Longtime tree-care professional Jeff Buchanan says brush chippers should have passive “presence-sensing” devices that would automatically stop the machines if an employee gets too close to the branch-chewing rollers. He, in fact, has invented such a device that is being marketed around the country, and he wants Cal/OSHA to require such devices, though not exclusively …
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is updating its hazard communication standard to improve the “amount and quality” of information on labels and data safety sheets. Cal/OSHA will be required to update its hazcom standard, as well. The revision is aligned with the seventh revision of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling …
Here are some of the latest cases brought against employers regarding 2023 fatal workplace incidents. Most cases have been contested at the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board, of which two have been settled. Employers are presumed innocent in the appeals process. Fatalities in Farmland The Division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited Woodland’s Payne Farms …
Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health initiated 10% more workplace investigations in 2023 than in 2022, including 6% more onsite inspections, according to the final data for the year. Conversely, those inspections yielded 11% fewer alleged violations than in 2022. Violations are down 42% from the 22,011 alleged in 2016 and have been in …
Cal/OSHA cited a Martinez renewable fuels refinery for eight serious violations after an investigation into a November 2023 explosion that critically and permanently injured a worker. Cal/OSHA seeks $188,000 in penalties. The incident spurred a petition to the Standards Board to make non-petroleum refineries subject to the strict process safety management requirements of General Industry …
Several bills of interest to California’s occupational safety and health community have been approved by their houses of origin and are now being considered by the other chamber. The most significant legislation is AB 3043 by Assemblyman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta), which would prohibit the use of dry methods in fabricating engineered stone in order to …
There are six new California workplace fatalities. Three may not be work related. There were two acts of workplace violence: In Irvine, an employee of United Parcel Service was shot in his work truck while making deliveries. The employee, 50-year-old Expedito Cuesta De Leon, was shot 14 times and died at the scene of the …
For a one-time international relations major with a goal of “saving the world,” Cassie Hilaski has turned that lofty goal into helping save one construction worker at a time. In her safety journey, Cassie Hilaski has earned respect throughout the industry and safety profession. Hilaski is Vice President of Safety and Health for San Francisco’s …