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

In this year’s Illinois Occupational Safety & Health day, new topics will be featured at all the breakout sessions and workshops in the Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Administration Program. The topics range from construction safety to personal protective equipment and green building. This event is all set to be held on March 2nd at Peoria Civic Center. Sessions will be held on fall protection, lead abatements, confined space training and office safety, which have all been designed to help employers keep their offices and workers safe and healthy, while at the same increase productivity at the workplace. This particular event will also feature a unique mini-health fair with free screenings. The conference helps by offering safety professionals from Illinois the chance to learn more, gain more information, and learn about all valuable sources and ultimately networks with hundreds of other likeminded individuals. There will also be many exhibitors present to demonstrate vari...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service's Boggs Road distribution center with repeat and serious safety violations. The penalty proposed is over thousands of dollars. On Wednesday, $80,000 in penalties against the Duluth facility was announced by OSHA. These penalties detail seven distinct violations. The cited violations also include two grave ones that are issued only “when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result” from the hazard. In a statement issued by OSHA's Atlanta area office, director Bill Fulcher said, “This inspection points to the need for employers to develop, implement and maintain programs that ensure hazards such as were noted here are connected, and that employee exposure to these hazards is eliminated”. OSHA has cited the Postal Agency with five repeat violations with a total of $75,000. These violations are issued when an employer has previously been cited for the same vio...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration have withdrawn the interim fall protection guidelines pertaining to residential construction, issued in 1995, and have reverted to the previous guidelines. The interim guideline was implemented in 1995 as a temporary policy, which allows employers to use alternate measures for fall protection without providing a written, site-specific plan or proving the practicality of the conventional fall-protection systems for a particular project. Before 1995, builders were required to provide conventional fall protection for workers involved in residential construction working at 6 feet or more above a lower level. If workers felt the conventional fall-protection techniques were not feasible or could create greater risks, they would have to provide a written fall protection plan using alternative fall protection techniques. Now, OSHA has eliminated the interim guideline and has reverted back to the previous 1995 regulation. The new directive requ...

The makers of Brazilian Blowout are looking forward to fight the United States regulatory body, OSHA, in court. A few months ago, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, had strictly warned people that the wildly popular hair straightening treatment, was a reservoir of health hazards. The Post obtained the lawsuit that basically accuses the Oregon office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for primarily misleading consumers, with several stringent warnings that the treatments contained dangerously high levels of the toxic chemical, formaldehyde. Mr. Mike Brady, the Brazilian Blowout CEO, had this to say about the OSHA citations: “Firstly, the formaldehyde content is many times below the minimum levels." He further went on to accuse the Oregon regulators, stating that, “they erroneously measured a different substance, methylene glycol, and improperly counted it as formaldehyde.” Regarding the product itself, he said that, "the data is there that sh...

Recently, a federal safety agency has charged the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railways to pay one of its employees a total sum of $95,096 after conducting an injury investigation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA has also upheld the employee’s accusation and have stated that he got a 30 day suspension and a whole year’s probation just for reporting a work-related injury. OSHA claims that the employee was in Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s Argentine Yard in Kansas City and was strictly disciplined for not using the proper tool for a particular job, although the tool was not even available at that time! The worker, in retaliation, reported his injury, which resulted in him being disciplined by the company. OSHA’s regional administrator for Kansas City, said in a statement, “An employer does not have the right to retaliate against employees who report work-related injuries.” The amount of payment that has been ordered by OSHA includes everything from back wages an...

J & P Construction of Tuscaloosa, Ala., has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company has been booked for safety violations of exposing employees to cave-in hazards during the installation of storm drains along Highway 98. The proposed penalties sum up to $45,500. The agency has issued one willful violation on the company with a penalty of $38,500 for not installing an adequate protection system while trenching. A willful violation as defined by OSHA is a violation committed with intentional knowing or disregarding the requirements as laid down by the law or showing indifference to employee safety and well being. Also, the company has received two other serious violations for allowing employees to work in an 8 foot trench without adequate protective equipment and training and for failing to have ladders or other equipment for means of egress. The proposed penalty for these two citations sums up to $7,000. A serious v...

Currently, the word 'feasible' is what represents the noise standard policy, for the general and construction industries. The United States, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), wants to reinterpret the word, in order to increase and strengthen the noise pollution policies. As per OSHA's current noise control standards, 'feasible' engineering or administrative controls ought to be used, in order to reduce noise to acceptable levels. Furthermore, the noise policies even promote the use of personal protective equipment, like ear muffs and ear plugs to protect workers and employees from any long term damages, due to constant exposure to loud noises. But the drawback of the current policy is that it does not penalize organizations who fail to follow these noise control standards if the PPE is ineffective or the hearing conservation programs are too expensive. Thus, OSHA has put forth a proposal that would interpret the word 'feasible' as 'ca...

A company in Illinois has been cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for willful violations. The federal government has alleged that the employees at the work site are exposed to perilous levels of hazardous dust without being provided with the right kind of personal protection and breathing equipment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it has cited the U.S. Minerals for violations at the company's facility in Coffeen. Coffeen is around 60 miles from the South of Springfield. The headquarters are located at Dyer, Ind. The Vice President of U.S. Minerals, Jakon Vukas, says that the company completely disagrees with the citations. The dust cannot be categorized as hazardous. He also added that U.S. Minerals plans to contest the citations. U.S. Minerals has been slapped with a heavy fine of $396,000 by the agency. In all, 28 different citations have been issued against it. According to OSHA, the kind of dust that is produced at t...

The United States, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), recently penalized yet another organization with a hefty fine of $60,000. The company in question, was an Ohio based Americanwood Industry. This wood furniture manufacturer in Tiffin, came under OSHA's wrath, for primarily committing two serious safety violations and two repeat safety violations. The organization failed to train its employees in safe work practices and failed to implement rules with regards to wearing proper safety equipment when working on electrical panels. Jule Hovi in Toledo, Ohio, OSHA's Area Director said that, "Injuries from electrical shock hazards are very preventable, especially if personal protective equipment is used and workers receive the proper training”. He further went on to state that, "OSHA is committed to ensuring that all workers are provided a safe and healthful workplace." Back in 2009, the Ameriwood Industries Inc. was penalized by OSHA, for committin...

A Chambersburg excavation company has been cited for failing to protect its employees by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The employees in question were working in an excavation for installing a water main. Now, David H. Martin Excavating Inc. has been slapped with a heavy fine of $63,000 by OSHA. The agency has granted 15 business days from the receipt of the citations to comply. The excavation company can arrange a meeting with the area director of OSHA or challenge the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The agency's accusations stem from the investigation of a work site carried out by OSHA near Roxbury. The workers who were installing the water pipe in the trench were not properly protected from a cave in. OSHA was notified that the workers were working in an unprotected trench. The trench was around 6 feet 11 inches deep. The water main to be installed was around 12 inches in diameter. OSHA has made it mandatory f...

The U.S. Postal Service was fined by the Labor regulators with $220,000 for electrical hazards at their Los Angeles International Service Center. The U.S. Postal Service has 488 employees at the plant, which is near Los Angeles International Airport. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that the fine was a reflection of a conspicuous disregard for the worker’s safety as the Postal Service keeps on to neglect vital workplace safety measures. This has put the lives of their employees at definite risk. The violation came into the light after OSHA conducted an inspection, which began at June 2. They found that the USPS employees failed to de-energize parts of the machine before working on and that exposed them to electrical shocks. The postal service officials also failed to do flash hazard or shock hazard analysis before they start the work or provide workers with the proper protection. Other violations included failu...

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...

When the smoke stack collapsed at the old Ohio Edison site, the state safety officials declared that they will not investigate into the situation. The failed detonation is not going to be looked into by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA. The reason behind this, as given by OSHA, is that nobody was injured in the mishap. The 275 foot smoke stack that came crashing down in the wrong direction did not harm anyone. The aim of OSHA is to look after the health and safety of employees. Since nobody suffered any negative consequences from the whole incident, the agency does not see any point in looking into the matter. The reason for the detonation has already been determined. Apparently, there was a small crack in the smoke stack. This is believed to be a possible cause for the stack falling in the wrong direction. The whole situation is being investigated by Ohio Edison. First Energy is also involved in finding out the problem along with Ohio Edison. Both these agenci...

Daisy Construction Co. was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for alleged trenching violations and awarded a total of $67,000 as penalty. After being notified about imminent danger faced by workers while installing utility lines, OSHA had initiated an inspection and found two willful violations and a serious violation. Excavation is one of the most dangerous operations in the construction industry. With proper precautions, cave-ins can be easily prevented. The company had left its workers at risks of potential injury and possible death by bypassing the necessary safeguards. The company failed to provide their workers with adequate protective system that would prevent cave-ins and prevented them to work in an unprotected trench. These acts are done intentionally and OSHA has slapped two willful violations for putting the workers’ lives in danger. The serious violation was awarded due to the failure to instruct the employees on how the hazards can be recognized an...

The United Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recently descended on the death of a student who was filming the football practice on Wednesday. The boy fell down from a scissor lift that was around 50 feet high in the air with wind gusts of more than 50 mph. OSHA has sent an investigator to the scene of the unfortunate accident. The Notre Dame student, Declan Sullivan, was around 20 years old. An hour and a half before his death, Sullivan wrote “Gusts of wind up to 60 mph well today will be fun at work... I guess I've lived long enough” on his Twitter account. An hour later, probably when he was still up in the lift, he added, “Holy (expletive) holy (expletive) this is terrifying.” OSHA will be finding out who exactly instructed Sullivan to get into the lift in the first place. As per the guidelines from one of the manufacturers of the type of the lift the student was on, the scissor lift must not be used in wind gusts greater than 25mph. As we can gather from his sec...

Recently, a thirteen page letter was sent by the PETA Foundation's general counsel to the Director of the Toledo Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Jule Hovi, urging her to penalize the former animal exhibitor, Mr. Sam Mazzola, for completely failing to protect his employees and workers from recognized hazards. The general counsel has also asked her to take immediate action against him, in order to prevent any future attacks. On August 20th, Brent Kandra, was killed by a 500 pound bear. But Mr. Mazzola came under PETA's radar, for he continued to allow kandra to come into direct contact with the bear, despite knowing the dangers. Hence, this fatality could have been avoided. Debbie Leahy, PETA's Director, has said that, "Confined to cramped cages and denied everything that's natural and important to them, including any semblance of a life, these bears become ticking time bombs," she further went on to say that, "Mazzola must...

Its not an uncommon fact,but the U.S Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is a body of the U.S Department of Labor. This agency was established under the Occupational Safety and Health Act,by the Congress of the United States. It was signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on the 29th of December 1970. From the very beginning its mission had been to prevent illnesses, work-related injuries and occupational fatalities, by enforcing and issuing standards and regulations for workplace safety and health. OSHA is headed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor. The very same OSHA Act, that established OSHA also created the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH is an agency that focuses its attention on occupational health and safety. The regulations set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration covers most private sector workplaces. In 2000, the U.S. Postal Service was the only quasi-governmental entity to fall under the wavelength of the O...

The U.S, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is a body of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by the Congress, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, on December 29, 1970. From its initiation OSHA has constantly aimed to prevent illnesses, occupational fatalities and work-related injuries, by enforcing and issuing certain standards and issues for workplace health and safety. Recently, a tree trimmer was killed after a cherry picker boom snapped. The tree trimmer has been identified as Mr. Adam Mackintosh. Unfortunately, he has also left behind a wife, named Melanie, a son named Adison and twin daughters Claire and Sophia. Mr. Mackintosh was killed in Littleton, after the cherry picker boom he was working on snapped. It is also important to note that he also fell from a height of 30ft. The Littleton Fire Bureau Chief, Jay Ruoff, stated that the fatal mishap took place at noon, in the 5200 block of Sherman Street. Furthermore, a relative informed the p...

The U.S Occupational Safety and Health Administration was started by the Congress of the United States, on 29th December 1970, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. From its introduction, OSHA's main goal has been to prevent work-related fatalities and serious injuries, by enforcing and issuing certain standards and regulations, in order to assure workplace health and safety. From the very beginning, OSHA has not only emphasized the importance of safety at the workplace, but has also never spared anyone who tries to violate its safety regulations. Present below are a list of statements that highlight OSHA's priorities: The Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, stated that, “All workers have the right to work in a safe environment, and the Labor Department will use all legal means necessary to ensure companies comply with established safety requirements." An OSHA spokesman, Mr. Scott Allen of Chicago recently said that, “When someone does someth...