One standard that OSHA failed to update when they revised 1910.1200 was 1910.1020 – Access to employee exposure and medical records.  This standard still uses the term MSDS and does not address my question about the changing of MSDS for the new SDS.  Granted, a lot of the exposure info on the new SDS(s) has not changed, but some chemicals did get “classified” differently...

WARNING – this video shows the ignition of the dust cloud and people within the dust cloud on fire and trying to escape.  The sights and sounds of this video ARE VERY GRAPHIC in nature, but shows the hazards of Corn Starch and its ease to ignite.  Corn Starch has one of the lowest MIE’s in the Combustible Dust family.  We do not yet know the ignition source, but a high wattage...

 

No, your car will not be a “covered process” under PSM, but only because it will NOT have 10,000 pounds of this Category 1 Flammable Gas.  But this new refrigerant is coming and it will be in your car’s air conditioning very soon!  A lot of the literature for this new refrigerant uses phrases like “XXXXXX can be described as being “mildly flammable” as...

Did EPA just issue RMP citations because a facility did not have a Car Seal program?  Although they mention Lockout/Tagout in their citation, LOTO is NOT the proper control technique for the “sliding line blind” that was “mistakenly opened by an employee during operation of the unit“.  LOTO is purely for servicing and maintenance and is not permitted to be used for...

As summer heat intensifies, OSHA’s focus on preventing heat related illness intensifies.  With this intensity, many employers are going hi-tech to collect “heat exposure data” to establish work practices based on exposures.  I have seen a recent increase in advertising for devices that can measure wet-bulb temperatures in workplaces and they are tying these reading back...

  Over 12,500 exclusive unsafe acts/conditions and accident/injuries photos and over 1,100 ppt’s & doc’s from more than 2,797 contributors! 2015 Fatality Tracker Electrical 23 (2014 =55) (2013 = 32) (2012 = 68) Forklift/Aerial 21 (2014 = 60) (2013=62) (2012 = 52) Mining* 16 (2014 = 401) (2013=87*) (2012 = 92*) *ONLY developed nations and legal mines Explosions 97 (2014 = 157) (2013=194)...

 May 29, 2015 MEMORANDUM FOR: REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS THROUGH: DOROTHY DOUGHERTYDeputy Assistant Secretary FROM: THOMAS GALASSI, DirectorDirectorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP) SUBJECT: Interim Enforcement Guidance for Hazard Communication 2012 (HCS 2012) June 1, 2015 Effective Date This memorandum is to provide additional, interim guidance on the Hazard Communication 2012 June 1, 2015 effective...

I am often asked why I am such a stickler for unloading/loading HAZMATS and where I come up all of “my requirements” for these tasks.  Yes, I am a stickler for these tasks as my career has seen its fair share of unloading/loading incidents.  As for “my requirements” I can not actually take credit for them, as I stole them from some state OHSA regulations and international...

 

The Technical Committee has completed the second draft revisions and, absent any Notice of Intent to Make a Motion (NITMAMs), the new guide will be released this coming November!  This document explains  “how to” comply with provisions in the existing confined space regulations and standards by providing more detailed guidance on subjects such as hazard identification, air monitoring, ventilation...