As the saying goes, no news is good news. In the last two weeks of 2013 and into the first week of 2014, there were few workplace fatalities, reports the Department of Industrial Relations. The two fatalities being investigated by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health were in the days following Christmas. On Dec. …
The Sonoma County District Attorney and Agilent Technology, Inc., have settled a civil case that charged the high-tech employer with violations of the California Health and Safety Code following a 2011 explosion that severely injured a company engineer. Cal/OSHA cited Agilent in 2011 and that case was later settled. On April 26, 2011, engineer Patrick …
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health is following up on its announcement in late October that its authority over amusement rides extends to their zip line operations with an advisory meeting to discuss possible regulations for the industry. The meeting is at 10 a.m. At Oakland’s Harris State Building, 1515 Clay St., Room 1304 …
The Cal/OSH Standards Board says it’s time to update the Construction Safety Orders (CSO) to include the latest edition of the California Manual on Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, commonly known as MUTCD. Its proposal is in a 45-day comment period that ends Feb. 20 with a public hearing in Sacramento. Cal/OSHA’s current …
It was a busy year for Cal/OSHA, with the usual stream of incident investigations, dozens of rulemaking projects, stakeholder debates on important issues and legislation affecting California’s occupational safety and health community. As we peruse the pages of last year’s Cal-OSHA Reporter, it becomes clear that the top story of the year was the …
The Cal/OSH Standards Board is considering almost two dozen rulemaking projects for 2014, including such significant issues as night work for agricultural workers, tractor-mounted personnel units and safety for first responders fighting fires in electric and hybrid vehicles. The rulemaking agenda is a working plan, of sorts, for the board, but no guarantee that all …
If the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has its way, California would join the ranks of the United Kingdom, Norway and Australia and adopt a strict regulatory system known as “safety case” that requires oil refineries to demonstrate they can operate safely before they are permitted to start up. CSB, which has made …
This edition of Cal-OSHA Reporter is the last of 2013. We will resume publication with our Jan. 10, 2014, issue, marking the start of our 41st year. Merry Christmas, be safe for the holidays and have a Happy New Year. We’ll see you as the calendar turns.