The state of Minnesota is implementing a new set of standards to reduce on job risk for window washers. The standard requires employers whose workers are suspended more than 14-feet above grade to have a comprehensive written safety plan and provide employee training for window-washing and building-maintenance activities. It also addresses and outlines worker safety [...]

OSHA has rescinded a January 2009 letter of interpretation regarding the use of a particular shock-absorbing lanyard in aerial work platforms. The original letter of interpretation stated because of the requirement of certain lanyards to have an anchor point at a height of 18.5 feet, their usage would likely not comply with OSHA standards when [...]

Early July WorkSafeBC launched www.HiddenKiller.ca, a comprehensive website on asbestos-exposure prevention. The site reflects WorkSafeBC’s efforts to raise awareness about the potential deadly effects of asbestos exposure in the workplace. Asbestos ranks as a leading cause of worker disease and death in British Columbia. The term “hidden killer” refers to the fact that asbestos fibres [...]

Petzl America Inc. of Clearfield, Utah, is voluntarily recalling about 375,000 Scorpio and Absorbica shock-absorbing lanyards sold between 2002 and 2011. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall July 12. Some of the lanyards are missing a safety stitch on the attachment loop, which could cause the lanyard to separate from the climbing [...]

Roughly 520,000 employees each year suffer a job-related eye injury requiring medical treatment. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates these injuries cost employers more than $300 mil­lion in lost production time, medical expens­es, and worker compensation. While educating employees on the proper use of eye and face wear protection is impor­tant, just as important is [...]

The National Hearing Conservation Association is urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to reconsider the defining of “feasible” engineering and administrative controls to mitigate occupational noise. “The United States currently lags behind many industrialized nations in the implementation of effective noise controls.  There appears to be a misconception that 29 CFR 1910.95 (current regulation) [...]

But on January 20, 2011 OSHA withdrew its proposed reinterpretation because of concerns the proposal needed more public outreach. And while the proposed modification is suspended, OSHA will study other approaches to abating workplace noise.

You can now watch two new videos on respirators and facemasks on the US Department of Labor’s YouTube site.  Respirator Safety which runs around nine minutes contains general instructions on how to properly put on and take off certain types of respirators.  It advises that specific instructions must be consulted from the manufacturer’s manual.  The [...]

Five days ago, in a non-contested decision in San Diego, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board adopted two new regulations on communicable disease – the General Industry Safety Orders §§ 5199 and 5199.1 or the aerosol transmissible and zoonotic disease standards. These are the first-ever standards in the country that protect workers in the health care industry [...]

Falls are among the most common hazard in construction sites. Every year, hundreds of workers get injured or killed after falling from scaffolds, windows, roofs and ladders. But even with the right kind of fall protection system, workers are under threat by another kind of fall: falling or flying objects. By wearing hard hats or [...]