By the end of 2011, the Labor Department’s worker safety agencies expect to issue six new rules to better protect workers from on-the-job hazards. In the Department’s regulatory plan issued yesterday, OSHA projects it will finalize four rules while MSHA expects to complete two new standards. As I’ve written before, these plans quickly become stale […]
Updated 12/21/2010 Every two weeks, OSHA issues a mini-newsletter called Quick Takes about the agency’s activities and other worker health and safety news. The twice monthly electronic publication highlights 8-12 items and nearly always includes at least one report of a major enforcement action. I looked back at the OSHA Quick Takes from early 2010 […]
Environmental Health
OSHA should undertake an educational campaign on finding and fixing chemical exposures
by Eileen Senn, MS OSHA’s intention to finalize a list of chemicals on which to focus the agency’s efforts to address outdated rules on workplace chemical exposures was officially announced in the December 1 issue of OSHA Quick Takes and described in my November 17 post, “OSHA Poised to Action on Chemical Hazards.” No matter […]
As I’ve previously written, a minor revision to the form on which some U.S. employers are required to record work-related injuries remains stuck in the office of the White House’s regulatory czar. His review has now extended for 145 days. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects a sample of these forms annually to estimate […]
Nearly a month ago, I made predictions about what we might read in OSHA’s and MSHA’s regulatory agendas. The Administration’s regulatory plan is supposed to be published in October; it’s been an annual requirement since 1993 (see Executive Order 12866.) When I wrote my post last month, the Obama Administration was already a few days […]
The US Senate passed today the Food Safety Modernization Act on a by a 73 to 25 vote. More than a dozen Republican Senators broke ranks with their leadership and voted in favor of the bill: Alexander (TN), Brown (MA), Burr (NC), Collins (ME), Enzi (WY), Grassley (IA), Gregg (NH), Johanns (NE), Kirk (IL), LeMieux […]
by Eileen Senn After decades of dysfunction, OSHA is poised to do something about their badly outdated rules for occupational exposures to chemical hazards. Millions of U.S. workers are exposed to chemicals every day at work, such as asbestos fibers in insulation, asphalt fumes in roofing and road work, carbon monoxide gas from burning fuels, […]
On January 29, OSHA proposed a simple revision to a paper form—called the OSHA 300 log—on which some U.S. employers are required to record work-related injuries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects a sample of these forms annually to estimate national rates of work-related injuries. The change proposed by OSHA involves adding a column […]
It’s that time of year, when the Secretary of Labor is supposed to outline her rulemaking priorities for next 12 months. This would include new proposal to protect mine workers, like the 64 killed already this year, and the tens of thousands made ill by inadequate OSHA standards on exposure to chemicals. The Presidential Executive […]
Updated (below) 10/22/2010 Industry trade association are masters of using scare tactics and misinformation about environment, health and safety regulations to recruit and retain members. The latest evidence is the Chamber of Commerce’s “This Way to Jobs” propaganda campaign, with the worn out message: regulations on workers’ safety and environmental protection hurt the economy and […]