Occupational Safety And Health Administration Regulations Research Articles

Safety Audit Considerations for a Healthy Workplace that Puts «People Before Profit» and OSHA Compliance

Every organization should provide a safe and healthy workplace for all stakeholders by putting “people before profit”. Such a workplace must be consciously created, assessed, and internally examined through regular audits before the government conducts their inspections. Business owners, managers, and employees should know that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections do not always come with a warning, as inspectors can enter a business at any day or time without scheduling their arrival. As such, all employees must work safely and be prepared for an unannounced inspection. Every business should have a formal checklist for audits and daily usage on a periodic basis to ensure the safety of their workers in a healthy work environment. The benefits of implementing an effective safety and health program can be many, including higher optimism of the workforce, improved company reputation, and lower Workers’ Compensation Insurance rates. This paper provides an overview of common safety measures in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements. Data, statistics, examples, checklist recommendations, and audit suggestions are provided for managers and human resource professionals to internally assess the organization on a periodic basis to proactively prevent accidents, injuries, and possible citations by the federal government or state health inspectors. Managers must pay even closer attention and provide additional training for underage school children that work part-time as they are more vulnerable and not allowed to use certain machines and heavy equipment in the workplace. Leaders and managers must develop and emphasize a “people before profit” mindset to create an organizational culture that is focused on safe work practices. It is important that all managers and human resources professionals understand that all USA companies must provide their employees with a safe and healthy work environment. Furthermore, these professionals must know the OSHA regulations and state laws which are applicable to their firms and industries so that the organization can be in full compliance with the requirements. Of course, we recommend that managers and firms go above and beyond the law to put “people before profit” in the organization’s culture. The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970, which is enforced by OSHA, has done an excellent job of getting managers and human resource professionals to make sure their places of work are as safe as possible. They have produced many great informational content and training materials that are freely available for all workers, managers, owners, and corporate executives to use in their pursuit of a safe and wholesome workplace. Consequently, OSHA standards and rules have become a part of corporate America, which has been a positive approach. A practical example that most American workers are familiar with is the “Fire Safety” procedures as all employers have a Fire Prevention Plan. Consequently, most firms and institutions in the United States regularly practice for fire safety drills; as such, it has become a part of their organization’s culture. And so should be the mindset of putting “people before profit”.

An Investigation of Health and Safety Issues at Highway Construction Sites in Developing Countries

Construction activities on highway projects are the key source of safety risks to workers and motorists. Workplace fatalities and injuries have significantly reduced since 1970 after implementation of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations. However, ergonomic injuries caused by ergonomic risk factors such as awkward or sustained posture, forceful exertion or stain, contract pressure, exposure to vibration, extreme heat or cold environment have major impact on the productivity and safety on the highway construction sites. The paper focuses on identifying the existing safety practices that aid to prevent ergonomic injuries at the highway construction sites. A comprehensive review of literature reveals that majority of work place injuries and fatality victims are from private employment whereas a very few injuries coming from the state or local government employees from contractors. The primary data was collected using questionnaire survey, interview and observations and the spreadsheet was used to analyse the collected data about the causes of workplace injuries and possible measures. The survey results reveal that the most of the injuries such as musculoskeletal disorders, strain and accidents transpired due to the collision with equipment and vehicle!s related incidents. Dump truck, tippers, motor graders and cars cause the frequently reported workplace injuries. The paper concludes that use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), compliance to safety regulations, improving traffic control system and changing the culture of employers and employees are possible safety practices need to be adopted to mitigate the ergonomic workplace injuries in the highway construction projects particularly in the developing and least developed countries.

OSHA and elongate mineral particles

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was established to provide guidance to protect workers from hazards in the workplace. After broadly adopting extant health and safety standards, OSHA promulgated an expanded standard for regulation of asbestos. This standard provided for regulation of six named minerals and practices to be followed. Since the initial establishment of asbestos regulation by OSHA, other elongate particles have been considered for evaluation. This discussion describes the evolution of the OSHA regulations for asbestos, what they cover and how other materials might be regulated if they are found to pose a health risk.

Maintaining the Failure of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration: State–Corporate Crime Through Tolerance and Permission

This research explores the failures of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to effectively protect workers in the United States. Utilizing a secondary analysis of OSHA records, OSHA regulations, and scholarly and journalistic accounts of occupational violence, this research highlights the role of the state in creating and recreating the structure within which work-related health and safety regulations are routinely violated. Although we acknowledge that regimes of permission emerge from state–corporate symbiosis, our purpose here is not to explore the symbiotic nature of the relationship between the state and corporations which has led to the failure to protect workers. Instead, this research seeks to expose the consequences of the symbiosis, a regime of permission that allows corporations to maximize capital accumulation by ignoring health and safety regulations.

Growth of the Spanish-Speaking Workforce in the Northeast Dairy Industry

ABSTRACT The Spanish-speaking proportion of the Northeast dairy industry workforce is believed to be increasing. This study quantifies the extent of this increase over time in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, and compares demographics between English- and Spanish-speaking workers. A total of 293 farms were followed for 21 months via telephone. The proportion of the Spanish-speaking dairy workforce was measured. Differences in demographic characteristics were assessed. The proportion of Spanish-speaking workers increased linearly for both large and small farms. The rate of increase was much greater on large farms. Linear models predicted that 53.2% of the large and 18.1% of the small farm workforce would be Spanish speaking within 5 years. Spanish-speaking workers worked significantly longer weeks than their English-speaking counterparts. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) monitoring cutoff for number of employees is currently 10. Consequently, the increase in the proportion of Spanish-speaking workers in dairy, who have been shown to work more hours per week, is likely to result in fewer workers per farm. This could have implications for farms currently under OSHA regulations based on having 10 or more workers, because farms with workers working longer hours per week will employ fewer workers overall. In addition, according to section 330 of the Public Health Service Act, these workers do not currently meet the migrant farmworker definition that would qualify them to receive primary health services from federally funded migrant health centers. New legislation is needed to formally qualify this growing indigent population to receive healthcare via channels that are currently available to migrant and seasonal farmworkers.

Advances in Hearing Conservation Practices: An Interview With Mark Stephenson

Abstract It is estimated that 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous noise levels at work (Stephenson et al., 2003). The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created two separate agencies dedicated to promoting worker health and safety: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Research at NIOSH informs OSHA regulations. This report comprises an interview with Mark Stephenson, PhD, Scientific Research Coordinator for the NIOSH noise and hearing loss research program. He provides insights into the latest advances in hearing conservation practices, what works and why. Current hearing conservation practices developed at NIOSH and not yet mandated by OSHA use methods borrowed from evidence-based health communication theories to change the ways individuals view the problem of noise exposure, eliminate barriers that prevent effective hearing protector use, and create a culture of self-efficacy with respect to hear...

Use of nonionic surfactant to reduce sulfuric acid mist in the copper electrowinning process

During the copper electrowinning process, sulfuric acid mist is released into the air above the electrowinning tanks. This mist causes health problems for the operators in the electrowinning plant. Therefore, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has mandated that electrowinning tanks comply with new stringent regulations. This has sparked an interest by copper mines to develop new techniques to reduce acid mist. Foam blankets have been employed as a possible solution. Through designed experiments, a range of surfactant concentrations and space velocities that reduced the acid mist were identified. In this paper, foam blankets using a BASF Pluronic F67 nonionic surfactant were proven to be a viable technique for acid mist reduction. The foam blankets examined may be effective in facilities that operate at evolved gas space velocities around 2.0 cm/min. This method leads to over a 90% reduction of sulfuric acid mist, thus, providing one option for putting the electrowinning system in compliance with OSHA's regulations.

Changes in OSHA regulations affect health care employers

![Figure][1] Dr. Walker As health care employers, pediatricians are required to protect the health and safety of their employees. Many of these responsibilities are derived from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Following are some OSHA revisions that

Effects of ventilated safety helmets in a hot environment

Forest workers are likely to remove head protection in hot and humid conditions because of thermal discomfort. However, a recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation revision requires all workers in logging operations to wear safety helmets, thus creating a compliance problem. To determine which factors contribute to forest workers’ thermal discomfort, this study evaluated subjects’ physiological and psychophysical responses during tasks approximating the workload of forest workers in a high-temperature environment similar to that found in the southeastern United States during the summer. Environmental conditions in the helmet dome space were also evaluated. Three helmets were used in this study: a standard helmet, a passively ventilated helmet, and an actively ventilated helmet. It was found that none of the tested helmets burdened the body significantly for the physiological variables that were examined. Evaluation of the dome space environmental conditions showed that both the dry-bulb temperature (DBT) and wet-bulb temperature (WBT) varied significantly among the helmets tested. Psychophysical results showed that ventilation contributes to greater helmet comfort, and that weight and fit are important factors in helmet design. Relevance to industry Protective helmets for use in hot and humid environments should be modified to make them more comfortable, encouraging forest workers to wear them and thus comply with OSHA regulations.

An overview of hearing conservation practices in the U.S.A

Federal governmental regulations dealing with the prevention of occupational noise-induced hearing loss began in 1969 with the publication of the Walsh–Healey Act and was extended to general occupations when the U.S. Department of Labor published the OSHA (U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations in 1971. Finally, required procedures for developing an acceptable hearing conservation program were promulgated in 1983. This presentation will briefly review the history and implementation of the OSHA regulations in U.S. industry. In addition, the present activities by U.S. industry in implementing the OSHA regulations and by OSHA in enforcing them will be reviewed to answer the question: ‘‘Is the present implementation of the OSHA noise regulations effective in preventing noise-induced hearing loss in U.S. occupational environments?’’

Personal sample measurements of airborne lead during abatement procedures.

Lead has been shown to be an environmental and occupational toxicant with multiple target organs and is regulated by various occupational and environmental agencies at all governmental levels. Current awareness of hazards associated with lead has resulted in an explosion of regulations and is creating a new environmental industry. When conducting lead abatement or related activities associated with lead-containing substances (LCS) the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that personal samples be obtained to establish anticipated exposure levels associated with the type of work being performed. Several publications have reported exposure levels for lead; although the number of reports currently available is limited. OSHA regulations provide that for some activities a designated exposure concentration is established and require specific types of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be employed until the anticipated exposure level is determined. Upon establishment of the exposure level an appropriate modification, including reduction, in PPE is permitted. The OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) and action level for airborne lead are 50 ug/m3 and 30 ug/m3, respectively. This study provides data on personal sampling that were collected during a lead abatement project. These data provide an estimation of anticipated exposure, effectiveness of engineering controls and applicabilitymore » of work practices for similar projects in the future. 17 refs., 1 tab.« less

Safety Education in the Laboratory

Bloodborne pathogens and dangerous chemicals present safety hazards to laboratorians. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations provide rules to reduce the hazards in the clinical laboratory, some laboratorians view the regulations as unrealistic and burdensome to their daily tasks. The role of the safety educator is to continue to impress on the laboratory worker the purpose of the regulations. The regulations are designed to protect health care workers from risk of exposure or injury and consequent contraction of bloodborne diseases, which can result in serious illness and possibly death. As mandated by the OSHA regulations published in 1991, our laboratory has instituted an annual safety education program to address all safety issu

Process Safety Management and Water Treatment

The Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 required the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop a chemical safety standard containing minimum requirements to prevent accidental releases of chemicals that could pose a threat to employees. OSHA's Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals regulation became law in 1992 and applies to any water treatment facility that uses chlorine in 1‐ton (900 kg) cylinders unless it is unoccupied and remote. The PSM standard is unlike many other OSHA regulations in that it is performance‐based rather than prescriptive. This makes compliance more challenging as each process safety management system is different and must consider factors such as the workplace culture and the abilities of employees. This paper examines each of the 16 paragraphs within the regulation to assist in the development of a well‐documented safety plan.

Universal Precautions Are Not Universally Practiced by Anesthesiologists

To the Editor: The recent article by Tait and Tuttle provided data on the portion of anesthesiologists who have incorporated into their practice recommendations for prevention of transmission of blood-borne pathogens [1]. Although the information is quite revealing, several points require clarification. The date of the survey was not indicated although the timing is relevant for interpreting the results. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a standard on Occupational Exposure to Blood-Borne Pathogens in December 1991 requiring full implementation by July 1992. This mandated that employers subject to OSHA regulations implement an exposure control plan requiring use of gloves and other barrier protection when health care personnel perform tasks which may result in exposure to blood or body fluids. Annual educational programs on the use of universal precautions are required for employees. The timing of Tait and Tuttle's survey relative to these federally mandated programs is significant for interpretation of the survey data and assessing the relevance to current practices of anesthesia personnel. The primary strategy for prevention of occupational transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) to health care workers is the use of hepatitis B vaccine [2]. In their discussion of the use of universal precautions, the authors have not differentiated the risks of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from that for HBV. Additionally, hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been transmitted via needlestick injury to health care workers [3], and, since there is currently no vaccine for this virus, universal precautions remain the primary prevention strategy. The risk of transmission of HCV after a HCV-contaminated needlestick injury appears to be approximately 4% [3] compared with 0.3% risk for HIV transmission after a HIV-contaminated needlestick [4]. In their Discussion, the authors have incorrectly quoted from a previous publication by Berry and Greene [5]. The calculated risk of a needlestick is 0.14% per anesthetic, and this does not represent a specific calculation of HIV risk per anesthetic as indicated by Tait and Tuttle. The 0.14% injury rate per anesthetic was calculated as the overall percutaneous exposure incidence in anesthesia health care workers in the four studies published in the literature as of 1992 (11 percutaneous exposures, needlestick or other sharp item injury, in 8142 anesthetics). One final clarification is the discrepancy between data in the Results and Abstract [1] sections on the percentage of respondents reporting clean or contaminated needlestick injuries in the preceding 12 mo. According to Table 1(p. 625), 72% and 32% of respondents reported needlestick injuries that were clean or contaminated, respectively; however, the abstract reversed the data. The data from this survey indicate that compliance with universal precautions is not universal among anesthesiologists. It is encouraging that the rate of compliance was greater in more recent graduates, who were likely instructed in and have adopted the use of these techniques during residency training. This would suggest that adherence to universal precautions will become more widespread as new graduates enter practice. Arnold J. Berry, MD Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322 Elliott Greene, MD Department of Anesthesiology, Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY 12208

Impact of the bloodborne pathogens standard on vaccination of healthcare workers with hepatitis B vaccine.

To evaluate the impact of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations on the vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs), to assess interpretation of these regulations, and to evaluate changes in hospital vaccination policies. Between June 1, 1992, and August 15, 1992, a telephone survey was conducted among 150 hospitals selected randomly from participants in the American Hospital Association 1991 annual survey. Of the 150 hospitals, 96 (64%) provided information on hepatitis B vaccination coverage of their employees. Of the 103,419 employees in these hospitals, 77,302 (75%) were eligible to receive the hepatitis B vaccine, and 38,850 (51%) of these were vaccinated completely (had received 3 doses of vaccine). Following issuance of the final regulations, 73% of hospitals reported greater employee acceptance of hepatitis B vaccine, and hospitals were more likely to offer hepatitis B vaccine to maintenance workers, security personnel, dietary staff, and clerical personnel. Seventy-five hospitals (50%) reported conducting postvaccination serologic testing on all hospital employees, 12 (8%) as a result of OSHA regulations. Twenty-three hospitals (16%) reported administering routine booster doses of hepatitis B vaccine at 3, 5, or 7 years. The new OSHA standard resulted in a greater awareness of risk for HBV infection among HCWs and an increase in the number of HCWs receiving hepatitis B vaccine; however, vaccination coverage remained suboptimal. Postvaccination serologic testing of employees with negligible risk and the routine administration of vaccine booster doses may be diverting resources and preventing comprehensive coverage of high-risk employees.

The impact of OSHA regulations on nursing care cost and compliance.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires health care facilities to protect employees from bloodborne pathogens. One of the mandates is to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees at no cost to the employee. In this article, the authors explore the cost and compliance of implementing the new OSHA regulations for nursing staff assisting with colonoscopies over a 6-month period. The data were collected on a total of 461 procedures. The cost of implementing PPE for the nursing staff was $2.98 per procedure. The PPE available for the nursing staff included goggles, splash-proof gown, face mask, shoe covers, and latex gloves. The total cost of implementing the new regulations for the nursing staff assisting with colonoscopies was $2,747.56 and was projected to cost approximately $50,000 yearly if implemented for all GI procedures in the institution. Staff compliance rates for the five pieces of PPE ranged from 6.5 to 97.8%.

No Lighting Up in More Workplaces, Other Sites

THE NEXT few days should bring a lot of bad news for tobacco companies. M. Joycelyn Elders, MD, surgeon general of the US Public Health Service, indicates that she is about to release a report on problems associated with smoking by young people. Also expected soon, probably no later than the end of March, are smoking regulations from the US Department of Labor. To be issued by the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), these regulations are intended to protect nonsmokers from second-hand smoke in the workplace. Nonfarm workplaces with more than one employee are subject to OSHA regulations, which govern more than 90 million workers at more than 6 million work sites. While these developments are pending, Arby's Inc has announced that it will ban smoking in its 257 corporate-owned restaurants by summer and urge its nearly 2000 franchise holders to go smoke free in their outlets also.

Is your hospital really safe?

The large number of responses to our first Practitioners’ Exchange question (see Sept 1, 1993 issue of the JAVMA) suggests that veterinarians are concerned about complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, but that many veterinarians are uncertain how best to set up an OSHA compliance program in their own hospitals. With this issue, we present the first in a series of articles dealing with OSHA regulations and giving practical ways for veterinarians to comply with the OSHA standards. In future articles, the author will discuss some of the common hazards in veterinary hospitals, implementation of a hazard communication plan, and development of a hospital emergency action plan. While reading these articles, remember that, although they represent the best information available at the time they were written, they cannot be considered definitive. Regulations are subject to change, and, in the end, only personnel from OSHA can tell you exactly how to comply with the OSHA guidelines. However, we believe that by following the suggestions in this and future articles, veterinarians will be able to create a hospital safety program that will substantially comply with OSHA guidelines and that will ensure a safe workplace for themselves and their employees.— Kurt J. Matushek, Assistant Editor.

Comprehensive Program for Handling Hazardous Drugs

Development and implementation of a comprehensive program for safe handling of hazardous drugs is described. A comprehensive, multidisciplinary program for handling hazardous drugs was developed at a 1000-bed tertiary care, university teaching institution. Hazardous drugs were identified by a hazardous-drug working group consisting of occupational health professionals, pharmacists, and an industrial hygienist. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 1986 handling guidelines were used as a template, with input solicited from pharmacy staff and from other institutions. A new system for receiving, storing, and transporting hazardous drugs--which also included new labeling for such drugs--was implemented. The new guidelines were discussed with the staff, with emphasis placed on absolute compliance and incorporation of the guidelines into standard operating procedures and daily pharmacy practices. All pharmacy employees underwent retraining to ensure complete understanding. A voluntary medical surveillance program for pharmacy employees was developed concomitantly to monitor exposure to genotoxic hazardous drugs. Implementation of a comprehensive program for safe handling of hazardous drugs increased employee understanding of the need for such a program and improved the hospital's compliance with recent OSHA regulations.

DEATHS INVOLVING AIR-LINE RESPIRATORS CONNECTED TO INERT GAS SOURCES

During 1984 to 1988, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated 10 incidents, with 11 fatalities, involving the inadvertent connection of air-line respirators to inert gas supplies. Seven deaths resulted from connecting an air-line respirator supply hose to a line which normally carried inert gas. Four deaths were caused by leakage or backfill of inert gas into a line which normally carried breathable air. Ten of the deaths were from nitrogen and one from argon. The circumstances of the 11 deaths indicated that coupling compatibility and supervisory oversight were major factors in the inappropriate supply of irrespirable gas to the respirators worn by these workers. Conscientiousness among safety personnel to the hazards of asphyxiation by inert gas, and compliance with current OSHA regulations, the ANSI Z88.2 standard, and NIOSH respirator certification approval regulations would have prevented these fatalities.