SACRAMENTO – TRAFFIC CONTROL SAFETY TRAINING: On February 22, EUCA (Engineering and Utility Contractors Association) offers an 8-hour program for foremen, superintendents, owners and public works professionals. The program will cover the basics of using the Caltrans Manual and related documents, as well as utility, traffic control and work zones. It will be held at …
SACRAMENTO – At their January 16 meeting in Los Angeles, Standards Board members were given the preliminary rulemaking calendar for the new year. Executive Officer John MacLeod called attention to the fact that several of the entries resulted from the Governor’s regulatory reform effort. They are marked *. The calendar lists 34 actions tentatively scheduled …
BERKELEY – The California Commission on Safety and Health and Workers’ Compensation has voted unanimously to design and carry out an evaluation of collectively bargained workers’ compensation programs in the California construction industry, also known as “carve-outs.” The commission has initiated a collaborative project with UC-Berkeley and Stanford University for an independent outside study, which …
BERKELEY – California Labor Commissioner Roberta Mendonca has announced that the Targeted Industries Partnership Program (TIPP) will conduct a garment industry seminar on February 22 to help educate apparel contractors and manufacturers on requirements of state and federal labor laws. The seminar is free but seating is limited and the registration deadline is February 15. …
BERKELEY – New workplace limits on exposure to methylene chloride (MC) under a new OSHA standard announced January 9 will decrease exposures to this widely used industrial solvent by up to 20-fold for about 237,500 workers, cutting cancer risks by 97 percent. Methylene chloride, a known animal and possible human carcinogen, is used in degreasing, …
BERKELEY – The day after Fed-OSHA announced its final standard for methylene chloride (MC) exposure, industry organizations filed a lawsuit to block its enforcement. The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, Inc. (HSIA), an association of producers and users of MC, and Benco Sales, Inc., Brock Woodcraft, and Masters Magic Products, Inc., furniture refinishing suppliers and operations, …
BERKELEY – AVON: A spectacular explosion and fire occurred in a hydrocracking unit on January 21 at the Tosco refinery in Avon, near Martinez, CA. One Tosco employee died and another 25 workers were injured but none were hospitalized. Within the next few days, an additional 19 employees who worked for subcontractors reported injuries. The …
BERKELEY – At its January 16 business meeting, the Cal-OSH Standards Board adopted all 19 of the proposed variance decisions with conditions. As usual, quite a number had to do with Elevator 3000(c)(13) for wheelchair lifts. In addition: the California Institute of Technology sought variance from 3011(e)(2) for limited elevator headroom; 870 Market St. L. …