By a majority vote following a public hearing, the following revision to a Title 8 safety order has been adopted by the Cal/OSH Standards Board. It has been approved by the Office of Administrative Law and now is in the California Code of Regulations. LABORATORY ACCREDITATION FOR DIACETYL ANALYSIS: Revisions to General Industry Safety Orders …
In its latest action to impress upon employers the importance of identifying potential confined spaces in the workplace and evaluating their hazards, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited two employers in the Jan. 29 death of a worker who was crushed while chipping concrete inside a cement mixer. Confined-space hazards aren’t confined …
Fed-OSHA has begun a national emphasis program designed to protect workers from the serious health effects from isocyanates, a class of chemicals that can cause debilitating health problems. The three-program program will focus on general industry, construction and maritime. Isocyanates can cause occupational asthma, skin, eye, nose and throat irritation, and even cancer. The chemicals …
Complaints filed by employees of Los Angeles’ Menzies Aviation, with assistance of labor groups, triggered a Cal/OSHA investigation that led to a number of citations, including a willful-serious violation. Menzies faces almost $95,000 in penalties in the case. The case already has included a legal battle. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health was forced …
Cal-OSHA Reporter and its sister publication Workers’ Comp Executive this month brought home a pair of national awards for excellence in journalism from Specialized Information Publishers Association. The newsletters, which are published by Providence Publications, were recognized for their compelling use of video in covering developments in California’s workers’ comp and workplace safety industries. Cal-OSHA …
SACRAMENTO – Public agencies won a victory before the Cal/OSH Standards Board on June 20, which voted 4-3 to allow emergency responders to use less-costly N100 respirators when handling suspected high-hazard patients, instead of the currently required P100 variety. The vote came after several board members voiced qualms about the proposal, saying Cal/OSHA should retain …
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating a fatality reported to the Division on June 19 that could be a case of heat illness. DOSH also is investigating a fatal fall in recent days. The agency’s San Bernardino district office was notified of the death by employer E Light Electric Services, based in Desert …
SACRAMENTO – There were only positive comments on a Cal/OSHA proposal to remove a controversial phrase from a recent amendment designed to protect construction workers from exhaust fumes in restricted-ventilation places. When the Cal/OSH Standards Board revised the Construction Safety Orders in 2012 to ensure safety in shafts, culverts and pipelines, it included the term “other …