The Cal/OSH Standards Board has denied a heat-illness-related petition because of ongoing efforts to revise the state standard, and has received a new petition designed to give workers greater protection when using fall protection. The board denied the petition from Garth Patterson of Heat Relief Solutions, who asserts that the current General Industry Safety Orders …
In the article “Cal/OSHA Seeks Final Approval; Fed-OSHA Wants ‘Serious’ Revamp” (Jan. 14, 2010, p. 9645), a matter of a simple conjunction can make a big difference. On the issue of defining serious violations, we quoted Division of Occupational Safety and Health Chief Len Welsh as saying, in connection with trying to prove a serious …
SACRAMENTO — As Candice Traeger sees it, an agency ignores its own rules at its own peril, a lesson she learned just after taking the helm at the Cal/OSH Appeals Board. Attending a confirmation hearing for a nominee to another state agency, she witnessed the nominee being “raked over the coals” by the Legislature for …
SANTA CLARA – Focusing on injury numbers without looking at the details behind them is a surefire way to misdiagnose a problem. It may also lead to ineffective training and imposition of inappropriate, not to mention costly, safety measures, says Charity Camaddo-Nicolas of the Contra Costa Risk Management Loss Control Unit. When trying to lower …
OAKLAND — For the 36-plus years that the Cal/OSHA program has been in existence, it has had “provisional” approval from Fed-OSHA. While Cal/OSHA has consistently been a leader in regulatory development, most state-plan states have received final approval from the Feds. Cal/OSHA has remained provisional. Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Chief Len Welsh …
Two California universities host safety and health symposiums in coming weeks. University of California-Berkeley’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) hosts a symposium Feb. 25, “Immigrant Workers II: Voices from the Workplace.” It follows up on a 2008 symposium that examined current research on occupational safety and health hazards affecting immigrant communities. This year’s …
The Cal/OSH Standards Board got some suggestions for improving a regulatory revision that will affect a wide range of workplaces, and an emotional “thank you” for another proposal triggered by the death of a worker in 2004, at its Dec. 17, 2009, public hearing in Sacramento. On the docket were changes to the General Industry …
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Fresno office was notified Jan. 5 of a helicopter crash in Madera County that took the lives of three California Department of Fish and Game employees and the pilot. The crash occurred in the mountains near Redinger Lake while the Fish and Game employees were conducting an …