REGION 8
OSHA launched a comprehensive investigation after a company that manufactures pharmaceutical tablets and syrups did not adequately address a complaint relating to alleged employee exposure to air contaminants. It was also alleged that workers were covered in dust while performing work in the manufacturing area and when leaving the work area. Willful violations alleged by OSHA pertain to fall hazards, recordkeeping deficiencies, a lack of PPE, a lack of forklift training, inadequate machine guarding, improper electrical receptacles used in wet or damp locations and a lack of chemical hazard information training. Alleged serious violations include employee exposure to hazardous levels of methscopolamine nitrate (MSN), an inadequate respiratory protection program, a lack of eye/face protection, housekeeping and sanitation deficiencies, unguarded rotating shafts, confined space hazards, lockout/tagout hazards, unguarded live electrical parts, a lack of electrical cord strain relief and no chemical hygiene plan. [Provident Pharmaceuticals LLC, Colorado Springs, CO. Release Number OSHA 07-263-DEN].
Read MoreThe “risks list” for people who drive for a living just got a little longer. Along with fatigue, the possibility of being targeted for robbery and the chances of being involved in a fatal crash, people who drive a lot have an increased skin cancer risk.
A Saint Louis University School of Medicine study of 898 skin cancer patients found that people who spent considerable time behind the wheel were more likely to develop skin cancer on the left-hand side of their bodies, involving the neck, head, arms and hands. The tumors they developed are linked to cumulative sun exposure over many years, rather than short-term exposures that cause sunburns.
And the risk doesn’t simply involve people who drive with their driver’s side windows lowered. The study, led by dermatology professor Dr. Scott Fosko, found that while raised vehicle side windows block UVB rays that cause sunburn, they do not stop UVA rays, which are more penetrating. Windshields are made of laminated glass that is effective at filtering both UVA and UVB rays.
Fosko says people who do a lot of driving need to apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15, and wear protective clothing, including a hat. Pass this information on to your drivers.
Info to go: To read more about skin cancer, click on the link at www.SafeSupervisor.com
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LIFETIME ODDS OF DEVELOPING MALIGNANT MELANOMA, THE MOST DANGEROUS FORM OF SKIN CANCER
1 in 75 (Source: California Department of Health)
1: One wide-brimmed hat will help protect the head, face, ears and neck against sun exposure and also reduce the likelihood of developing life-threatening heat illness.
11: This year nearly 11,000 Americans will die from skin cancer.
15: Choose a sunscreen product that provides a sun protection factor of at least 15 or preferably higher.
30: People who work or play outdoors should apply sunscreen 30 minutes before stepping into the sun.
44: Forty-four hundred new cases of malignant melanoma will be diagnosed across Canada this year.
100: Wear sunglasses that provide 100 percent protection against UVA and UVB sun rays.
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An OSHA inspection has alleged several hazards for which the company had previously been cited at other locations, including fall hazards, lack of eye and face protection for employees filling batteries, blocked access to emergency eyewash stations, no training in fire extinguisher use and forklift operations, failure to inspect forklifts for defects and failure to remove defective forklifts from service. Serious violations cited allege the lack of an emergency response plan, improper distribution of fire extinguishers, improperly installed electrical wiring and allowing pigeon waste to accumulate on the terminal floor and other surfaces. [Central Transport Inc., Warren MI. Release Number 07-515-BOS/BOS 2007-084, April 12, 2007].
Read MoreREGION 2
A residential complex that failed to protect its workers against asbestos hazards has been issued four willful citations. These citations allege failure to provide workers with required safeguards, failure to monitor employees’ exposure levels, failure to inform them of the presence, location and quantities of asbestos, and failure to institute a training program and label asbestos-containing material. Employees were routinely required to enter crawlspaces known or presumed to contain asbestos material. An OSHA inspection was undertaken in November 2006 in response to a complaint. The complex was also issued five serious citations alleging failure to provide appropriate hand, face and eye protection, absence of a hazard communication program, failure to properly label and dispose of asbestos-contaminated materials, a lack of quick-drenching eyewashes and respirator safety deficiencies. [Parkway Village Equities Corp., Queens, NY. Release Number 07-529-NEWA/BOS 2007-107].
Read MoreREGION 4
OSHA is proposing total penalties of $155,000 against a company after conducting an inspection. Four repeat safety violations being alleged include letting employees perform work for which they were not properly trained, failure to guard machinery, failure to properly label machine disconnects and failure to allow sanitation employees to access lockouts for equipment they were servicing. Serious health and safety violations for which the company was cited include alleged fall hazards, use of damaged electrical cords, no emergency eyewash and shower stations for employees handling corrosive materials, incorrect respirator use, allowing employees to be exposed to particulates above allowable levels, and failure to conduct annual audiograms. [Kings Delight, Braselton, GA. Release Number 07-863-ATL (174), July 18, 2007].
Read MoreREGION 1
In response to reports of possible hazards, OSHA inspected a New Bedford, MA, plant and issued citations addressing alleged chemical, electrical and mechanical hazards. OSHA says employees were potentially exposed to such hazards as lacerations, amputation, burns, electrocution, eye and face injuries, and being caught in or struck by machinery. OSHA found that the company had not determined what types of PPE were needed for employees whose duties exposed them to hazardous chemicals and flying particles from machinery, and had not supplied those workers with required eye, face and hand protection. [Michael Bianco Inc., New Bedford, MA. Release number 07-911-BOS/BOS 2007-184, July 5, 2007].
Read MoreREGION 1
Proposed penalties of $134,900 have been issued to a company following OSHA inspections. They include a willful citation for failing to ensure the use of hearing protection by employees exposed to high noise levels. The other violations, including 47 alleged serious citations, are too numerous to detail, but OSHA says employees were potentially exposed to hearing loss, burns, cuts, tripping/fall hazards, amputation, crushing, fire, explosion, asbestos, the possibility of being struck by forklifts and the potential for being overcome by toxins or an oxygen-deficient atmosphere. [Boston Felt Co. Inc., Rochester, NH. Release Number 07-1150-BOS/BOS 2007-224, Aug. 20, 2007].
Read MoreFailure to provide a driver with information, instruction and supervision on the safe loading of hot liquid wax and failure to report the worker’s injuries have resulted in an Ontario candle manufacturer being issued a substantial fine.
A driver who had been delivering hot wax in a truck to the Premier Candle Corp. in Mississauga, ON, received severe burns when his or her body was sprayed by hot wax. The worker suffered second and third degree burns to the right side, including an arm, a knee, the chest and stomach.
The driver had finished filling a silo with wax and was detaching pipes through which the wax had been transferred when the incident occurred. The Ontario Ministry of Labour only learned about the worker’s injury two days later, and not from the company, but from a third party.
When the Ministry arrived to investigate the area in which the incident occurred, it was not taped off and all mobile equipment had been removed. The only evidence of an incident involved solidified wax markings found in the area of the silo.
An investigation determined that the driver was unfamiliar with the silo equipment and was not given any instruction or supervision regarding how to load wax into the silo by Premier Candle Corp. According to the Ministry, there was no verbal or written information or instruction on a safe procedure for the delivery of the hot wax from the truck to the silo.
Also, there were no identifying marks on the silo valve or attachments indicating the open and closed positions, nor was the wax flow direction identified on the silo valves, fittings and piping.
Premier Candle Corporation was fined $105,000, plus a 25 percent victim fine surcharge, after pleading guilty to failing to provide the driver with information, instruction and supervision and failing to report the injury.
Read MoreREGION 5
OSHA issued two willful citations for alleged failure to provide engineering and work practice controls while torch cutting, thereby exposing workers to lead above permissible levels. Repeat citations include allegations of inadequate respiratory protection, inadequate protective clothing for lead exposure, and a lack of hand and face wash facilities and clothing change areas. Serious citations allege hazards associated with arsenic exposure, improper handling of protective clothing and failure to provide training. Penalties of $115,200 have been proposed. [Ruzic Construction Co. Inc., Neillsville, WI. Release Number 07-1296-CHI, Sept. 24, 2007].
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