A Purdue University report showed 51 grain bin accidents last year, up from 38 in 2009 and the most since tracking began in 1978. Twenty-five people died, and five of them were children under the age of 16. The previous record for grain bin accidents was 42 in 1993. The accidents prompted the OSHA to send letters this past week to 10,000-grain bin operators across the U.S., telling them they are responsible...

The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors has released the Violation Findings Fourth Quarter Report for 2010. The report is based on 65 reports from 38 jurisdictions, consists of 170,643 inspections with 17,201 violations. This is a 10% violation rate. … HomeRead More »

Fundamental safety management failings were the root cause of Britain’s most costly industrial disaster, a new publication reveals. The report into the explosion and five-day fire at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot in December 2005 tells for the first time the full story of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency’s (EA) investigation. Drawing on previously unpublished...

Members of a key congressional panel have called for a long-term extension of the U.S. Homeland Security Department effort that sets regulations for facilities that manufacture, use, store or distribute substances that could be used to produce chemical warfare materials. While lawmakers lauded the program, they expressed frustration with aspects of the effort that have yet to be completed, including...

This instruction, Enforcement Guidance for Personal Protective Equipment in General Industry, establishes OSHA’s general enforcement and guidance policy for its standards addressing personal protective equipment (PPE). … HomeRead More »

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is a non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to promoting electrical safety at home and in the workplace. Founded in 1994 as a cooperative effort by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), ESFI is funded by voluntary contributions from...

Should standards be free? What if they are incorporated by reference into federal legislation, rules, or regulations? Should people have to pay for “the law?” … HomeRead More »

River Falls manager charged for negligently shooting employee after missing a bird at cookie-making factory … HomeRead More »

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a new safety video depicting two major accidents caused by the intentional release of flammable fuel gas near work areas, one year after the Kleen Energy explosion. … HomeRead More »

Richard Graveling, Araceli Sánchez-Jiménez, Craig Lewis and Sheila Groat If your facility uses respirators, this study is a MUST READ!!! … HomeRead More »

I want to thank so many of you for your positive comments about last weeks newsletter.  The traditional OSH news has been a bit slow in recent weeks, so I tried to offer some personal insights.  One question that I got from several readers and we seem to get in most of our auditing work is…what is the difference between an Emergency Action Plan and an Emergency Response Plan and why...

The Chlorine Institute’s Emergency Preparedness Issue Team has issued an updated CHLOREP Bulletin regarding application of the Emergency Kit C to Next Generation Tank Car fittings. … HomeRead More »