A spate of confined-space deaths in California last year has spurred California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) to launch a special emphasis program (SEP) to focus employers’ attention on this often deadly hazard. The SEP includes education, enforcement and consultation to help prevent future incidents. In 2011, four workers died and two were …
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health has received reports on two workplace fatalities, one from a fall from height and another from apparent natural causes. The latter incident was on Jan. 31, involving an employee of Dell Services, occurring at Moffett Field at NASA-AMES Building 233 in Mountain View. The employee was in an …
As Cal/OSHA announces its special emphasis program on confined-space hazards, a new study says employers are over-reliant on fire departments for emergency services in confined-space events. These incidents are a relatively small percentage of workplace events, but often are deadly. Many, if not most, employers don’t have the expertise or resources to form a confined-space rescue …
It’s as simple as ABC: California schools can be hazardous places for workers. But a program sponsored by California’s Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC) aims to educate school districts about the state Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), and bring those injury rates down. School Action for Safety and Health (SASH) …
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is investigating the Jan. 28 death of a construction worker at a Milpitas house project who was buried alive when an unshored wall collapsed and caused an avalanche of soil. DOSH has issued an Order Prohibiting Use (OPU) on any earthwork at the construction site. The 37-year-old …
A proposal published by the Cal/OSH Standards Board and initiated by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) aims to curb the long spate of tree-work deaths in California with up-to-date work practices and lots of training. The proposal is in a 45-day comment period that ends March 15 with a public hearing in …
Three Californians are among new and continuing members of the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH), the certifying organization for industrial hygienists. The new members are Michael Shanklin, CEO of Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena, and Susan Ripple, CIH, senior industrial hygiene manager for Dow Chemical Co. The continuing member is Patricia Beach, CIH, of …
In advance of the first Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee meeting of 2012, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) wants your opinion on the future of the committee. Due to what it says are budget concerns, DOSH has reduced the number of committee meetings from six to four. The January meeting was cancelled, so there …