BERKELEY – Fed-OSHA issued citations on January 14 against Landis Plastics, Inc., of Solvay, NY, for alleged willful failures to record worker illnesses and injuries over a two-year period. Penalties of $720,700 were proposed for those and other alleged violations. OSHA alleged that in 1995 and 1996 Landis failed to record 63 injuries and illnesses …
BERKELEY – (an opinion piece for COR by Fred Walter) Item: A 22-year-old restaurant employee—three years over voting age—using an industrial-sized Cuisinart decides, despite his manager’s specific instructions to the contrary, to push clogged food through the machine’s blades without turning it off and without wearing any of the three Kevlar gloves within arm’s reach. …
BERKELEY – MOLD AND MOISTURE: February 27 and 28, in Walnut Creek, USEPA Region IX and the University of Tulsa are offering a course in biological contamination of indoor environments. Presenters are outstanding researchers, teachers and practitioners. Bioaerosols are the subject February 27. Dr. Harriet Burge, the instructor, is at the Harvard School of Public …
BERKELEY – Readers with more visual acuity than this proofreader will notice that the third-page numbers on the last several NEWS portions of COR have been off by a digit. Pages 00-6681, -6685 and -6689 should, of course, be 00-6581, -6585 and -6589. .ENDSECTION
SACRAMENTO – The Department of Industrial Relations has issued a breakdown of its share of the 1997/98 Governor’s Proposed Budget. It shows, for the entire Cal-OSHA program, only a slight change in authorized personnel and proposed funding from all sources in the previous year. The total for the program will $58,821,000 and two more positions, …
SACRAMENTO – To make the public meeting portion of the monthly agenda meatier, Standards Board members plan to solicit input or comments from the public about significant occupational safety and health issues. The purpose is to seek advice from persons with expertise, knowledge or experience in a given area prior to the development of a …
SACRAMENTO – At the January 16 Standards Board meeting, during the business meeting, the members were presented with a timeline for readopting the ergonomics standard within 120 days and resubmitting it to the Office of Administrative Law by that deadline. Executive Officer John MacLeod said a 15-day notice period for commenters was planned. “It appears …
SACRAMENTO – It was bound to happen. With exceptions for bars and taverns, the state Labor Code bans the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a place of employment. The law that imposed the ban sets forth an enforcement scheme which relies almost exclusively on local authorities for enforcement. Cal-OSHA need not …