Blog Archives

Regulating the Marijuana Industry

Cal/OSHA will seek to prevent secondhand smoke exposure among employees of cannabis shops in the newly legalized marijuana industry by amending California’s 15-year-old regulation prohibiting smoking in the workplace to include marijuana smoke. In a recently released draft memorandum, Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum informed the Cal/OSH Standards Board that it will not seek other regulations … Read More »

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An Uber Safe Project

Truebeck Construction builds headquarters for the some of the biggest names in high-tech in the Bay Area. It was one of three contractors who built Apple’s “spaceship” campus in Cupertino. It also is building a new corporate office for Facebook in Menlo Park. One of its latest projects is the corporate headquarters for Uber, the … Read More »

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New Standards Board Appointee

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Barbara J. Burgel, an occupational health nurse and consultant, to the Cal/OSH Standards Board. She will likely fill the vacant occupational health representative position, but the Governor’s office could not confirm that is the case at press time. The board also has an open public member position. The occupational health … Read More »

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Cal/OSHA Nails Roofer

Based on five sets of citations issued since 2013 that is says were not corrected, Cal/OSHA has hit Petersen-Dean, Inc., with willful citations for fall protection violations. The proposed penalties in the case are more than $146,000, including a whopping $127,254 for a willful-repeat-serious violation of the Title 8 roofing fall protection standard.  Cal/OSHA cited … Read More »

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Warning on Shock Hazards

Cal/OSHA is sending a message to employers with employees who work around overhead power lines. It has cited a Los Angeles company with two workers who were exposed to high voltage earlier this year. One of the employees suffered third-degree burns in the incident. The incident in question was on February 6, when two sign … Read More »

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Consultant Dies in Tower Fall

Cal/OSHA is investigating the death of a 19-year-old consultant who fell from a high-rise tower in San Jose. The circumstances surrounding the death of Gavin Lam are unclear at present, but Lam’s employer, Swinerton Builders, says the fatality “was not related to construction activities.” Swinerton spokesman Meggie Hollywood requested that Cal-OSHA Reporter withhold possible reasons … Read More »

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Ironwork Representatives Seek Additional Decking Protections

Organizations representing ironworkers and steel erection employers are seeking changes to Title 8 to protect employees from falls through metal decking on highrise projects. In particular, they want Cal/OSHA to officially recognize a system designed by the District Council of Ironworkers and the Western Steel Council called the “cone-and-bar barricade.” The system consists of high-visibility, … Read More »

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Six Employee Deaths

The still-raging infernos in Northern California have claimed the lives of two more firefighters. At the Mendocino Complex fires, Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, 42, died after suffering injuries sustained fighting an “active portion” of the Ranch Fire near Potter Valley. He was airlifted to a local hospital where he died of his injuries. A Cal … Read More »

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