ALBUQUERQUE – The U.S. General Accounting Office has a report on the experiences of five facilities as they attempt to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MDSs) and implement ergonomics programs. The impetus for the study came from requests from the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The …
ALBUQUERQUE – At an informal public meeting on January 26, 1998, Fed-OSHA will hear comments on safety concerns, risks and benefits associated with “piggybacking” of intermodal containers in longshore and marine terminal work. It is reopening its recently promulgated standards in those areas for just this practice. “Piggybacking” involves lifting two empty intermodal containers, one …
ALBUQUERQUE – A one-day Pesticide Emergency Response course is being offered November 20 at UC-Berkeley’s Richmond Field Station. It is designed for first responders in a pesticide emergency: firefighters, police, Department of Transportation workers, Health or Civil Defense employees, or other professionals who need training in emergency response when pesticides are present. The instructors are …
SAN DIEGO – Fed-OSHA has issued its proposed health standard to protect workers exposed to tuberculosis. The proposal could help an estimated 5.3 million workers in more than 100,000 hospitals, homeless shelters, long-term care facilities for the elderly, detention facilities, certain laboratories and other work settings with a high risk of TB infection. It could …
SAN DIEGO – With his Peremptory Writ of Mandate issued October 16, 1997, Sacramento Superior Court Judge James T. Ford commanded the Cal-OSH Standards Board to affirm the text of Title 8 5110, Ergonomics, after removing four invalid parts. While Judge Ford held that key parts of Scope and Application subsection (a) and all of …
SAN DIEGO – California workers’ compensation fraud arrests and convictions were at or near record highs during the second quarter of 1997 and fraud referrals continue at a steady clip, the California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) reports. The Institute tallied 840 fraud referrals from member companies—42 insurers and seven self-insured employers. Most referrals were sent …
SAN DIEGO – On October 3, Fed-OSHA notified the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance (HSIA) that it had agreed to extend the deadline for compliance with the new workplace limits for methylene chloride (MC) by an additional 45 days. Companies will not have to comply with the new exposure limits or implement medical surveillance programs until …
OAKLAND, CA – With Staff Services Manager Chris Demes presiding (Executive Officer John MacLeod was serving on a jury) and all seven members present, the Cal-OSH Standards Board met briefly October 16 in Oakland. There was no public mention of the status of the ergonomics litigation but the members met with their attorney in closed …