Blog Archives

Fed-OSHA Issues Hazard Bulletin on Oil Refinery Delayed Coker Units

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have issued a chemical safety alert/health and safety hazard information bulletin about an oil refining process that has been identified as the source of “relatively frequent and serious accidents.” Delayed coker unit (DCU) operations are increasingly being used to refine “bottom of the … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

No Hand-Weeding Consensus; Labor to Move on Legislation

Despite two meetings in the last two weeks and the appearance of a state Senator at the latest meeting, an advisory committee of labor and grower representatives could not resolve key differences on a proposed ban on hand weeding. Consequently, labor will seek approval of SB 534, which would enact a legal prohibition on the … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Workplace Safety Update – S.F. Roofing Company Owner Gets Prison Term in Worker’s Fatal Fall

The employer who reportedly told an investigator, “Money first, safety second,” paid a steep price for the death of a worker in July 2000 when he was sentenced to three years in state prison by a San Francisco Superior Court judge. Christie Binn Chung, owner of 101 Roofing, Inc., pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Just a Reminder.

September will be a busy month, with three significant conferences coming up. Next week, Sept. 7-9, the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety and several other organizations will host “Challenges in Agricultural Health and Safety,” at the Crowne Plaza Union Square in San Francisco. The Napa Valley Marriott Hotel will be the site of … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

First Phase of Title 8 Reform Nearly Complete – Web Site Coming Soon

The first element of the Cal/OSH Standards Board’s Title 8 reorganization project will be completed soon and will be posted on a new web page developed specifically for the reform effort, project manager Hans Boersma told COR. Title 8 reform aims to reorganize the massive occupational safety and health code and eliminate duplication. Title 8 … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Boeing Seeks PEL Change; Petitioner Seeks Ladder – Revisions

The Cal/OSH Standards Board received the following petitions in recent weeks: BOEING SEEKS PEL REVISION: Robert J. Hollenbeck, CSP, director of safety and health for The Boeing Co., petitioned the board to revise its permissible exposure limit (PEL) for methyl hydrazine to 10 parts per billion (ppb) as a time-weighted average (TWA), rather than as … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

Court Says Oil Company Not Liable for Subcontractor Employee’s Cancer

A California appellate court has ruled that a premises owner has no liability to an independent contractor’s employee for a dangerous condition created by the contractor, except in narrow circumstances. The ruling reversed a jury ruling against the Unocal oil company that had found the firm partially responsible for a tradesman’s asbestos-related lung disease. The … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »

News from Fed-OSHA (13)

“Inside the Green Line” Explores OSHA’s Response to WTC Disaster The site of the destroyed World Trade Center in New York is hallowed ground, but in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, it was a nightmare. A mountain of rubble, with victims trapped beneath, confronted rescue and recovery workers. The federal Occupational Safety and Health … Read More »

This content is only available to premium subscribers. Please login here log in

Read More »