Tips & Updates about OSHA & Hazwoper Training Courses | Safety Tips

Most of us don’t even know that our water comes through pipes everyday; underground pipes that are necessary for the water to pass through from its source right to our kitchens and bathrooms – and away. Today, billions of gallons of water flow through underground pipes every day, thus resulting in corrosion every now and then. There is however, a new HDPE beveled edge that completely eliminates the possibility of erosion but also adheres to the OSHA safety standards. The Bevel-Sert helps connect underground ductile iron or PVC pipes together. And it really is as simple as that! What this HDPE tool really does is amazing! Currently, what most construction workers use is a cut-off saw to cut through piped and then using the same saw; grind a bevel onto the cut pipes so as to connect them. However, OSHA has now started prohibiting this due to various safety implications that may risk the workers safety if the tools are used incorrectly. Without this new tool, there have been many complain...

We never fail to hear news about OSHA citing a company almost every day. It has become a routine and it seems it will continue to do so. Yet another citation has been slapped by OSHA and this time it’s Miranda Roofing Inc., a Fall River, MA, roofing and siding contractor. The firm had committed an alleged willful violation of safety standards. One employee was injured after falling 15ft from a ladder at a Portsmouth work site. The company now faces a maximum proposed fine of $70,000 for their failure to provide fall protection for their employees working atop a roof at 3001 East Main Road in Portsmouth. OSHA has issued a willful violation as this accident seems to be committed with plain indifference to or an intentional disregard for the employees’ safety and health. The agency has also found employees at Miranda Roofing performing their task without any form of fall protection at heights up to 15ft and it is a well known fact that these kinds of acts are risky. Any worker working at ...

A jury in Rochester, recently convicted Mr. Keith Gordon-Smith and his asbestos abatement company, Gordon-Smith Contracting, Inc. (GSCI) for committing eight violations of the Clean Air Act. The jury found Gordon-Smith guilty for they had made certain false statements to an OSHA inspector who had received complaints from GSCI employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector had visited the site, three times in 2007 and on each and every occasion Gordon-Smith lied. The Assistant Attorney General for the Natural and Environment Resources Division, Ignacia S. Moreno, said that, “Gordon-Smith knowingly exposed workers and public areas to the toxic air pollutant asbestos,” he further stated that the verdict should send a strong message to those in the asbestos abatement industry”. Furthermore, Special Agent-in-Charge for EPA Office of Criminal Enforcement, William V. Lometti, said that exposure to asbestos can be fatal and the government will not tolerate illegal activ...

Cal/OSHA has received a series of posts regarding its latest meeting that addressed the standard STD safety protocols, of the adult film industry. Currently, Cal/OSHA seems to be weighing the merits of a petition that was issued by the AIDS Health Care Foundation to alter the state's blood borne pathogen standard. The industry representatives, the state and local public health officials and activists have already discussed how this blood borne pathogens standard can be effectively revised. In fact, this discussion was the fourth in a series of public meetings. The existing blood borne pathogen safety standard requires "personal protective equipment," which is also defined as "specialized clothing or equipment worn or used by an employee for protection against a hazard." However, the adult film industry representatives still believe that the AIM testing program is good enough to eliminate the need of using condoms on the sets. AIM (Adult Industry Medical Health C...

The federal inspectors, of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, have recently fined the United States, Postal Service of Huntington, more than $200,000, for committing serious willful violations of electrical safety standards. The news release that was published by OSHA, stated that the Postal service department committed one serious violation and three willful violations. They even proposed a total of $212,500 in fines. The regulatory agency officials said that, the OSHA inspections had revealed several problems involving similar safety standards for electrical hazards and training. These officials went on to say that the Rhode Island facility, was fined with a total sum of $500,000, after they uncovered eight willful and four serious violations. Mr. David Michaels, OSHA's Chief, said that, "These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service's failure to equip its workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to safely work with live electrical p...

Although the major regulatory agency is so widely demonized and feared by most American businesses, OSHA is a relative push over. It may be true that OSHA penalizes the bigger organizations with hefty fines, for instance, like the whopping $50 million that BP recently agreed to pay. Unfortunately, not many know that the 40 year old law, under which this agency operates, usually limits its ability to threaten miscreants with stiff prison sentences. This age old law even, on many occasions, has prevented the agency from holding the company executives personally accountable for the dangerous conditions that go uncorrected. Unlike the Environmental Protection Agency that has tough regulations and standards, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act at its disposal, OSHA is merely just a paper tiger. In order to give this regulatory giant more ammunition, the Democrats in the Congress cleverly crafted an OSHA reform legislation that was folded several months ago into another bill, that ...

The United States, Department of Labor's, Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recently penalized the Gaby Iron and Metal Co. in Chicago Heights, Ill. This metal recycle Corporation has come under OSHA's radar, for it has allegedly been found guilty of committing a whopping 17 health and safety violations. This even includes, exposing workers to high amounts of lead. High levels of lead can cause paralysis, kidney malfunctions, brain damage and even death. OSHA has fined the Gaby Iron and Metal Co. a total sum of $135,850. Present below is a list that highlights the various violations that have been committed by this metal recycle Corporation. They are: 1.Failing to implement a respiratory protection program, 2.Failing to provide a written lead compliance or training plan, 3.Failing to monitor air for lead during process or material changes and 4.Allowing workers to be exposed to lead in excess of allowable limits. Gary Anderson, the OSHA Area Director said that, ...