Thus sayeth the Bard to the Cal/OSHA Standards Board: Get thee to a regulation! California’s date growers have been using modern safety techniques for date palms since the early part of this century, but only through Cal/OSHA variances. There have been discussions in recent years about a formal standard recognizing the practice, but so far, …
Cal/OSHA and Sutter Bay Hospitals, which operates Mills-Peninsula Medical Center, have agreed to a $79,000 (70%) of the proposed penalty, down from a proposed $112,500, in the wake of a February 2024 workplace violence incident. A 53-year-old homeless man allegedly stabbed a 53-year-old employee who had asked him if he needed help after the man …
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board has written to district attorneys in the seven counties with the vast majority of silicosis cases, asking them to join Cal/OSHA “in a unified fight” to stop the disease, caused by exposure to workers who “cut, grind and polish stone countertops.” The request was sent to the D.A.s in Los Angeles, …
As California’s legislative season sprouts, two bills of interest to the occupational safety and health community have been introduced. Neither appears particularly significant, but one should trigger some debate. That bill, AB 2499 by Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Gardena), would require Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health to submit a regulatory proposal to the Standards …
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable tool in medicine, providing a clear picture of what is going on in the body. But a series of incidents, including a scary injury at a Bay Area hospital in 2023, have shown that MRIs potentially can pose hazards to employees because of the powerful magnets they use. …
As expected, the California Industrial Hygiene Council (CIHC) has petitioned the Cal/OSHA Standards Board to add clarifying language to the airborne contaminants standard regarding personnel competency to perform air monitoring. The organization says it is not seeking a requirement for certified industrial hygienists to perform such monitoring, rather to make clear what competency looks like, …
Cal/OSHA seeks more than $200,000 in penalties against a San Jose sheet metal manufacturer following the second amputation incident at the company in about a year, despite previous citations. The Division cited All FAB Precision Sheetmetal for two serious violations – including a willful repeat – and willful violation of the fatality and serious injury …