What is the most hazardous industry in California? If you go by the days away from work/restricted duty/job transfer rate (DART), it is air transportation, with a DART rate of 8.2 per 100 workers. That’s why this employment sector was among 22 industries included in the draft 2009-2010 Highest Hazard Industry List just released by …
The march of Cal/OSHA citation cases in the California court system continues, with a number of appeals scheduled for hearings in coming months. On April 7, Orange County Superior Court is scheduled to hold a hearing on an appeal in Arthur J. Brewster, a case in which an administrative law judge dismissed serious violations and …
The Safety Forum of the Inland Empire holds its first annual safety symposium, April 21 at the Goldie Lewis Community Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Speakers include safety management consultant Bob Lapidus on “Expect the Best in People”; Michael Alvarez, Cal/OSHA Consultation Service’s interim program manager, on “Cal/OSHA Updates”; Rudy Lopez, safety manager for County Line …
Concerns from the regulated public and Standards Board members about incorporating a national consensus standard in a Cal/OSHA regulation has triggered a 15-day notice of proposed modifications to a proposal to beef up requirements on high-visibility apparel used for traffic control. Comments on the modifications are due to the Standards Board by March 25. The …
Onsite inspections by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) increased 10% in the first nine months of 2008 compared to the same period the year prior, and violations cited climbed 5%, according to statistics released by the Division. Inspections and violations were up sharply for the period in agriculture, according to the data. …
Should California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) institute a temperature “trigger” for shade requirements under the state’s heat illness prevention standard? If so, what should it be? And for what percentage of a work crew should an employer be required to provide shade? DOSH and dozens of stakeholders explored these and other heat-related …
The Cal/OSH Standards Board has published a number of revisions to the aerosol transmissible diseases proposal. The board is accepting comments on the changes until March 15. The rulemaking package was part of a public hearing in August 2008. The proposal is intended to protect a wide range of workers from ATDs, such as tuberculosis. …
Longtime Division of Occupational Safety and Health Principal Safety Engineer Larry McCune has retired after 26 years with Cal/OSHA. McCune will be feted by his colleagues March 11 in Oakland. McCune has been instrumental in developing a number of safety-related standards over the years, as well as clarifying the applicability of standards for the regulated …