OSHA finds problems identified in report alarming

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) welcomes the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report on the under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses and OSHA's audit process.

The report identifies a number of factors that may contribute to the inaccuracy of employer injury and illness records, as well as problems with the audits that OSHA conducts to ensure their accuracy.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its acetylene standard. A final rule replaces references to outdated industry standards with updated references reflecting current industry practices.

CINCINNATI – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited bridge and water tower painter UCL Inc. in Cincinnati with alleged willful, egregious and serious violations of federal workplace safety and health standards for exposing workers to lead. Proposed fines total $321,000.

OSHA began its inspection in May where UCL was abrasive blasting paint from two bridge overpasses on I-75 near Middletown, Ohio. The inspection revealed nine alleged willful and two serious violations.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Loren Cook Co. of Springfield with seven alleged willful and three alleged serious violations after a worker was killed by an ejected machine part on May 13.

ALBANY, N.Y. – Cranesville Aggregate Co., doing business as Scotia Bag Plant, Scotia, N.Y., faces a total of $509,000 in proposed fines from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The plant, which bags cement and asphalt, has been cited for 33 alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety and health standards following comprehensive OSHA inspections over the past six months.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued commonsense fact sheets that employers and workers can use to promote safety during the current H1N1 influenza outbreak.

The fact sheets inform employers and workers about ways to reduce the risk of exposure to the 2009 H1N1 virus at work. Separate fact sheets for health care workers, who carry out tasks and activities that require close contact with 2009 H1N1 patients, contain additional precautions.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced it is issuing $87,430,000 in proposed penalties to BP Products North America Inc. for the companys failure to correct potential hazards faced by employees. The fine is the largest in OSHAs history. The prior largest total penalty, $21 million, was issued in 2005, also against BP.

WASHINGTON – Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that injury and illness rates among private industry employers are down from a total case rate of 4.2 in 2007 to 3.9 in 2008. BLS also reported a decline in non-fatal occupational injuries and illnesses from 4 million cases in 2007 to 3.7 million cases in 2008. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement:

"Preventable workplace injuries and illnesses affect millions of American workers every year, many with lifelong effects.

Federal OSHA to review all state plan programs

WASHINGTON – Jordan Barab, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), today told a Congressional committee that the serious shortcomings discovered during his agency's evaluation of the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration's safety program raised concerns about federal OSHA's monitoring of all state plan states.

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking solicits comments from public

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Oct. 21 edition of the Federal Register as an initial step in development of a standard to address the hazards of combustible dust.

Federal OSHA to review all state plan programs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is initiating a national emphasis program (NEP) on recordkeeping to assess the accuracy of injury and illness data recorded by employers.

The recordkeeping NEP involves inspecting occupational injury and illness records prepared by businesses and appropriately enforcing regulatory requirements when employers are found to be under-recording injuries and illnesses.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today awarded more than $6.8 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 30 recipients, encompassing labor unions, employer associations, colleges and universities, and other nonprofit organizations. The training grants cover a two-year period.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today published in the Federal Register a final rule revising the personal protective equipment (PPE) sections of its general industry, shipyard employment, longshoring and marine terminals standards concerning requirements for eye- and face-protective devices, and head and foot protection.

CHICAGO – Illinois today became the newest state to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to administer its own occupational safety and health plan for public employees in the state. A notice appears in today's edition of the Federal Register.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, is continuing to strengthen the integrity of its 36-year-old Outreach Training Program by publishing an "Outreach Trainer Watch List" of those who have had their trainer authorizations either revoked or suspended.

WASHINGTON – The safety of airport traffic control tower personnel is the focus of an inspection targeting program titled "Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Traffic Control Tower Monitoring Program" which monitors how workers clear a control tower in case of fire and other emergencies. The inspection targeting program, conducted by the U.S.

WASHINGTON Facilities that could potentially release highly hazardous chemicals resulting in toxic fire or explosion hazards are the focus of a national emphasis program (NEP) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The program establishes policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that are covered by OSHA's process safety management (PSM) standard.

SAN ANTONIO Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today addressed the annual gathering of the American Society of Safety Engineers. She applauded the efforts of the nation's safety and health professionals, and announced that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will launch a major construction safety initiative in Texas to prevent workplace injuries and fatalities.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced that it is continuing its nationwide program to emphasize workplace safety and health for federal workers and for those contractors whose work is supervised on a daily basis by federal agency personnel.