups and Local Sections. The results of the AIHA meeting and member input are detailed in the document "'OSHA Listens' Public Input on Key Issues Facing the Agency," which was submitted to OSHA on Feb. 10.

AIHA's comments include responses to nine questions put forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in anticipation of the forum. Input from AIHA members consists of ideas that both support OSHA’s health and safety program and highlight areas where the agency can improve its agenda. Noteworthy comments from AIHA include:

• Further outreach by OSHA outside of compliance that communicates significant heath
and safety issues in different industries.

• Greater involvement of NIOSH in OSHA’s strategic planning and research on emerging
hazards and issues.

• Address issues such as the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), nanotechnology, safepatient handling, and control banding.

• Promote better partnerships with professional associations, such as AIHA, that have
stake in the success of the agency’s agenda.

• Create a federal advisory committee composed of labor, industry, small business, and professional associations that looks at the rule-making process and offers suggestions on how it can be improved.

• Make the updating of Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) a top priority, and require
written health and safety programs contain a selection of the appropriate PELs for the specific industry.

The period in which written comments can be submitted ends March 30, and OSHA will make the transcripts of the meeting available after 30 days. The AIHA document "'OSHA Listens' Public Input on Key Issues Facing the Agency," can be found in the Government Affairs section of the AIHA website at www.aiha.org.

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Labels: Industrial Health, OSHA, osha information

OSHA has cited BP North American Inc. and BP-Husky Refining LLC's refinery in Oregon, Ohio, with 42 alleged willful violations, including 39 on a per-instance basis, and 20 alleged serious violations for exposing workers to a variety of hazards including failure to provide adequate pressure relief for process units. Proposed penalties total $3,042,000.

"OSHA has found that BP often ignored or severely delayed fixing known hazards in its refineries," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "There is no excuse for taking chances with people's lives. BP must fix the hazards now."

OSHA began its inspection at the refinery located near Toledo, Ohio, in September 2009 as part of the agency's Refinery National Emphasis Program and as a follow-up to a 2006 inspection and a 2007 settlement agreement between OSHA and BP at this location. Although the 2009 inspection found that BP had complied with the settlement agreement, OSHA found numerous violations at the plant not previously covered by the agreement.

The inspection revealed that workers were exposed to serious injury and death in the event of a release of flammable and explosive materials in the refinery because of numerous conditions constituting violations of OSHA's process safety management standard. OSHA has issued willful citations for numerous failures to provide adequate pressure relief for process units, failures to provide safeguards to prevent the hazardous accumulation of fuel in process heaters, and exposing workers to injury and death from collapse of or damage, in the event of a fire, to nine buildings in the refinery. Additional willful citations allege various other violations of OSHA's standard addressing process safety management. These citations carry proposed penalties totaling $2,940,000.

The serious citations address a variety of other hazards, including violations of other requirements of the process safety management standard. These carry proposed penalties totaling $102,000.

Since 1991, this refinery has been inspected 12 times. Nationally, BP Products North American has been inspected by OSHA 44 times at various sites and is facing pending cases in which 439 willful citations and failure-to-abate notices were issued to its Texas City Refinery as a result of a 2009 inspection. Proposed penalties in those pending cases total $87 million, the largest penalties by far ever proposed by OSHA. BP's Texas City Refinery experienced a devastating explosion and fire in 2005 that killed 15 workers and injured 170. A large portion of the penalties proposed for the Texas City Refinery results from OSHA's allegations that BP failed to fully live up to a settlement agreement entered into after the explosion. BP has contested the citations, notifications of failure-to-abate and the proposed penalties in those cases.

BP North American Inc. operates and jointly owns the refinery with Canadian-based Husky Energy Inc. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an information conference with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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 assure 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.

The following provides a breakdown ofthe citations and proposed OSHA penalties:

Toledo Refinery Citations and Proposed Penalties

Forty-two willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $2,940,000 are proposed as follows:

1. Thirty-eight (38) per-instance, willful citations with penalties totaling $2,660,000 allege as follows:
   1. Twenty-six instances allege deficient pressure relief, a violation of 29 CFR parts 1910.119(d)(3) and 1910.119(j)(5), with total penalties of $1,820,000;
   2. Three instances allege the lack of flame-out protection on heaters and a furnace, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(d)(3), with total penalties of $210,000; and
   3. Nine instances allege facility-siting hazards, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(e)(5), with total penalties of $630,000.
2. Four willful citations with penalties totaling $280,000, allege as follows:
   1. Lack of pressure vessel information, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(d)(3), with a penalty of $70,000;
   2. Cross-connections between fire-emergency water supplies and process systems, a violation of 29 CFR parts 1910.119(d)(3) and 1910.119(e)(5), with a penalty of $70,000;
   3. Failure to conduct thickness measurements at designated test sites and as required at the flare header, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(j)(4)(ii), with a penalty of $70,000; and
   4. Failure to conduct thickness measurements in accordance with RAGAGEP, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(j)(4)(iii), with a penalty of $70,000.

Twenty serious citations with total penalties of $102,000 allege the following failures: to support pipes properly; to maintain heat transfer information for refractory-lined vessels; to assure the accuracy of P&IDs, the maintenance of pressure vessel nameplates, and proper documentation of pressure relief design information; to document implementation of the vessel grounding program; to assure that car-sealing practices were used for intervening valves; to password protect safety instrumented systems; to assure that PHAs addressed combustion safeguards, pressure relief, and human factors, and reflected updated layer of protection analysis and safety integrity levels; to establish and to implement a written program for refinery valve car-seal procedures; to consult employees on the frequency of refresher training; to implement procedures for operating limits changes and other matters; to investigate contamination of the fire-water system; to include contributing factors and recommendations in accident investigation reports; to audit a statistically significant number of pressure vessels, piping and instrument controls during compliance audits; to assure that LOTO procedures were implemented during burner maintenance; to assure that LOTO devices were applied during service and maintenance; and to assure that electric lighting equipment was appropriate for hazardous atmosphere classifications.

Three other-than-serious citations with $0.00 penalties allege deficiencies in the preparation of the PSM employee participation plan and incident/accident investigation.

Related Past Posts:
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Labels: OSHA Citations, workplace fatalities

OSHA surveys employers to collect workplace injury and illness data it uses to identify employers whose injury and illness rates are considerably higher than the national average. OSHA has sent a letter to about 15,000 workplaces that have the highest numbers of injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activities or job transfers, known as the DART rate.

"Receipt of this letter means that workers in that particular establishment are being injured at a higher rate than in most other businesses of its kind in the country," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "Employers whose businesses have injury and illness rates this high need to take immediate steps to protect their workers."

Employers receiving the letters also were provided copies of their injury and illness data, along with a list of the most frequently cited OSHA standards for their specific industry. The letter offered assistance in helping to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses by suggesting, among other things, the use of OSHA's free safety and health consultation services for small businesses provided through the states.

OSHA identified businesses with the nation's highest rates of workplace injuries and illnesses through employer-reported data from a 2009 survey of about 100,000 worksites. (This survey collected injury and illness data for calendar year 2008.) Workplaces receiving notifications had DART rates more than twice the national average among all U.S. workplaces.

OSHA's consultation program is available to assist in addressing safety and health in the workplace for employers with 250 or fewer workers. This program is administered by a state agency and operated separately from OSHA's enforcement program. The service is free and confidential, and there are no fines even if problems are found. Designed for small employers, the consultation program can help an employer identify hazards while finding effective and economical solutions for repairing them. In addition, the OSHA state consultant can assist in developing and implementing a safety and health management system for the workplace.

A list of the employers receiving the letter is available on OSHA's public Web site at http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/foia/hot_16.html. A list of OSHA's consultation services is available at http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/consult.html.

Labels: OSHA, osha information, safety statistics