Blog Archives

Orc Recommendations for Restructuring the Gisos

SAN FRANCISCO – Those who attended the September 5 Cal-OSHA Advisory Committee meeting were given Organization Resources Counselors’ proposal for a four-part 35-article restructuring of the General Industry Safety Orders. Group One would include general requirements applicable to all employers: scope and application; definitions; written safety and health programs and plans; permits and fees; recordkeeping … Read More »

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Focus on Ahera

SAN FRANCISCO – In the August 15 issue of The Synergist, published by the American Industrial Hygiene Association, are three articles of unusual interest. Two challenge the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), drafted in 1986 to save school children from asbestos exposures and now being considered for extension to other public buildings. The third … Read More »

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OSHA Safety Violations No Bar – to Government Contracts, Says Gao

SAN FRANCISCO – Some 261 companies charged with OSHA violations, most of them considered serious, won $38 billion in federal contracts in 1994, according to the General Accounting Office. The GAO report, prepared for Sen. Paul Simon, was released on Labor Day. Simon and Sen. Edward Kennedy are working on legislation that would deny federal … Read More »

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Prop. 65 V. Manufacturers

SAN FRANCISCO – On August 30, Clifford Chanler of As You Sow (AYS) and Kurt Weissmuller of the Los Angeles law firm defending Turco Products got a letter from the Legal Unit of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Signed by Chief Counsel Michael Mason, it explained that DOSH would conduct administrative review of … Read More »

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Confined Space Fatality in Texas Bakery

SPOKANE – On August 8 Fed-OSHA, after investigating a baker’s death in a confined space (the yeast brew vat), issued citations and proposed penalties totaling $1,040,000 against Richter’s Bakery, Inc., of San Antonio, Texas. Death was by asphyxiation. Two other employees went into the vat to rescue the victim, lost consciousness in the oxygen-deficient atmosphere, … Read More »

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Clinton Vetoes the Team Act

SPOKANE – On July 30, President Clinton sent Congress his veto of the TEAM Act. “This legislation, rather than promoting genuine teamwork, would undermine the system of collective bargaining that has served this country so well for many decades,” Clinton’s veto message said. The Team Act was intended to give non-union employers greater leeway in … Read More »

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Two New Safety Aids

SAN FRANCISCO – This week we are publishing two new Safety Aids we feel are valuable for reference purposes. Their subject matter is quite different — one involves the appeal process and the other, workplace violence. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES: Subscribers who consistently read our summaries of Appeals Board decisions and Decisions After Reconsideration will have noticed … Read More »

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Scaiha Mentor Program Is Flourishing

SAN FRANCISCO – A mentor program that links aspiring occupational safety and health students with seasoned professionals has attracted nine students from five schools in southern California. Sparked and encouraged by Prem Notani-Sharma, the mentor/protg program is sponsored by the Southern California Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (SCAIHA). “Any student at any college … Read More »

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