OAKLAND — Gov. Schwarzenegger has vetoed SB 363, addressing back injuries to hospital workers, and AB 816, which would have required manufacturers and distributors of chemicals to turn over customer lists. In his veto message, the governor noted that he nixed a bill similar to SB 363 last year and said the new version likewise …
OAKLAND — A potential gap in safety regulations covering workers on steel-framed buildings is the subject of a new proposal published by Cal/OSH Standards Board. It will be the subject of a public hearing by the board Nov. 17 in La Canada Flintridge. The rulemaking action was requested by Division of Occupational Safety and Health …
OAKLAND — by Bess Shapiro Earning membership in Cal/OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program has saved the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) between $300,000 and $400,000 in workers’ comp claims costs since 1999. And costs for this self-insured employer just keep going down. It has made workers’ comp nothing more than an administrative cost of doing business. …
OAKLAND — When Gilbert Aceves, a maintenance mechanic at Morton Salt in Long Beach and a member of the plant’s safety committee, suggested to the committee that it ask management to give hourly responsibility for preparing the facility for Cal/VPP recertification, “they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Aceves says. Now he is …
OAKLAND — A commercial building under construction in the Fresno area collapsed Sept. 27, injuring three workers and two contractors. Two of the victims were seriously injured. Framing on the wood-framed structure had been completed a day earlier and when workers attempted to begin installation of roof trusses, a section of framing failed and the …
OAKLAND — Cal/OSH Standards Board has modified its proposal on compressed-gas storage after the State Fire Marshal’s office requested more flexibility for employers. Comments on the modification are due to the board by Oct. 18. The proposal would revise General Industry Safety Orders 4650(d), Compressed Gas (Oxygen) Cylinder Storage, to deal with potential deficiencies in …
OAKLAND — Recent editorials in Cal-OSHA Reporter indicate that there is some confusion about what the Cal/OSHA 8 course is all about. This course is not designed to be a counterpart to the Federal OSHA 10-hour course as indicated in the July 29, 2005 edition of Cal-OSHA Reporter (p. 8494), nor is it designed in …
SACRAMENTO — Representatives of manufacturing companies and other businesses question the need for proposed notations in the state’s airborne contaminants standard alerting employers of the need for taking precautions against so-called sensitizing substances in the workplace. California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), which wants to include the notations in General Industry Safety Orders …