FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Job Safety & Health Quarterly

Summer 2001 1

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

Preventing Needlesticks 12New rules affirm the need for safer devices to protect some

5.6 million workers who handle medical sharps .by Susan Hall Fleming

Safety by the Numbers 14A new Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows a continuing

downward trend in lost-time injuries and illnesses.by Fred Walters

A New Approach to Logging 16Efforts to promote logging safety and training in one of the

country’s most dangerous occupations are helping save lives.by Donna Miles

Safety at the Showroom 23New-car dealers in eastern New York have shifted into high

gear to promote safety and health in their repair facilitiesby Deborah Dorman

Reaching Out for Safety 26OSHA’s new compliance assistance specialists are working at

the grassroots to promote safer, more healthful workplaces.by Susan Hall Fleming

Beating the Heat 31With increased awareness and some basic precautions, many

heat-related injuries can be prevented.by Donna Miles

Assistant Secretary’s MessageQ&AWhat’s Happening?OSHA TrainingToolbox

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JSHQJob Safety & Health Quarterly

Volume 12 Number 4Summer 2001

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Jo b Sa f e t y & H e a l t h Q u a r t e r l y2

Assistant Secretary’s Message

here is occupationalsafety and health headedat the beginning of the

21st century? Focused squarely onprevention, OSHA will beworking with employers andemployees to continue thedownward trend in on-the-jobinjuries and illnesses.

President George W. Bush hasnominated John L. Henshaw tohead OSHA, and we are lookingforward to his confirmation andhaving him join the agency soon.Henshaw has a strong backgroundin occupational safety and healthas health and safety director forAstaris, LLC, a St. Louis chemicalcompany. He is also a pastpresident of the AmericanIndustrial Hygiene Association.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L.Chao has said worker safety and

R. Davis LayneActing Assistant Secretary of Laborfor Occupational Safety and Health

health are her top priorities andthat prevention is the key togreater success. She intends toenforce worker protection lawsusing common sense and avoidinga one-size-fits-all approach.

In her remarks on OSHA’s 30thanniversary, Secretary Chao noted,“Every time we hear of a workerwho dies or an employer who iscited for violating an OSHAstandard, we should ask, ‘Whatcould have been done to preventthe problem in the first place?’ Ifwe take a preventive approach, wecan bring down the numbers ofinjuries, illnesses, and fatalitieseven further.”

From the beginning of hertenure, Secretary Chao hasrecognized the dedication andexperience of career employees inOSHA and other agencies. Shehas emphasized that she knows shewill be able to accomplish her goalsbecause she has a strong, capableteam working with her.

The Secretary has made it veryclear that she welcomes ideas andrecommendations from DOLcareer staff. Well aware of theimportance of the work of frontlinepublic servants and OSHA’scommitment to excellence,Secretary Chao is depending uponeveryone at OSHA to comethrough for American workers. Iknow the agency will notdisappoint her.

During any time of transition,many issues remain to be resolved.That doesn’t mean that OSHA’sgoals will change, but there may benew approaches and new priorities.

We know that we need toaddress ergonomics. Muscu-loskeletal disorders continue toconstitute one-third of all seriousinjuries. President Bush has saidthat he wants to pursue a

comprehensive approach toergonomics. Secretary Chao haspledged to listen to stakeholders onthis issue and to find a commonground. She has indicated that sheis willing to consider newrulemaking, guidelines, or alegislative solution.

Toward that end, the Secretaryhas outlined six guiding principlesin the reevaluation of ergonomics:prevention, sound science, flexi-bility, feasibility, clarity, andincentive driven. Three publicforums in July will provide furtheropportunity for the public tocomment on outstanding issuesincluding how to define anergonomics injury; how to identifywhether an ergonomics injurystems from work, other activitiesor some combination; and what arethe most useful and cost-effectivetypes of government involvementto address these injuries. OSHAwill also take written comments onthese issues through August 3. TheSecretary intends to announce theapproach she plans to follow onergonomics in September.

At the beginning of the 21stcentury, OSHA faces both ongoingissues such as ergonomics andnewly emerging concerns. To meetthese challenges, we will build onthe solid foundation laid by themany career OSHA employeeswho have dedicated theirprofessional lives and personalenergies and talents to ensuringsafe and healthful workplaces forall working Americans. I amconfident that we will continue ourstrong history of success as we startour fourth decade. JSHQ

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Summer 2001 3

QA&

Q & AI’m a supervisor at acellular telephone towerconstruction site. What

OSHA standards cover my crews?

OSHA’s steel erectionstandard does not addressthe construction of com-

munication and broadcast towersspecifically. OSHA, however,issued Directive CPL 2-1.29,Interim Inspection ProceduresDuring Communication TowerConstruction Activities, on January15, 1999, to help reduce theaccidents and injuries associatedwith tower erection. The directiveensures uniform enforcement byOSHA’s field enforcement staff ofthe provisions that address fallprotection and safe access tocommunications towers duringconstruction. It also includes Title29 Code of Federal Regulations,Part 1926 references on personalprotective equipment, cranes andderricks, fall protection, andladder safety devices. Appendix Aof the directive clarifies thatunder specified conditions, em-ployers are permitted to useplatforms and hoist lines to liftemployees to tower work stationsover 200 feet high.

I'm a furniture refinisherwho regularly stripsfurniture of paint and

coatings and works with furniturethat's been chemically stripped.How can I protect myself and myfamily against lead poisoning?

The best way to protectyourself, your family, and,if applicable, your em-

ployees against lead exposure isthrough good hygiene—for yourwork area, your work clothing andtools, and yourself. This involveskeeping your work area and livingquarters separate, reducing the

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amount of lead dust generated, andpreventing its spread. If you haveemployees, be aware that they maybe covered by OSHA’s GeneralIndustry Lead Standard, Title 29Code of Federal Regulations1910.1025.

To prevent the spread of leaddust, maintain an area exclusivelyfor your work and keep it clean.During cleanup, use a vacuumcleaner with a special high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA)filter. If you grind or sand withpower tools, use a HEPA filtervacuum attachment. While in thework area, avoid eating, drinking,smoking, or applying cosmetics,because you may inadvertentlyingest lead through hand-to-mouthcontact.

Before leaving the work space,wash your skin and hair, payingspecial attention to cleaning underyour fingernails where lead dustcan get caught and be ingested.Vacuum your clothing before goingon break, and when you finish yourwork for the day, remove and bagall contaminated clothing. Avoidshaking the clothes to remove the

lead dust, and avoid washing themwith your family’s laundry. Workclothes, shoes, and other itemssuch as tools should be used onlyin these work areas and shouldremain there unless you decon-taminate them. This requires thatyou wash them thoroughly andcollect the water used in a metaldrum or other appropriate con-tainer for proper disposal.

If you send your work clothes toa cleaning service, you must informthe service personnel in writing ofthe potentially harmful effects oflead exposure if your (or youremployees’) exposure is above theOSHA permissible exposure limitof 50 micrograms per cubic meter,as outlined in Title 29 CFR1910.1025. The container with theclothing must be labeled:“Caution: Clothing contaminatedwith lead. Do not remove dust byblowing or shaking. Dispose oflead-contaminated wash water inaccordance with applicable local,state, or federal regulations.” Youmay wish to wear disposableclothing while working toeliminate the need to launder it.Disposable clothing must bebagged and disposed of inaccordance with local, state, orfederal regulations.

Other personal protectiveequipment includes gloves toprotect you from the chemicalstripper, protective goggles, a hat,covers for shoes, and depending onthe amount of lead dust orchemical vapor generated, anappropriate respirator. These itemsmust be cleaned thoroughlybetween uses and before beingremoved from the work area.

If you believe that you or othersin your family may have beenexposed to lead dust, blood leadscreening may be advised,especially for any young childrenor pregnant women in the

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The best way toprotect yourself,your family, and,

if applicable, youremployees against

lead exposure isthrough good

hygiene—for yourwork area, your

work clothing andtools, and yourself.


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household, even if they appearhealthy. Lead poisoning affectsvirtually every system in the bodyand can be particularly dangerousto children.

For more information, visit theTechnical Links page for leadon the OSHA website atwww.osha.gov. Other valuableinformation sources include thefollowing:• Lead Paint Safety Guide,

produced by the U.S.Department of Housing andUrban Development’s Office ofLead Hazard Control and theCenters for Disease Control andPrevention and available bycalling (800) 424-5323 orvisiting www.hud.gov/offices/lead.

• Protect Your Family—ReduceContamination at Home [NIOSHPublication 97125], produced bythe National Institute forOccupational Safety and Healthand posted at www.cdc.gov/niosh/thttext.html; and

• Occupational and Take-HomeLead Poisoning Associated withRestoring Chemically StrippedFurniture—California, 1998, anarticle in the April 6, 2001 issueof the CDC’s Morbidity andMortality Weekly Report, postedat www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5013a2.htm.It is important to be aware that

lead is not the only dangeroussubstance you work with whenstripping and refinishing furniture.Chemical strippers contain sol-vents such as methylene chlorideand trichloroethane and can causesevere health effects if used withoutproper precautions. Methylenechloride is specifically regulated byOSHA under Title 29 CFR 1910.1052. For information about thechemicals you use, contact themerchant and ask for a materialsafety data sheet. It will provide

you with more information aboutthe substance, protective measures,and the type of personal protectiveequipment required.

I’m a land surveyor whospends a lot of my workdayin the woods. How can I

protect myself against Lymedisease?

Lyme disease is caused byBorrelia Burgdorferi, abacterium carried in the

gut of certain ticks. When infectedticks attach to the human body,often in the armpits, groin, scalp,or other hairy, hidden body areas,they feed slowly and may transmitthe bacterium to their host within36 to 48 hours. Young ticks areespecially abundant and in searchof hosts in late spring and earlysummer, although adult ticks cantransmit infection as well.

The risk of Lyme disease isgreatest in the mid-Atlantic andeastern New England states, as wellas the Wisconsin-Minnesotaborder areas. The best way toprotect yourself against Lymedisease and other tick-bornediseases is to avoid brushy,overgrown grass and wooded areaswhere ticks are likely to be found.Protect your skin by wearing a hat

and high boots or closed shoes, aswell as light-colored clothing soyou can detect ticks more easily.Tuck pant legs into socks or boots,and wear long sleeves if possible.If you are an adult, you might wantto spray appropriate insectrepellents on exposed non-facialskin and permethrin on clothes.Check your clothing and skinregularly for ticks. If you find one,remove it quickly with tweezersand cleanse the skin with anantiseptic to reduce the risk ofinfection. After work, showerthoroughly and wash and dry yourclothes at a high temperature.

More than half of people withLyme infection develop a “bulls-eye” rash, and many exhibit flulikesymptoms such as fever, lymphnode swelling, headaches, andjoint or muscle aches. Seekmedical attention for thesesymptoms, especially after a tickbite in a high-endemic area. Mostcases of Lyme disease, if detectedearly, can be treated easily andsuccessfully with antibiotics.People who live or work in high-or moderate-risk areas and havefrequent or prolonged exposures totick habitats may want to considergetting a Lyme disease vaccine. Formore information about the vaccineand Lyme disease and its pre-vention, visit the OSHA website atwww.osha.gov or the Centers forDisease Control and Preventionwebsite at www.cdc.gov. JSHQ

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The best way toprotect yourself

against Lymedisease is to avoidbrushy, overgrowngrass and wooded

areas where ticksare likely to be

found.

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What’s Happening?OSHA NewsPresident NominatesHenshaw to OSHA

President George Bush hasnominated John Lester Henshawto be the new Assistant Secretaryof Labor for Occupational Safetyand Health. The President sent thenomination to the Senate forconfirmation on June 13.

Henshaw is the Director ofEnvironment, Safety and Healthfor Astaris, LLC, in St. Louis, MO,and was previously the Director ofEnvironment, Safety and Healthfor Solutia, Inc. From 1975 to1995, he was with the MonsantoCompany in a variety of positionsincluding Corporate Director ofQuality and Compliance Assur-ance and Corporate Stewardshipfor Environmental Safety andHealth, and Corporate IndustrialHygiene Director. He served for16 years in the Air National Guardas a Bio-Environmental Engineerand is a member of numerous pro-fessional organizations. He re-ceived a bachelor’s degree fromAppalachian State University anda Master’s degree from theUniversity of Michigan.

President SubmitsOSHA Budget

The president’s Fiscal Year 2002budget request for OSHA includes$425.8 million that emphasizescompliance assistance and en-forcement programs. The proposed budget representsa slight increase over Fiscal Year2001 levels. Compliance assistanceprograms would receive $57.2 mil-lion, an additional $1.4 millionover last year’s levels, and en-forcement activities would beboosted by $3 million for a total of$154.8 million. The request also includes $13.9million for safety and healthstandards; $88.1 million for stateprograms; $19.6 million fortechnical support; $48.8 million forstate consultation grants; $8.2 mil-lion for training grants; $26.3million for safety and healthstatistics; and $9 million forexecutive direction and admin-istration.

The budget calls for trimming94 positions from OSHA’s manage-ment ranks and its reinventionoffice. Acting Assistant Secretaryfor Occupational Safety andHealth R. Davis Layne says the cuts

will be made throughattrition and retirement.

Recordkeeping RuleTakes Effect in JanuarySecretary of Labor Elaine L.

Chao announced on June 29that OSHA’s rule onrecordkeeping will largely gointo effect as scheduled onJanuary 1, 2002. The finalrecordkeeping rule is theculmination of an effortbegun in the 1980s toimprove how the govern-ment tracks occupationalinjuries and illnesses. Therule increases employ-ee involvement, creates

simpler forms, and gives employersmore flexibility to use computersto meet OSHA regulatoryrequirements.

The Department will seekcomment on two proposed modi-fications to the rule’s recordkeepingrequirements. It will propose thatthe criteria for recording work-related hearing loss not beimplemented for 1 year pendingfurther investigation into the levelof hearing loss that should berecorded as a “significant” healthcondition. The Department alsowill propose to delay for 1 year therecordkeeping rule’s definition of“musculoskeletal (MSD) disorder”and the requirement that em-ployers check the MSD column onthe OSHA log.

The Department plans todevelop a comprehensive plan toaddress ergonomic hazards and hasscheduled a series of public forumson ergonomics. The issues to bedecided as a result of these forumsinclude the appropriate definitionsof the terms “ergonomic injury”and “MSD.”

Cotton Dust AmendmentsAdopted

Textile manufacturers that usean improved method of washingraw cotton to eliminate the risk ofbyssinosis are now exempt frommost provisions of the OSHAcotton dust standard. Based onamendments that took effectApril 6, manufacturers that use the“batch kier” cotton washingmethod are exempt from allprovisions of the cotton duststandard except the requirementsfor recordkeeping and medicalsurveillance.

In batch kier washing, rawcotton is washed repeatedly in agiant kettle. Research and testingby the Task Force for ByssinosisPrevention indicates that advances

Acting Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safetyand Health R. Davis Layne presents highlights ofthe proposed budget. Photo by Donna Miles


in the batch kier method helpprotect workers against byssinosisor “brown lung.”

Upcoming EventsNSC Congressand Expo Planned

The National Safety Council’sannual congress and expo areslated for September 21-28 at theGeorgia World Congress Center inAtlanta. This year’s theme is “TheOdyssey Starts Here.”

Attendees will choose frommore than 170 educational sessionson general as well as industry-specific topics, some presented inSpanish. More than 800 exhibitorswill display their products andservices September 24-26.

For more information or toregister, call (800) 621-7619 orvisit www.congress.nsc.org.

Summer Institute SlatedThe North Carolina Education

and Research Center at theUniversity of North Carolina atChapel Hill will present its 24thannual Occupational Safety and

Health Summer Institute August6-10 in Norfolk, VA.

Participating industrial hygien-ists, safety professionals, healthcare professionals, and industryrepresentatives will choose fromsome 35 occupational safety andhealth training sessions.

For more information, call toll-free (888) 235-3320 or visitwww.sph.unc.edu/osherc/.

Farm Safety and HealthWeek Observed

The National Safety Council’s58th National Farm Safety andHealth Week event is scheduledfor September 16-22. This year’stheme, “Kids #1 in 2001,” focuseson preventing accidents involvingchildren and youth on America’sfarms and ranches.

Among the hazards the NSCcampaign will target are extrariders on farm tractors andmachinery. Most tractors, com-bines, and other farm machineryhave one seat and are designed tocarry just one rider, but operatorssometimes carry children along asextra riders. This exposes them to

the risk of run-over incidents whenthey accidentally fall or are thrownfrom the equipment and landunder the machinery’s wheels.

For more information aboutNational Farm Safety and HealthWeek and farm safety topics, call(800) 621-7615, extension 2023,or visit the NSC website atwww.nsc.org.

Initiatives andOutreachSite Promotes Teen Safetyand Health

School is out until fall, and manystudents are spending their summervacations in the workforce.Unfortunately, some of those youngworkers are likely to get hurt on thejob. According to statistics from theNational Institute for OccupationalSafety and Health, about 70 teensdie from work injuries in the UnitedStates every year. Another 70,000get hurt badly enough to go to ahospital emergency room.

A new NIOSH website isdesigned to help reduce thosestatistics by promoting youngworkers’ awareness about safetyand health. The site offersinformation for young workers aswell as their employers to promoteworkplace safety. It is posted atwww.cdc.gov/niosh under “YoungWorker Safety and Health.”

NIOSH also distributed thebrochure, Are You a Working Teen?What You Should Know About Safetyand Health on the Job, and a posterabout workplace safety to everyhigh school in the United States.

PublicationsNIOSH Reports WorkerDeaths, Injuries

The rate of workplace fatalitiesdecreased by 45 percent between1980 and 1997, according to a

July is Eye Injury Prevention Month, sponsored by the American Academy ofOphthalmology. The academy emphasizes eye safety practices in the workplace,including the use of appropriate protective eye wear. Photo by Michael Carpenter

Summer 2001 7

recent National Institute forOccupational Safety and Healthstudy, published in the Centers forDisease Control and PreventionMorbidity and Mortality WeeklyReport. The report credits newtechnology, stricter safety regula-tions, and a shift in the economytoward safer service-industry jobsfor the decrease.

Between 1980 and 1997,103,945 workers in the UnitedStates died from work-relatedinjuries. The report cites motorvehicle crashes as the leading causeof on-the-job deaths since 1980.Despite improvements in occupa-tional safety and health, 16 U.S.workers are killed during anaverage workday, the report says.

In a separate report, NIOSHsays U.S. workers were treated inemergency rooms for 3.6 millionwork-related injuries during 1998.Men were injured nearly twice asoften as women per hours worked,and younger workers had moreinjuries than older workers.

The report, Nonfatal Occupa-tional Injuries and Illnesses Treated

Work Zone SafetyNIOSH RecommendsNew Initiatives

A new NIOSH report recom-mends ways to build on currentsafeguards to better protect workersin highway and street work zonesfrom serious injury and death.According to the report, BuildingSafer Highway Work Zones: Measuresto Prevent Worker Injuries fromVehicles and Equipment, existingindustry and government standardsand guidance do not go far enoughto ensure worker safety. The reportrecommends that:• employers continuously identify,

evaluate, and mitigate hazardousconditions as activities, worklocations, and other work zoneconditions change;

• employers provide high-visibilityapparel for all workers in highwayconstruction zones, not just thosewho help direct traffic flow;

• employers train highway andstreet construction workers onthe hazards of being struck bymoving construction vehiclesand equipment;

• contracting agencies considerincorporating the costs of workersafety protection into bid spe-cifications as a standard practice;

• contractors, contracting agen-cies, policy makers, manu-facturers, law enforcementofficials, and the research

community work in partnershipto prevent work-zone injuries;

• policy makers work together toensure that regulations fromagencies with overlappingjurisdiction are compatible; and

• transportation safety andconstruction researchers collabo-rate on work zone safety research.The report also provides

extensive information on thenumbers, rates, and causes ofwork-zone-related injuries andfatalities, and comprehensiveinformation to help employersand employees address potentialhazards at individual worksites.

For a free copy of the report, call(800) 35-NIOSH or visitwww.cdc.gov/niosh.

Promoting AwarenessCamille Villanova, a safety and health specialist in OSHA’s Directorate ofConstruction, left, and Elaine Papp, a program analyst in the Office ofLegislative Affairs, visit with “Coneman” from the Georgia Department ofTransportation during recent National Work Zone Awareness Week activitiesin Washington, DC. OSHA joined the Federal Highway Administration anda wide range of other federal, state, and private-sector organizations to promotepublic awareness of work zone safety and mobility. The event included amemorial of 868 orange cones representing the 868 people killed in work-zone-related crashes in 1999. Photo by Donna Miles


in Hospital Emergency Depart-ments–United States, 1998, saysabout one-fourth of the injuriesinvolved lacerations or punctures,particularly to hands and fingers.Another one-fourth of the injuriesinvolved sprains and strains.Adolescents were more likely thanolder workers to receive burns.

For more information, visit theCDC website at www.cdc.gov.

NIOSH Releases NewPublications

The National Institute forOccupational Safety and Healthhas several new publications onworkplace safety.

Hazard Review: Carbonless CopyPaper (NIOSH Publication No.2001-107) reviews current scien-tific information on the healtheffects of working with carbonlesscopy paper. Among the morecommon symptoms are irritation ofthe skin and the mucus membranesof the eyes and upper respiratorytract. The publication recom-mends good industrial hygiene andwork practices to reduce oreliminate symptoms.

Hazard Review: Health Effects ofOccupational Exposure to As-phalt (NIOSH Publication No.2001-110) discusses the healtheffects of job-related asphalt

exposures. These effects includeeye, nose, throat and lowerrespiratory tract irritation, as wellas long-term effects such as chronicbronchitis and lung cancer. Thereport suggests measures tominimize worker exposures whilestudies continue.

Safety and Health Resource Guidefor Small Businesses (NIOSHPublication No. 2000-148) isdesigned to help small businesseslocate services and resources forpreventing job-related injuries andillnesses. The guide lists sources offree occupational health and safetyinformation from governmentagencies, professional associations,and other organizations.

Simple Solutions: Ergonomics forFarm Workers (NIOSH PublicationNo. 2001-11) offers tips to helpfarm workers reduce the risk ofrepetitive motion injuries. Thebooklet offers suggestions on howto modify tools to reduce the riskof backaches and chronic pain inthe upper extremities, and onestablishing worker and manage-ment ergonomics teams.

Women’s Safety and Health Issuesat Work is a fact sheet thathighlights hazards facing women inthe workforce. It also discussesongoing NIOSH research inmusculoskeletal disorders, jobstress, workplace violence, andother areas of particular concernto women.

For a copy of these publications,call (800)35-NIOSH or visitwww.cdc.gov/niosh.

Committee UpdateACCSH Meets in DC

Secretary of Labor Elaine L.Chao recently thanked “thededicated professionals” of theAdvisory Committee on Con-struction Safety and Health forhelping promote safety in theconstruction industry.

Greeting ACCSH at itsquarterly meeting this spring inWashington, DC, Chao said shelooks forward to working with thecommittee to “reach out to peoplewith a lot of common-senseapproaches” to workplace safety.“Most people want to do the rightthing to protect worker’s safety andhealth,” she said. “So let’s worktogether to help them do that.”

She urged committee membersto be “students as well as teachers”as they tackle the new and every-changing challenges in occupa-tional safety and health.

During its 2-day meeting,ACCSH appointed two new workgroups to address some of thosechallenges. According to chairRobert Krul, one work group willstudy the feasibility of transferabletraining certification for states andterritories that run their ownOSHA-approved occupationalsafety and health programs.Another new work group willevaluate the challenges ofcommunicating health and safetyinformation and warnings inmultilingual work environments.

Bonfiglio Namedto NACOSH

Salvatore Bonfiglio, a memberof the Voluntary ProtectionPrograms Participants’ Associa-tion, was appointed recently toserve on the National AdvisoryCommittee on OccupationalSafety and Health.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L.Chao made the appointment toone of two NACOSH positionsreserved to represent U.S. businessinterests. Bonfiglio is corporatedirector of safety and riskmanagement with Aventis Beh-ring, LLC, in King of Prussia, PA,where his focus is the safety, healthand environmental performance ofindustrial facilities worldwide. HeNew NIOSH publications

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is co-chair of VPPA’s Regulatoryand Legislative Affairs Committeeand served as chapter chair of theassociation’s Region II board from1995 to 1997.

Partnership NewsOSHA Forges Partnershipwith Shipbuilders

A landmark new partnershipbetween OSHA and the Ship-builders Council of America,Houston Area, is expected to havea big impact on the safety andhealth of shipbuilders in the region.

The goal of the partnership is toincrease training and enhancesafety and health programs withinthe shipbuilding industry toprevent serious accidents.

The OSHA ConsultationService will provide assistance insafety and health program en-hancement to eligible employerswho request it. OSHA will conductinspections to verify that theemployer’s performance under theagreement focuses on eliminatingamputations, falls, electricalhazards, confined space hazards,lead and silica overexposures, andother sources of injuries.

Ray Skinner, OSHA AreaDirector in Houston, calls the

partnership a positive step towardthe agency’s strategic goal ofreducing injuries and illnesses in theshipbuilding industry nationwide.

Construction PartnershipsGain Popularity

How much does it cost topartner with the OccupationalSafety and Health Administration?And where do I sign? Thesequestions came from not one buttwo commercial contractorsfollowing a multiemployer jobsiteinspection by OSHA’s Area Officein Cincinnati, OH.

A recent planned inspection ofa large commercial projectdemonstrated the benefits ofparticipation in the AlliedConstruction Industries Partnershipwith OSHA, formed in February2000. The general contractor andseveral contractors on the site whohad met the rigorous partnershiprequirements and joined thepartnership were given theopportunity to correct other-than-serious hazards without receivingcitations for those hazards during afocused jobsite inspection under thepartnership guidelines. Othercompanies were inspected based onroutine procedures and were issuedcitations accordingly.

After seeing the ACI/OSHApartnership at work, two additionalcontractors were anxious to join theprogram. Although the partnershiprequires commercial constructionemployers to demonstrate that theyhave effective safety programs attheir sites, participants receiveincentives such as opportunities tocorrect minor violations withoutpenalty and discounted fines formore serious violations. In addition,no programmed OSHA inspectionsare scheduled for 1 year following averification inspection by OSHA.

In a related development, theBuilders Exchange of CentralOhio recently formed a partnershipwith OSHA to promote con-struction safety. OSHA and the1,400-member trade group un-veiled a 1-year program and relatedtraining guidelines to reduceworkplace injuries.

In addition, the AssociatedGeneral Contractors of Americaand the Associated Builders andContractors both recently enteredinto a formal agreement withOSHA to promote safety atconstruction sites nationwide.

Contributed by Terry Phillips, SafetyDirector, Allied ConstructionIndustries.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao chats with ACCSH members in her office about the challenges ahead. Photo by Donna Miles


VPP UpdateDOE Facility Achieves VPP Status

The Department of Energy Strategic Petroleum Reserve Big Hill site atWinnie, TX, recently became the first DOE fossil energy facility to achieveOSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs recognition.

DynMcDermott, the operations and maintenance contractor at the site,applied for acceptance into the program when DOE transferred regulatoryjurisdiction for the site to OSHA. Following an intensive 4-day onsiteaudit of all aspects of the company’s safety and health management system,OSHA’s Dallas Region recommended approval of DynMcDermott’s request.

DOE supports Big Hill’s participation in VPP and continues to administerits own VPP program for DOE sites under its jurisdiction.

New and Recently Reapproved VPP MembersFederal ProgramNew Star Sites• Appleton Papers, Inc.-Spring Mill, Roaring Spring, PA• Duracell Global Business Management Group, LaGrange, GA• GE Capital Railcar Services, Dothan, AL• Huntsman Polyurethanes, West Deptford, NJ• Kama Corporation, Avenel, NJ• Lucent Bell, Holmdel, NJ• Lucent World Headquarters, Murray Hill, NJ• Monsanto Agricultural Sector, Stonington, IL• McDermott Bayou Choctaw, Plaquemine, LA• Sonoco High Density Film Products, Milesburg, PA

17-Year Star Sites• ExxonMobil Polyethylene, Beaumont, TX

8-Year Star Sites• Solutia Pensacola, Gonzalez, FL

6-Year Star Sites• CIBA McIntosh Plant, McIntosh, AL• Kerr-McGee Hamilton Pigment Plant, Hamilton, MS• Milliken Hillside Plant, LaGrange, GA• PCS Savannah Ammonia Terminal, Savannah, GA

3-Year Star Sites• Babcock and Wilcox Fossil Power, West Point, MS• Equistar Victoria, TX• Georgia Pacific, Madison, GA• Georgia Pacific, Monticello, GA• Georgia Pacific Savannah River Mill, Rincon, GA• Georgia Pacific, Warm Springs, GA• International Paper Hazleton, Hazleton, PA• International Paper Morton Mill, Morton, MS• Kerr-McGee Oklahoma City Technical Sales and Service Lab,

Oklahoma City, OK• Kerr-McGee Texarkana Wood Preserving, Texarkana, TX• Masonite Towanda Mill, Towanda, PA• Mead Covington, GA

Colorado Nursing HomeCorporations Join Partnership

The OSHA Englewood andDenver Area Offices and ColoradoOSHA Onsite ConsultationProgram recently entered into a3-year partnership with PinonManagement, Inc., and RTWColorado, Inc., to improveworkplace safety and health at7 nursing homes.

Pinon Management managesthe homes, and RTW Coloradoperforms risk management con-sultation services.

Although the partnership isintended to reduce all work-relatedinjuries in nursing homes, itsprimary focus is on ergonomicshazards related to back injuriesduring resident transfers.

The goal of the partnership is toreduce lost-workday injury andillness rates for participatingnursing homes by 10 percent peryear, develop and implement acomprehensive safety and healthprogram for nursing homes, and cutworkers’ compensation costs byreducing the number and severityof injuries and illnesses.

Under the terms of theagreement, Colorado OSHAOnsite Consultation has givenprimary consideration for a freeconsultation visit to one nursinghome, with representatives fromother partnering homes partici-pating as observers. OSHA,Colorado Consultation, theOSHA Denver Region, and theNational Institute for Occupa-tional Safety and Health willprovide training and educationservices on selected topics.

In addition, RTW Colorado willevaluate the progress of partici-pating nursing homes in meetingthe partnership goals. PinonManagement will conduct self-audits and evaluate employeetraining at the facilities.

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As of May 1, 554 sites wereparticipating in the FederalVPP: 491 in Star, 61 in Meritand 3 in Demonstration. Inaddition, 180 sites wereparticipating in State-PlanVPPs: 171 in Star and 9 inMerit.

• Milliken Alan B. Sibley Plant, Lavonia, GA• Milliken Newton Plant, Hartwell, GA• Milliken Pine Mountain Plant, Pine Mountain, GA• OxyVinyls Houston Operations/Battleground Chlor-Alkali,

La Porte, TX• OxyVinyls Houston Operations/ Deer Park Chlor-Alkali,

Deer Park, TX• OxyVinyls PVC, Deer Park, TX• WestPoint Chipley, Chipley, FL

Star Conditional Status• CNH Grand Island Plant, Grand Island, NE• Weyerhaeuser Barnesville Plant, Barnesville, GA

Return from Star Conditional Status• Gardner Cryogenics, Bethlehem, PA• Sterling Texas City Plant, Texas City, TX

Merit to Star Sites• GE Capital Railcar Services, Sayre, PA• Honeywell International, Houston, TX• Huntsman, Longview, TX• Taylor Packing, Wyalusing, PA

Merit Sites• Ciba, Newport, DE• Dick/Barton Malow’s PNC Baseball Park

Construction Project, Pittsburgh, PA• Georgia Pacific Palatka Chip-N-Saw, Palatka, FL• Georgia Pacific Peterman Plant, Monroeville, AL• Havens Steel, Ottawa, KS• Honeywell, Anniston, AL• International Paper Riverdale Mill, Selma, AL• International Paper, Jefferson, TX• Rigging and Welding Specialists, Houston, TX

Merit Reapproval• Rockwell Collins, Melbourne, FL

Demonstration Reapproval• L.P.R. Construction Company, Loveland, CO

State-Plan State ProgramsNew Star Sites• Air Logistics of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK• BAE Systems, Fort Wayne, IN• General Electric Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Sunol, CA• International Paper, Quinnesec Mill, Norway, MI• International Paper, Sartell Mill, Sartell, MN• Johnson Controls, Athens, TN• Precise Technology, Inc., West Lafayette, IN• Tyco Kendall Wateree Plant, Camden, SC• UT Electronic Controls, Huntington, IN

Merit Sites• Lilly Technology Center, Indianapolis, IN JSHQ


ollowing a 90-day outreachand education effort, theOccupational Safety and

Health Administration beginsenforcing new provisions of itsbloodborne pathogens standard onJuly 17.

States and territories operatingtheir own OSHA-approved pro-grams have until October 17 toadopt comparable changes in theirbloodborne pathogens standards.OSHA extended the deadline3 months to provide 90 days foroutreach and education.

The changes, which went intoeffect on April 18, will help reduceneedlesticks among some 5.6 mil-lion health-care workers and otherswho handle medical sharps.

The updated standard doesthe following:• calls for employers to solicit

input from frontline employeesin choosing safer devices toensure that workers who use theequipment have the oppor-tunity to provide input intopurchasing decisions.

• requires employers to establisha log to track needlesticks andhelp both employers and

employees identify problemareas or operations. Employersmust maintain the privacy ofemployees who have sufferedthese injuries.

• clarifies and emphasizes theimportance of employers’ yearlyreexamination of their exposurecontrol plan, as mandated in theoriginal bloodborne pathogensstandard. As part of this review,employers must adopt, where

F

PreventingNeedlesticksNew rules affirm the need for safer devices to protectsome 5.6 million workers who handle medical sharps.

OSHA’s Outreach and Education

To guide employers in complying with the new provision,OSHA has developed a fact sheet (see the Toolbox entry on page41) and answers to frequently asked questions about needlesticks.Both items are available on the agency’s website at www.osha.gov.

In addition, OSHA is working with the Joint Commission onAccreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and othergroups to develop video conferences and publications and torecommend curriculum to help educate employers and workersin health-care settings.

In conjunction with OSHA’s Training Institute, the agency’sOffice of Health Compliance Assistance designed a 29-slidepresentation on the revised standard for use in outreach andeducation efforts.

feasible and commerciallyavailable, safer needle devices—those with engineering controlsto protect against accidentalneedlesticks. The Centers forDisease Control and Preventionestimated in March 2000 thatselecting safer medical devicescould prevent from 62 to 88 per-cent of sharps injuries inhospital settings. The require-ment to use engineering

by Susan Fleming

Summer 2001 13

controls—safer medical de-vices—to reduce or eliminateworker exposure to sharps hasbeen in effect since 1992. Thechanges to OSHA’s existingbloodborne pathogens standardmandated by the NeedlestickSafety and Prevention Act clarifythis requirement by defining“engineering controls” andspecifying their already requireduse.

• incorporates new definitions for“sharps with engineered sharpsinjury protections” and“needleless systems.”

• modifies the definition ofengineering controls to includeas examples “safer medicaldevices, such as sharps withengineered sharps injury protec-tions and needleless systems.”

OSHA published the changes toits bloodborne pathogens standardon January 18 in accordance withthe Needlestick Safety and PreventionAct. Passed unanimously by theCongress last November, the law

directed OSHA to revise itsbloodborne pathogens standardwithin 6 months. The legislationexempted OSHA from certainrulemaking requirements so thechanges could be adopted quickly.

OSHA’s original bloodbornepathogens standard was publishedin 1991 to protect 5.6 millionworkers, primarily in health-carejobs, against the risks posed bybloodborne hazards such as HIV,hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. Thestandard required each employerwith employees exposed to bloodand other potentially infectiousmaterials to establish an exposurecontrol plan to identify how thefacility intended to reduceexposure risks. The plans must bereviewed every year to keep themup to date as new technologies andstrategies emerge for preventingworker exposures to bloodbornepathogens.

On November 5, 1999, OSHApublished an updated compliancedirective for the bloodbornepathogen standard emphasizing the

importance of reviewing controlplans and the use of engineeringcontrols to prevent exposures. Thedirective highlighted the em-ployer’s obligation to adopt newer,safer devices as they becomeavailable. The Needlestick SafetyPrevention Act clarified andcodified those requirements,adding new requirements foremployers to consult with em-ployees in selecting safer devicesand to track needlesticks andsharps injuries.

“Safe needles protect workersfrom deadly injuries,” said R. DavisLayne, Acting OSHA Admin-istator. “All of us want our nation’shealth-care system to be as safe aspossible. This rule and ouraccompanying education effort area positive step in that direction.”JSHQ

Fleming is a public affairs specialist inOSHA’s Office of Public Affairs,Washington, DC.

he revised bloodbornepathogens standard haswhat might appear to bean unlikely advocate—blockbuster country music

star Naomi Judd.During the early 1980s, before

she and her daughter Wynonnatogether sold more than 20 millionalbums, Naomi worked as aregistered nurse in an intensivecare unit. She received aneedlestick injury and contractedhepatitis C that forced her to puther music career on hold in 1991.

Singer Naomi Judd, a needlestick victimherself, is a crusader for safer needledevices. Photo courtesy of Front Page Publicity

After nearly a decade of treatment,she returned to the stage last year.

Today Judd is strong proponentof safer needles that protect health-care workers. She has conductedmany media interviews to supportnew provisions of the NeedlestickSafety and Prevention Act designedto increase worker protections.

“If safer needle devices wereavailable when I was a nurse, itcould have changed my lifedramatically,” says Judd. “Iencourage all nurses and doctors toprotect themselves.”

Judd Promotes NeedlestickSafety Awareness

T


he numbers on lost-timeinjuries and illnesses forAmerica’s workers during

1999 are in—and the news is good.The downward trend continuedwith slightly fewer private-sectoremployees missing days away fromwork due to workplace injuries andillnesses than in 1998.

Safety by the NumbersA new Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows a continuing

downward trend in lost-time injuries and illnesses.

by Fred Walters

According to the most recentBureau of Labor Statistics report onlost-time injuries and illnesses,1.7 million workers needed time offto recuperate after incidents in1999. In 1993, more than 2.2 mil-lion missed workdays to recover.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L.Chao challenged businesses,

unions, safety organizations, Con-gress, and the Labor Departmentto continue working together tohelp reduce these injury rates andto promote safer and morehealthful workplaces. She calledthe downward trend in lost-timeillnesses and injuries encouragingand emphasized the need to

T

0 30 60 90 120 150

Occupations with the Most Injuries and Illnesses with Days Away from Work, 1999

Injuries and Illnesses (1000s)

Truck drivers

Laborers,nonconstruction

Nursing aides,orderlies

Construction laborers

Janitors and cleaners

Assemblers

Carpenters

Cooks

Stock handlersand baggers

Registered nurses

Truck drivers suffered the most injuries andillnesses involving days away from work,followed by nonconstruction, laborers,

nursing aides, and orderlies.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 1999

(1,702,470 injuries and illnesses thatresulted in days away from work)

141.1

89.1

75.7

46.5

43.4

40.0

35.0

28.0

27.3

25.7

Summer 2001 15

continue the momentum. “Thesafety and health of America’sworkers is vital to our nation’soverall well-being and is my firstpriority,” she said.

BLS collected data fromapproximately 174,000 private-sector businesses in a joint effortwith state agencies. The reportexcludes work-related deaths andnonfatal injuries and illnessesinvolving the self-employed;federal, state, and local govern-ment employees; and workers inprivate homes or on farms withfewer than 11 employees.

For more information or to readthe full text of the report, Lost-Worktime Injuries and Illnesses:Characteristics and Resulting TimeAway from Work, 1999, visit theBLS website at www.bls.gov. Clickon Worker Safety and Health. JSHQ

Walters is a writer-editor in OSHA’s Officeof Public Affairs, Washington, DC.

Cuts, lacerations,punctures

9%

Bruises, contusions9.2%

Sprains, strains43.5%(739,742 cases)

Chemical burns 0.7%Amputations 0.6%Tendonitis 1%

Lost-Worktime Injuries and Illnesses: 1993-1999 (1000s)

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2,252.6 2,236.6

2,040.9

1,880.5 1,833.41,730.5 1,702.5

Injuriesand

Illnesses

Occupational Injuries and Illnesses InvolvingDays Away from Work, 1999

Nature of Injury or Illness(1,702,470 injuries and illnesses that resulted in days away from work)


Multiple injuries3.5%

Soreness, pain6.4%

Fractures6.7%

Other16.3%

Heat burns 1.6%Carpal tunnel syndrome 1.6%


Jo b Sa f e t y & H e a l t h Q u a r t e r l y16 Jo b Sa f e t y & H e a l t h Q u a r t e r l y16

Summer 2001 17

he invincible Paul Bunyannever thought much aboutlogging safety.

While the legendary lumber-jackcrossed the United States with hisgiant blue ox, Babe, clearing hun-dreds of acres of forests and diggingPuget Sound to float his logs to themill, it’s unlikely that he ever worriedabout the dangers of his work.

Yet in real life, rugged terrain,unpredictable weather conditions,heavy equipment, razor-sharp tools,and falling trees weighing up to severaltons each make logging one of themost dangerous occupations in theUnited States. During 1997 alone,logging accounted for 128 deaths per100,000 workers nationwide, accord-ing to 1997 data from the Bureau ofLabor Statistics. The bottom line isthat loggers are 27 times more likelyto die on the job than are workers inall other occupations combined.

A new study, Review of LoggingFatalities Investigated by theOccupational Safety and HealthAdministration in FY 1996 and 1997,reveals that more than half of theloggers killed during the 2 yearsstudied were working directly wheretrees were being felled. According toPaul Cyr, OSHA’s leading expert inlogging safety, most of the workerskilled were timber fallers who cut treesat the stump, limbers who remove thebranches, and buckers who cut logsinto shorter lengths.

In addition, loggers working on orinside heavy equipment represented afull one-third of the logging fatalities.Many equipment operators died afterbeing struck by trees, branches, andother debris, or crushed between orbeneath equipment.

The OSHA report revealed adisturbing trend: 98 of the 107 fatalitiescould have been prevented if thecompanies had developed, commu-nicated, and enforced work proceduresbased on the OSHA logging standard,Logging Operations, outlined in Title29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.266.Cyr says the most frequently violatedrule was the requirement for employersto train their employees in safe log-ging practices.

“You can have all the rules youwant, but if employers don’t enforcethem and don’t communicate them,they’re of no value,” says Cyr. “Rulesdon’t change the work environment.People do that.”

Changing long-standing attitudesand practices is no easy task, Cyradmits, but OSHA is counting on a

strong education and outreach effortto improve logging safety. The agency’sgoal is to reduce logger deaths by15 percent by September 2002.

This is an ambitious goal, Cyradmits, considering the challenges ofreaching out to the hundreds of smalllogging operations that dot thecountry. Two-thirds of all loggingcompanies have fewer than 10 em-ployees and, not surprisingly,experience the largest percentage oflogging injuries and deaths.

“Getting the safety message out tothese operations isn’t easy,” Cyr says,“but it’s critical if we’re going to seeany improvement in logging safety.”

Fortunately, logging safety has beengetting increased emphasis thesedays—not only among federal andstate regulators, but also amongindustry representatives concernedabout the alarming death andinjury rates.

OSHA is working closely with thelogging industry through itsconsultation and outreach efforts todeliver training, in Cyr’s words, “forloggers, by loggers, and whenever

T

Left, training in safe logging techniques is helping reduce injuries and fatalitiesnationwide. Photo by Eric Johnson, The Northern Logger Magazine. Above, alogger secures a load for transport.

Rugged terrain,unpredictable

weather conditions,heavy equipment,razor-sharp tools,and falling treesweighing up to

several tons eachmake logging one ofthe most dangerousoccupations in the

United States.


possible, delivered directly atthe stump.”

In addition, the OSHA TrainingInstitute’s week-long logger safetytraining program is drawing recordattendance. The instruction ispractical, with 3 days of the week-longsession conducted in the woods, witha hands-on application of safetyprinciples and techniques. The mostrecent class took place this summer inDuluth, MN.

Demand also remains steady forOSHA’s Safety and Health Resources forLogging, a CD-Rom released by theagency’s Salt Lake Technical Center inlate 1999 to provide logging safetyinstruction. It examines loggingprocedures, explains OSHA’s loggingstandard, and links to specific sectionsof the standard, a tree-felling video,and other information sources. OSHA’swebsite also provides detailed technicalinformation at www.osha.gov

States with large logging industriesare making strides, too. Here areexamples of outreach initiatives underway in four regions of the country.

Maine’s Logger CertificationIn Maine, a voluntary logger

certification program has helpeddramatically reduce both accidentrates and workers’ compensation costsduring the past 10 years.

The Certified Logging ProfessionalProgram, founded by loggers, land-owners, environmental specialists,and safety consultants, providesprofessional training and certificationfor Maine loggers. More than4,000 loggers and other workers in thelogging industry have attended the

training, which costs $500 per student.The program includes a 4-day

workshop, with 3 days in theclassroom and 1 day in the woods,followed by a field evaluation.According to program manager MikeSt. Peter, more than half of thestudents who attend have neverreceived formalized logger safe-ty training.

Figures released last year by theMaine Department of Labor show asteady decline in logging injuries andillnesses since the program began—down from 24.9 per 100 full-timeworkers in 1988 to 3.6 per 100 workersin 1999. Amazingly, injury and illnessrates for Maine loggers are now lowerthan for Maine workers in all otherprivate-sector occupations combined.

“This is a great example of thedifference logger safety training canmake,” says Cyr. “It’s the kind ofsuccess we’re working to see more ofthroughout the country.”

As a result, workers’ compensationrates for participating companies haveplummeted. Companies with workerscertified through the program pay as

Instructors for Maine’s Certified Logging Professional Program review tree-fellingskills. Photo by Stewart Hall

A new OSHA study reveals that more than half of loggers killed in 1996 and1997 worked directly in the tree-felling zone. Photo by Stewart Hall

Summer 2001 19

much as 71 percent less on theirpremiums. In addition, some largerpaper companies will buy timber onlyfrom companies participating in theCertified Logging Professional Program.

“Certification through the programisn’t mandatory,” says St. Peter, “butthe industry is helping to make itmandatory if a logging company isgoing to stay in business and staycompetitive.”

North Carolina LoggingProgram

Alarmed when logging fatalities intheir state peaked at 13 during FiscalYear 1993, the North CarolinaDepartment of Labor’s Occupational

Safety and Health Division joinedforces with the North CarolinaForestry Association to help reducethe injury and fatality rates.

The main focus of their partnershipis the Pro Logger Program, launchedin 1993 to train loggers and loggingindustry representatives in safe loggingtechniques and practices. Accordingto Willard Whitley, a safety consultantsupervisor for eastern North Carolina,the partnership offers the 48-hourcourse in the evenings through thestate community college network.Participants learn about virtually allaspects of logging operations, fromhow to run a logging business andmaintain logging equipment to howto comply with logging safety

irgle Howell is a man with amission. A long-time loggerand logging inspector, he has

lost too many friends andcolleagues to logging accidents. Heunderstands the fickle nature ofwoods—the everchanging workconditions and the simple fact thatno two trees are exactly alike or fallin exactly the same way. Most ofall, he understands that no matterwhat precautions loggers take,there is no guarantee that theywon’t get hurt.

“But I also know that if youbreak enough rules, the woods aredefinitely going to get you,” he says.

Howell is committed toprotecting loggers’ lives. As acompliance officer for OSHA’sBoise Area Office, he inspectsworksites to ensure workers complywith safety standards. He admits heis not always welcomed with openarms when he arrives at a worksite,but he is convinced that he andother OSHA inspectors arehelping save loggers’ lives.

Among the most commonmistakes Howell finds at loggingoperations include the following:• Improper felling techniques. This

increases the likelihood that atree will fall in an unintendeddirection and injure or killsomeone. Precise fellingtechniques give loggers morecontrol over where a tree will fall.

• Improper separation of loggingactivities on site. Loggers mustmaintain a distance of at leasttwo full tree lengths from otherloggers, while at the same timestaying within visual andaudible contact. Howell saysmany loggers either work tooclosely to other loggers, or failto carry whistles or radios sothey are able to maintainaudible contact during noisylogging operations.

• Improper use of personalprotective equipment such ashard hats and leg protection.Howell says some loggers avoidwearing a seat belt when they

are working on heavy machinery,too, believing that they will besafer jumping from theequipment than staying inside ifit starts to roll over. In fact, theworkers often are crushed whenthe equipment rolls over them.

• Lack of proper maintenance toensure logging equipmentoperates safely. Failed vehiclebrakes, inoperable chain brakemechanisms on chainsaws, anddamaged guards on log-loadingequipment result in far too manylogger injuries and fatalities,Howell says.

“These are practices used in thewoods every day by people who arein a hurry or just don’t believe thatan accident can happen to them,”says Howell. “But the numbersshow that accidents can happen tothem—and do. My job is to teachloggers how to do their jobs assafely as possible so they canprotect themselves against some ofthese senseless deaths and injuries.”

Enforcing Logger Safety

States with largelogging industriesare using a widerange of educationand outreachinitiatives topromote safe loggingpractices andtechniques amongtheir workers.

V


standards. The safety portion of thetraining includes classroom instruc-tion and a day in the field. Instructorsfrom both the state and associationdemonstrate manual felling proce-dures and the proper use andinspection of logging and personalprotective equipment.

In addition, the state OccupationalSafety and Health Division offersextensive training to logging com-panies through its Consultative Ser-vices and Education, Training, andTechnical Assistance Bureaus. Thestate printed 15,000 copies of its LoggerSafety Checklist booklet to distributeto loggers, industry representatives,and compliance officers. Whitley saysthe booklet provides “everything alogger needs to do to implement acomplete safety program,” includingoutlines for periodic training and aneasy-to-understand interpretive guideto the state standards that applyto logging.

The state-association partnershipalso trains state compliance officersand consultants. Since 1994, morethan 200 state compliance officersand consultants have received basicand advanced-level logging safetytraining that covers logging siteoperations, chain saw operation, treefelling, and logging-specific safety andhealth issues. The North CarolinaForestry Mutual Insurance Companyprovides a 1-day workshop on

investigating logging fatalities.Loggers and industry representativesfrequently attend the sessions.

The partnership’s heavy emphasison logging safety helped bring abouta dramatic decrease in loggingfatalities, down to one per year duringboth 1997 and 1998. However,Whitley says optimism changeddramatically in 1999 when sevenNorth Carolina loggers died, five frombeing hit by overhead hazards such asfalling limbs and debris.

As a result, the partnership intro-duced its Heads Up For Hazards

program to increase loggers’ aware-ness of overhead hazards. It producedand distributed a Heads Up forHazards pamphlet and a commemo-rative decal for loggers’ hard hats toserve as a reminder to takeprecautions.

Whitley says the partnership iscommitted to logging safety. “There’sa great deal of emphasis on safetywithin the entire industry,” he says.“Together, we’re making great strides,and we’re committed to building onthe heightened sense of awareness tosave lives.”

Minnesota’s LogSafeProgram

Minnesota provides free, 8-hourlogger safety classes to some 1,100loggers—95 percent of the state’s full-time logging workforce.

The Minnesota legislaturelaunched the LogSafe program10 years ago in response toskyrocketing workers’ compensationcosts that were driving many loggingcompanies out of business. Sawmillowners agreed to pay 30 cents for everycord of wood they purchased or

Ed LaFavor teaches a chainsaw safety seminar for Minnesota’s LogSafe Program.Photo by James Honerman

North Carolina’s Pro Logger Programcovers the proper use of logging andpersonal protective equipment.Photo by Myrton Hall “Together, we’re

making greatstrides, and we’re

committed tobuilding on the

heightened senseof awareness to

save lives.”

Summer 2001 21

processed annually above 5,000 cordsinto a special logger’s fund.

Of the money paid into the fundeach year, $125,000 covers the cost ofthe state’s LogSafe training program.Participating logging companiesreceive the remainder as rebateson their workers’ compensationpremiums.

Ed LaFavor, the training programdirector, varies the subject matter tocover a broad range of topics and keeploggers interested. Seminars coverCPR and first-aid, chainsaw safety,and ways to develop a safety andhealth program for workers, amongother topics.

LaFavor says employers particularlylike the program because, if they sendall their workers through the training,the logger’s fund pays them 11 centson every dollar they spend on workers’compensation premiums. The average

rebate last year was $5,300 and oneparticipating company received awhopping $39,000.

LaFavor says the training pro-gram’s best endorsement comes fromloggers themselves. “I know it’smaking a difference because peopletell me all the time that because ofwhat they learned in the program,they stopped and thought about whatthey were doing, then did it adifferent way,” he says.

Two Minnesota loggers recentlydied on the job, ending 1-1/2 years inthe state with no logging fatalities.LaFavor says both deaths involveddangerous practices covered inLogSafe classes, but neither of theloggers killed had ever attendedLogSafe training.

“I can’t say that if they’d attendedthat they’d be alive today,” he says.“But I can say that the material weoffer gives loggers food for thoughtand helps promote safer loggingpractices.”

Northwest LoggingTraining Committee

When they evaluated their safetytraining programs, loggers in thePacific Northwest recognized that

most focused on ground logging—thetype of harvesting used on flat terrain.They needed a program that em-phasized cable logging, the methodmost commonly used in the steepterrain found in the NorthwestUnited States.

In response, several states joinedforces with OSHA’s Seattle Regional

Office and the National Institute forOccupational Safety and Health toform the Northwest Logging TrainingCommittee. The committee, whichincludes representatives of the statesof Washington, Oregon, Idaho,Montana, and Alaska, is working toimprove and standardize loggertraining throughout the region.

Committee members found thatmost logging companies trained theirnew workers informally on the job,with more seasoned loggers teachingnew loggers. Tom Ford, logging andforest products safety specialist forWashington State OSHA, says somelogging companies had good programswith a strong safety emphasis, butsome did not.

The Northwest Logging TrainingCommittee hopes to change that toensure all loggers in the PacificNorthwest receive equal access to

Trees weighing several tons eachcontribute to the dangers of logging.

Northwest loggers use a cable yardingsystem to move logs from steep slopes.

“I know it’smaking a

difference becausepeople tell me all

the time thatbecause of what

they learned in theprogram, theystopped and

thought aboutwhat they were

doing, then did it adifferent way.”


high-quality safety training. Oncethey finish developing their trainingprogram, they plan to introduce itthroughout the region.

Participants in the NorthwestLogging Training Committee aretaking their own safety initiatives, too.OSHA’s Boise, ID, Area Officerecently formed a local partnershipwith one of the state’s largest land andmill owners to promote voluntarycompliance with logging standards. Ina program modeled after OSHA’sVoluntary Protection Programs, thePotlach Corporation agreed to inspectits contractors and subcontractors toensure they meet OSHA’s loggingstandards. In return, OSHA conductsfewer scheduled inspections ofpartnering logging contractors andsubcontractors.

In addition, OSHA conducted a1-week logging safety class in April forPotlach Corporation employees, andin June for members of the MontanaLogging Association.

Washington State’s OSHA Office

hree nonprofit organiza-tions are providing safetyand health training tar-

geted to loggers through fundingfrom OSHA’s Susan HarwoodTraining Grant Program. Theprogram funds initiatives to trainworkers and employees to rec-ognize, avoid, and prevent safetyand health hazards.

The grantees’ efforts, whichhave proven to be successful inreaching loggers through onsitetraining sessions, currently are intheir third year of OSHA funding,which ends September 30. Thegrantees are as follows:• Eastern Washington Univer-

sity in Cheney, WA. Thisorganization is working with

logging associations in Wash-ington and northern Idaho torecruit loggers for worksitesafety training that emphasizesthe OSHA logging standard.The program includes train-the-trainer sessions and helpslogging firms establish safetyand health programs.

• Lumberjack Resource Conser-vation and DevelopmentCouncil in Tomahawk, WI.This grantee works with theForest Industry Safety TrainingAlliance to conduct in-woodstraining on chainsaw safety andmechanized logging operationsfor loggers in Illinois, Iowa,Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,North Dakota, South Dakota,

Harwood Grants Promote Logging Safety

OSHA’s Paul Cyr demonstratestechniques for safe logging for PotlachCorporation employees. Photo by Van Howell

and Wisconsin. The programincludes informational class-room sessions on the OSHAlogging standard.

• Northern Vermont ResourceConservation and DevelopmentCouncil in Berlin, VT. Thisgrantee provides administrativedirection to the Yankee ForestSafety Network, which conductslogging safety training and visitsto logging worksites to improvesafety practices. The training,offered in Vermont, NewHampshire, Connecticut,Massachusetts, and RhodeIsland, concentrates onchainsaw operation, fellingtechniques, and job planning.

recently added an employee to its staffspecifically to work with smallcontractors who make up the bulk ofthe state’s logging industry. The statehas also formed an informalpartnership with large landowners toencourage them to hire onlycontractors that promote log-ging safety.

“Our job is to promote loggingsafety and logging safety awarenessthroughout the industry, from theworkers to the employees to the landand mill owners,” says Ford. “We’redoing whatever it takes to make sureall loggers get to go home at night inone piece.” JSHQ

“We’re doingwhatever it takes tomake sure all loggers

get to go home atnight in one piece.”

T

Summer 2001 23

Safety at theShowroom

by Deborah Dorman

Participating dealers keep service areas clean and well lit to help prevent injuries.Photo by Michelle Pensack

New-car dealers in eastern New York have shiftedinto high gear to promote worker safety and healthin their vehicle repair facilities.

n a hot day, a worker grabsa soda can and takes a longswallow—of gasoline. A

maintenance worker is knocked offa ladder when someone acci-dentally turns on the overheaddoor he was repairing. Theincessant blast of an air compressorthreatens employees’ hearing. Acigarette ignites the vapors from an

aerosol can, causing a wall offlames. The slightest friction fromshoes on a floor creates a spark largeenough to cause an explosion fromungrounded paint cans.

Where is this dangerous place?Nowhere more exotic than theaverage vehicle repair shop.During 1999 alone, 82 workers diedand 32,000 were injured in

automotive repair shops nation-wide, according to 1999 data fromthe Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thecost to industry is exorbitant, notonly in terms of workers’ healthand safety, but also in productivity,morale, employee turnover, andinsurance and workers’ compen-sation rates.

New-car dealers in eastern NewYork have shifted into high gear topromote safer and more healthfulwork environments in repair shopswithin their industry. The EasternNew York Coalition of Auto-motive Retailers (ENYCAR), atrade association for new-carfranchised dealers, recentlyexpanded its workplace safetyprogram. The Dealer, Employee,and Environment Program, called“DEEP,” is the product of a localemphasis program started 10 yearsago by ENYCAR and theOccupational Safety and HealthAdministration’s Albany AreaOffice. At the time, Office Dir-ector John Tomich says his staffwas focusing its inspections onhigh-risk businesses, includingauto repair facilities.

Concerned about injury rates atits member dealers, ENYCARapproached OSHA’s Albany AreaOffice for help. In response,Tomich’s staff taught the tradeassociation about OSHA’s regula-tory requirements, how to conducttechnical inspections at dealer-ships, and how to produce tech-nically accurate training materialsfor members. After the initialsessions, Tomich says ENYCAR“ran with the ball” to launch theDEEP program.

The program, which nowincludes more than 300 dealer-ships, combines training, inspec-tions, and other assistance topromote worker safety.

DEEP’s inspection programbegins with an unannounced siteinspection by an ENYCAR staffer

O


ENYCAR inspectors look for neat, orderly work areas with first-aid kits, propercords, and use of labels. Photo by Michelle Pensack

Bob Doty, right, DEEP supervisor at a participating dealership, discusses theprogram with a coworker. Photo by Michelle Pensack

to identify workplace hazards usinga checklist developed specificallyfor vehicle dealerships. Among themost common problems inspectorsfind in their initial inspections arethe following:• failure to label transfer con-

tainers;• tampering with safety latches on

lifts;• failure of employees to use

appropriate personal protectiveequipment; and

• use of frayed or taped electricalcords.

After the initial inspection,ENYCAR inspectors discuss theirfindings with the dealerships andrecommend corrective measures toeliminate hazards. They alsoprovide any training needed topromote workplace safety.

Later, ENYCAR inspectorsrevisit the site to review the dealer’ssafety program and recordkeepingprocedures. After that, the

association staff conducts twoannual comprehensive siteinspections per dealership. Dealersquickly correct any hazardsidentified during an inspection,and the same hazard is rarely if everfound twice at the same dealership.

Training is a major componentof the DEEP program. ENYCAR

provides monthly training sessionsfor dealership employees and atleast two safety supervisor trainingsessions each year. In addition, theassociation gives participatingdealerships manuals with writtenprograms and compliance ma-terials, individualized employeeand supervisor training on specifichazards, and research and tech-nical assistance.

The DEEP training programemphasizes face-to-face trainingwith simple materials. The goal isto make the training as personaland accessible as possible so moreemployees are likely to partici-pate—something small associa-tions are uniquely able to do.

The program content initiallytargeted employees in the dealers’service, parts, prep, and body shopdepartments. But a new trainingcomponent expands the program’sreach to a broader spectrum ofdealership employees. Among thenew tools introduced is a workbookthat teaches the basics of the safetyprogram in a scavenger-huntformat. Like the program’s othertraining programs, the workbook isintentionally “low tech” and doesnot require computer access andskills not always available inall dealerships.

Summer 2001 25

Tips for Safer Auto Repair Facilities

Based on the Top 10 Standards CitedDuring OSHA Inspections Since 1998

• Develop, implement, and maintain a hazardcommunication program.

• Inform workers about and train them to work safelyaround hazardous chemicals.

• Provide suitable facilities to quickly drench the body orflush the eyes.

• Provide adequate work rests on offhand grindingmachines.

• Keep material safety data sheets in the workplace foreach hazardous chemical used.

• Follow automotive lift manufacturer’s recommendationson inspection and maintenance.

• Provide an adequate peripheral adjustable member(tongue guard) on abrasive wheel machinery.

• Use covers on all pull boxes, junction boxes, and fittings.• Ground all circuits, equipment, and enclosures using a

permanent and continuous path.• Avoid using compressed air for cleaning at pressures

above 30 pounds per square inch.

Meanwhile, ENYCAR main-tains a close relationship with theOSHA Albany Area Office.OSHA staffers help the associationdevelop training materials, visitdealerships to provide presenta-tions on safety topics, and providetechnical advice for interpretingregulations.

ENYCAR keeps participatingdealerships up to date on newregulations and training opportu-nities involving workplace safety.Dealerships in the DEEP programshow significant improvements inworkplace health and safety.

“During the past 10 years,OSHA has had little if any needfor enforcement activity involvingthe program participants,” saysTomich. “We always stand readyto respond to complaints, referrals,and reports of fatalities. But thanksto DEEP, those calls are few and farbetween. New-car dealerships inthe region are now far safer placesto work.”

That makes employers andemployees happy, too. The DEEPprogram continues to expand, andthe participating dealerships praisethe program for helping reduceinjury rates and improve employeemorale. Carl Keegan, Vice Presi-dent of Orange Motors in Albany,NY, calls DEEP the association’s“most important and usefulprogram” that he said “has had adramatic effect on our dealerships.”

To celebrate the program’ssuccesses, ENYCAR hosts anannual awards program torecognize participating facilitieswith the best safety programs. Theassociation invites representativesof the OSHA Albany Area Officeto its awards ceremonies to presentcertificates as well as the key-note address.

DEEP’s successes are gettingnoticed beyond eastern New York.Three more associations—theRochester and Niagara Frontier

Automobile Dealer Associations inNew York and the ClevelandAutomobile Dealer Association inOhio—have introduced the

program to promote worker safetyin their regions.

“This program is a win-winsituation,” says Tomich. “It’s apositive example of the role anassociation can play in promotinghealth and safety to its members.It’s also an example of how OSHAand industry, working coopera-tively together, can make a positivedifference in workplace safety.”JSHQ

Dorman is President of the EasternNew York Coalition of AutomotiveRetailers, Inc.


business employers, local laboraffiliates, and other stakeholders.”The goal is to help achieve OSHA’scompliance assistance goalsthrough effective outreach,training, education, and informa-tion sharing.

Rich Fairfax, who heads theOSHA Directorate of CompliancePrograms, sees compliance assis-tance specialists as OSHA’s front-line support force for employersand employees looking for moreeffective ways to provide safer,more healthful work environ-ments. “They make contacts withprofessional organizations, unions,and community groups; anddevelop and conduct training,”he says.

According to Paul Cyr, OSHA’snational coordinator for the CASprogram, the job focuses on thegrassroots. Compliance assistancespecialists zero in on local needsand issues, he says, while at thesame time helping to achieve

ReachingOut forSafetyOSHA’s new compliance assistance specialistsare working at the grassroots level to helppromote safer, more healthful workplaces.

by Susan Hall Fleming

arilyn Clark-Alston ofLittle Rock, AR, served inthe military, then as an

elementary school teacher beforejoining OSHA as a complianceofficer. Now she’s applying herdiverse experience and skills in awhole new career field, workingclosely with local employers andemployees to help them providesafer, more healthful workenvironments.

Clark-Alston is among OSHA’s45 new compliance assistancespecialists—CASs for short. By theend of the fiscal year, OSHAexpects to have a complianceassistance specialist serving eachfederal area office.

Just what exactly are thesecompliance assistance specialists?And what do they do every day?According to the official jobdescription, a compliance assis-tance specialist is expected to“provide advice and assistance tobusiness, particularly small

M

26 Jo b Sa f e t y & H e a l t h

Summer 2001 27

national goals related to theagency’s strategic plan.

It’s a job that requires en-thusiasm, energy, initiative,creativity, experience, and greatpeople skills as well as a strongmotivation to work in a co-operative environment. Expe-rience in training and complianceis a strong plus, as is an un-derstanding of enforcement issues,because clients often want to knowabout inspections.

“Some of our best complianceofficers have taken these jobs,”Fairfax says. “These are the OSHAstaffers with the background andexperience to respond to requestsfor information and training and toseek out opportunities to promoteoccupational safety and health increative and innovative ways.”

Fairfax noted that theseexperienced staffers have spe-cifically expressed an interest in

working in a cooperative rela-tionship with employers andemployees.

Safety and Health BrokersHerb Gibson, a compliance

assistance specialist in Denver,thinks of himself as a “safety andhealth broker ” as he draws on the

experience he gained as an OSHAcompliance officer, industrialhygiene supervisor, and assistantarea director. “People come to youand you point them in the rightdirection to get information toassist them,” he says.

Compliance assistance specialistNancy Quick in Aurora, IL, saysshe enjoys the “hands-on” aspectof the job and the gratification of“working with people to effectchange in a positive manner.”

Most compliance assistancespecialists participated significantlyin outreach efforts long before theyaccepted their new positions. DaveBerard, for example, says he was“doing outreach 20 to 25 percentof the time” before he became aCAS in Concord, NH. He haddeveloped and presented about adozen courses for the ConcordSafety Council’s training facility.

In Boise, Van Howell signed onas a compliance assistancespecialist because he liked publicspeaking, training, and otheroutreach work. He had beeninvolved in developing partner-ships with employers and em-ployees since 1995.

“I always enjoyed outreach,”agreed Clark-Alston. “After Icompleted an inspection, I woulddiscuss abatement and then dotraining right on the spot for issuesthat needed to be addressed.”

Although many complianceassistance specialists coordinatetheir efforts with the OSHAconsultation programs run by stateauthorities, their responsibilitiesare fundamentally different. “TheCAS position focuses on off-sitesupport and assistance,” saysGibson. “We don’t walk throughfacilities, conduct a comprehensivereview of a site, analyze specifichazards, or track progress.” Rather,Gibson explains that he mightdiscuss construction safety issueswith 25 workers at a drywall

It’s a job thatrequires enthusiasm,

energy, initiative,creativity,

experience, andgreat people skills as

well as a strongmotivation to work

in a cooperativeenvironment.

CAS Herb Gibson, center, tells members of the Broomfield Chamber ofCommerce about compliance tools available from OSHA.


contractor. Or he might create aPowerPoint presentation tailoredfor small businesses in a rural area,focusing specifically on recentOSHA citations and commonhazards found at businesses in asingle county.

“The key thing about thecompliance assistance specialistposition is outreach,” says Howell,“letting clients know what OSHAcan do for them.”

Responding andReaching Out

The compliance assistancespecialists’ job is twofold. Itinvolves responding to requestsfrom stakeholders who call for helpand reaching out to organizationsand groups, or, as Gibson put it,“We do unprogrammed outreach aswell as planned outreach.”

The outreach part of the jobfocuses on increasing awareness ofoccupational safety and healthissues, establishing relationships tobuild a foundation for future efforts,and forming partnerships focusedon local safety and health concernsand strategic plan goals.

“Before now, outreach was hitor miss,” says Howell. “We turneddown sessions. Now we hardly ever

turn down anyone’s request.Employers feel they are gettingsomething positive for their taxdollars, and we are able to providemore training.”

At the national level, Cyr isworking to get the word out totrade, labor, and professionalorganizations to let them know thattraining is available if they want it.“We want to let national groupsknow that we’re ready to help ourstakeholders in a new way, toextend a helping hand.”

In Denver, Gibson is excitedabout the opportunity to tailortraining to meet the specific needsof his clients, rather than simplyputting on generic “All AboutOSHA” sessions. “One size doesn’tfit all,” says Cyr, “and we want areaoffices to be able to respondspecifically to local needs.”

Of course, a balance must be

struck when developing specializedtraining. Nationwide, the informa-tion transmitted must be consis-tent. But it also must be appropri-ate for the audience to provide thegreatest benefit. Contractors, forexample, would probably prefer tofocus their time and attention onfall protection, whereas health-care providers are more likely towant to know the latest informa-tion on changes in the bloodbornepathogens standard.

CAS StrategiesCompliance assistance special-

ists use a variety of strategies toencourage and help workers andemployers develop and maintain asafe and healthful work environ-ment. Some send periodic news-letters. Quick, for example, sendsan electronic newsletter via emailto about 1,200 subscribers in the

Sample Compliance Assistance Specialist Projects• Conducted workshop on safety for residential construction.• Held safety information sessions for local boatyards.• Discussed cranes and rigging at a safety meeting.• Discussed safety and health in the health-care industry with

representatives from 100 physicians’ offices.• Spoke to national conference of audiologists on hearing

preservation.• Discussed occupational safety and health with safety equipment

suppliers.• Held training for health-care workers for whom English is a second

language.• Issued email newsletter for local employers covering new standards

and most frequently cited current standards.• Talked with local community college representatives about

organizing seminars on safety and health topics.• Joined local employers to present safety and health training for

high school students.• Discussed potential partnerships with the Small Business

Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, local healthdepartments, nonprofit groups, trade associations, and unions.

• Developed a small business safety and health training seminar.

A Dozen Ways CASs Are Making a Difference:

CAS Marilyn Clark-Alston enjoysworking wih employers proactively tosupport safety and health programs.

Summer 2001 29

Aurora area several times a year.Each newsletter covers “...what thetop citations are, new standardsand directives, and technicalinformation from the ‘Net,”she says.

Quick also works with com-munity and faith-based groups topromote workplace safety.Together with representatives fromthe Employment StandardsAdministration’s Wage and HourDivision, the Equal EmploymentOpportunity Commission, and theIllinois Department of Labor, shehas conducted training for workers’rights advocates. “We’re seekingto build relationships so people feelmore comfortable coming to uswith complaints, and so they knowwhat we can and can’t do,”Quick says.

She also developed a videotapeon roofing hazards in cooperationwith the Illinois ConsultationProject, put on classes for smallbusinesses as part of “Safety Days”in western Illinois, and workedwith the Illinois Department ofCommerce and Community andSmall Business DevelopmentCenters to conduct half-dayseminars for small businesses onsafety and health.

Howell works with the nation’sfirst logging partnership to improvesafety at logging sites. In April,OSHA employees gave twotraining sessions on new, safertimber cutting practices for thePotlatch Corporation and its 26logging subcontractors. (Seerelated logging article, page 16.)

Howell also is helping theAmerican Society of SafetyEngineers with its extensivetraining program and judgingstudent competitions in safety at alocal community college that offersa minor in safety as part of itsconstruction management degree.

In Denver last year, Gibson andmembers of his area office’s

strategic team gave more than 40presentations at trade and voca-tional schools and apprenticeshipprograms to promote safety amongstudents soon to enter the workforce. Gibson has also developedprograms for the stone fabricationindustry to reduce silica exposure,protect against lockout/tagoutinjuries, enhance hazard communi-cation, and provide effectiverespiratory protection.

Clark-Alston is building on apartnership she helped formbetween OSHA and 26 Texasconstruction companies to reduceconstruction fatalities. As acompliance assistance specialist,she “borrows” trainers from Texasto conduct a Spanish version ofOSHA’s 10-hour constructionsafety class in Little Rock. She alsohas reached out to small businesses,most recently through a LittleRock television program, “InsideSmall Business,” which inter-viewed her about a recent safetyforum held jointly with the SmallBusiness Administration inLittle Rock.

Berard also has a long history ofworking in partnership withconstruction groups. He has taughtclasses for the Associated GeneralContractors as well as theAssociated Builders and Contrac-tors, focusing on excavation, fallprotection, and scaffolds. Heworked with the Concord SafetyCouncil to offer 4-hour seminarson machine guarding and lockout/tagout protection. He also teaches

CAS Van Howell, right, conducts a partnership evaluation with a foreman fromGenther Masonry.

Complianceassistance specialists

use a variety ofstrategies to

encourage and helpworkers and

employers developand maintain a safeand healthful work

environment.


a half-day session on fire safety atone of New Hampshire’s eighttechnical colleges. “It’s a new ballgame,” says Berard. “We’re de-veloping strategies as we go along.”

During their outreach efforts,compliance assistance specialistsregularly introduce stakeholders tothe OSHA website and encouragethem to refer to it as an importantinformation source. Gibson, forexample, begins many of hispresentations by showing audi-ences safety and health informa-tion available on their ownorganizations’ computer homepages. Then he clicks onto theOSHA website, “walking” thegroup through references tostandards, technical links, andsoftware advisors. In addition toproviding specific, relevantinformation for his audiences, he

also teaches them how to findinformation for themselves. Inaddition, he encourages organiza-tions to establish links directlyfrom their own websites toOSHA’s.

Best of All WorldsThose holding compliance

assistance specialist positions saythey have the best of all worlds.

They are helping make workplacessafer, and their clients are eager toreceive their help.

Quick, for example, says theopportunity to work with peopleone-on-one and use creativity inpresentations and problem solvingare the best parts of the job.

Cyr says he sees OSHA’s newemphasis on compliance assistanceas an important counterpart to itstraditional enforcement mission.“Enforcement is a necessary part ofwhat OSHA does,” he says. “Butfor the rest of my career, I’mlooking forward to making a bigimpact through complianceassistance.”

“We do need strong enforce-ment,” agrees Clark-Alston. “Butto avoid injury and illness, we mustalso be proactive. I love thisjob!” JSHQ

Those holdingcomplianceassistance

specialist positionssay they have thebest of all worlds.

Summer 2001 31

by Donna Miles

Soaring heat and humidity can be deadly to workers. But,with increased awareness and some basic precautions, manyheat-related injuries can be prevented.

I t was a hot, humid day incentral Texas. A 46-year-oldworker from a temporary labor

service had been assigned to thecleanup crew for a precast con-crete company. His job was tosweep up excess concrete and scrapmetal, then to shovel it into thebucket of a backhoe. It was heavylabor under any conditions, butespecially in scorching conditionswith temperatures soaring to100° F by mid-afternoon.

The worker complained to hiscoworkers that he was thirsty andnot feeling well, then collapsed.His coworkers responded quickly,moving him to a shaded area andadministering cardiopulmonaryresuscitation until an emergencyresponse team arrived. The workerhad stopped breathing and had noheartbeat or blood pressure. Hiscore body temperature hadskyrocketed to 108°F—almost 10°above normal. Despite continuedCPR and efforts to cool his bodywith ice packs and water, the

During hot-weather months, conditions inkitchens, bakeries, laundries, and foundriescan be stifling. Photo by Wendy Johnson


worker was pronounced dead at thehospital.

The deadly combination ofheat, humidity, and physical laborhad claimed another victim.

During 1999 alone, excessiveheat exposure caused 34 workerdeaths and 2,420 occupationalinjuries and illnesses involvingdays away from work, according to1999 data from the Bureau of LaborStatistics. The OccupationalSafety and Health Administrationreported that five of the workersdied from heat-related injuriesduring a single 14-day periodbetween late July and early August.

Despite these alarming statis-tics, state and federal agenciesestimate that heat-related illnes-ses are vastly underrecognizedand underreported.

Many workers, including thosein foundries, laundries, bakeries,and restaurants, face hot workingconditions year-round. During hot-weather months, these conditions

can become stifling, despite effortsto cool the areas with air con-ditioners, fans, or open windows.

For people who work outside,particularly those involved inheavy labor such as construction,roofing, and farming, blazingsummer temperatures can beespecially unforgiving.

Consider the 47-year-old airlineemployee who passed out whileloading luggage onto a plane inTexas and died on the way to thehospital. Or the 29-year-oldVirginia slaughterhouse worker whoresponded positively when he wastreated for signs of heat stress, butlater had a seizure and died. Or the56-year-old worker who collapsedand died while sandblasting pipe ata Kansas wastewater plant. He waswearing a neoprene suit when theheat index registered between 105°

and 110° F.

The Body’s ResponseWhen exposed to severe heat,

the body works to maintain a fairlyconstant internal tem-perature. Itincreases blood flow to the skin,

Forms of Heat Stress• Heat cramps—mild. Result from dehydration and a slight

imbalance in electrolytes. Victims respond well to restand rehydration with fluids.

• Heat exhaustion—more severe. Involves removing theperson from the hot environment to a cool, shadedlocation and rehydrating with cool fluids. Treatment mayrequire intravenous fluids to replace lost fluids if drinkingwater does not relieve the condition.

• Heat stroke—most severe. A medical emergency thatrequires extensive intervention and support. Occurs mostoften when workers perform strenuous work in hot,humid weather for an extended period.

Drinking a cup of cool water every 15 to 20 minutes is one of the best defenses againstheat-related injuries. Photo by Donna Miles

Summer 2001 33

where it releases excess heat. Thebody produces sweat that, when itevaporates, cools the skin.

But in extreme conditions, thisprocess doesn’t work as natureplanned. When muscles are beingused for physical labor, less bloodis available to flow to the skin andrelease body heat. And sweatdoesn’t evaporate from the skin inhigh humidity. The body can’t

How to Protect Workers• Encourage workers to drink

plenty of water—about a cup ofcool water every 15 to 20 min-utes, even if they are notthirsty—and to avoid alcohol,coffee, tea, and caffeinated softdrinks that dehydrate the body.

• Help workers adjust to the heatby assigning a lighter workloadand longer rest periods for thefirst 5 to 7 days of intense heat.This process needs to start allover again when a workerreturns from vacation orabsence from the job.

• Encourage workers to wearlightweight, light-colored,loose-fitting clothing. Workersshould change their clothes ifthey get completely saturated.

• Use general ventilation andspot cooling at points of highheat production. Good airflowincreases evaporation andcooling of the skin.

• Train first-aid workers torecognize and treat the signs ofheat stress and be sure allworkers know who has beentrained to provide aid. Alsotrain supervisors to detect earlysigns of heat-related illness andpermit workers to interrupttheir work if they becomeextremely uncomfortable.

• Consider a worker’s physicalcondition when determiningfitness to work in hot environ-ments. Obesity, lack of con-ditioning, pregnancy, andinadequate rest can increasesusceptibility to heat stress.

• Alternate work and rest periods,with rest periods in a coolerarea. Shorter, more frequentwork-rest cycles are best.Schedule heavy work for coolertimes of the day and useappropriate protective clothing.

• Monitor temperatures, humi-dity, and workers’ responses toheat at least hourly.

heat-related injuries frequentlyoccur. That was the case for a rooferwho collapsed and died from heatstress his first day on the job duringan unseasonably hot May day inWest Virginia. After an adjustmentperiod of 5 to 7 days, most workersare able to work with less strain andstress. However, their bodies mustbe reacclimated after an absencefrom the hot environment, such asafter they take a vacation.

Prevention Saves LivesAs severe as heat-related

injuries can be, Trese Louie, ahealth scientist in OSHA’s Officeof Technical Programs andCoordination Activities, says theyare among the most preventable.She urges workers to drink plentyof water— from 5 to 7 ounces every15 to 20 minutes—to replace the2 to 3 gallons of sweat they maylose during a workday. She alsoencourages workers to take shortbut frequent breaks from their workin a cool, shady area. Andwhenever possible, she recom-mends that employers alter workhours so employees do their mostdemanding physical work before orafter the hottest hours of the day.

Keith Piercy, a compliancesafety and health officer in OSHA’sTampa, FL, Area Office, saysemployers at most of the worksiteshe inspects “do a very good job” ofproviding their workers plenty ofwater and electrolyte drinks in hotweather. He says some employersgo the extra measure, offering theirworkers special crystal-filled scarfsthat, when soaked in water andwrapped around their necks, helpcool their bodies, or mistingstations like those used to coolprofessional football players.

Yet Piercy says he notices twoareas where some employers aremissing the mark. Although theymay encourage workers to take

People who work outside can help cooltheir bodies with frequent breaks in ashaded area.

release excess heat, so its coretemperature rises and the heartrate increases.

As a result, the person starts tolose concentration and hasdifficulty focusing on tasks. Somepeople begin to feel sick or irritableand lose the desire for the fluidsthey so desperately need. Some mayfaint or even die if they do notreceive immediate care to lowertheir body temperature.

Not everyone reacts equally toheat. A worker’s age, weight, fitnesslevel, and medical condition playa role. Low-sodium diets, consump-tion of alcohol or caffeine, andsome medications increase the risk.

Acclimation is anotherimportant factor. The first days ina hot environment are generallythe hardest on workers, and when

Summer 2001 33


more frequent breaks in par-ticularly hot weather, they often donot set aside a cooler or shaded areafor those breaks—meaning that theworkers are not able to coolthemselves effectively beforereturning to work.

And although many of thelarger companies Piercy visits takesteps to teach their workers aboutheat-related illnesses, he says someof the smaller companies fall shorton education. “What employersaren’t always good at is impressingon their employees how muchcaffeine and alcohol affect theirability to work in the heat,” he says,“or the benefit of wearing lighter-colored clothing that reflects heatinstead of absorbing it.”

Louie says worker education iskey in helping prevent heat injuriesat work. “Workers need to knowhow to avoid heat injuries and howto recognize signs of heat stress notonly in themselves, but in theircoworkers, too,” she says. “Bylooking out for each other, they canhelp protect each other.”

One tool to help them isOSHA’s Heat Stress Card (OSHA3154). This laminated, fold-upcard, available free to employers todistribute to their workers, providesa quick reference about heat-related injuries, including warningsigns and prevention tips.Employers can order the cardsthrough the OSHA website atwww.osha.gov, which also providesadditional information about heat-related injuries.

“Heat-related injuries take theirtoll on too many workers,” saysLouie. “With increased awarenessand some basic precautions, manyof these illnesses and deaths can beprevented.” JSHQ

With some basicprecautions, many

heat-relatedinjuries and deathscan be prevented.

Summer 2001 35

OSHA Training Institute, Des Plaines, IL

OSHA Training

121 Introductionto Industrial Hygienefor Safety PersonnelCovers the general concepts ofindustrial hygiene, including hazardevaluation and control methods.

Tuition: $1,200Dates: September 18-28

201 Hazardous MaterialsIntroduces OSHA general industrystandards as well as other consensusand proprietary standards related tohazardous materials.

Tuition: $1,064Dates: October 18-26

203 Basic ElectricalPrinciplesTeaches the basic principles ofelectricity as well as electricalhazard recognition, OSHA elec-trical standards, and inspectionprocedures.

Tuition: $560Dates: October 16-19

205 Cranes and RiggingSafety for ConstructionCovers crane operations, inspec-tion, maintenance, rigging inspec-tion, reading load charts, andcorresponding OSHA and con-sensus standards.

Tuition: $480Dates: September 18-21

207A Fire Protectionand Life SafetyShortened version of course #207addresses potential fire hazards,emergency operations, and appli-cable safety code references.

Tuition: $728Dates: October 22-26

228 Recognition, Evaluationand Control of IonizingRadiationIntroduces the fundamentalprinciples of ionizing radiation,applicable standards, industrialsources, use of radiation instru-ments, and control methods.


300 Safety and Health forOil and Gas Well OperationsDeals with the safety and healthaspects of on- and off-shore oil andgas well operations with hands-onparticipation. Course is offered atTexas A&M University inAbilene, TX.

Tuition: $560Dates: November 6-9

308 Principles of ScaffoldingCovers the safety aspects ofscaffolding and current OSHArequirements, with a 1-day fieldexercise.


310 Applied Spray Finishingand Coating PrinciplesIdentifies the hazards associatedwith spray finishing and coatingoperations with a review ofindustrial processes and applicablerequirements and standards.


311 Fall Arrest SystemsFocuses on the state-of-the-arttechnology for fall protection andcurrent OSHA requirements.Includes a 1-day field exercise.


500 Trainer Course inOccupational Safety andHealth Standards for theConstruction IndustryTrains private-sector personnel toteach the 10- and 30-hour construc-tion safety and health course to theiremployees and interested groups.Graduates receive cards verifyingtheir qualification to teach theconstruction course.


510 Occupational Safety andHealth Standards for theConstruction IndustryTrains private-sector personnel inOSHA policy, procedures, andstandards as well as constructionsafety and health principles.Graduates receive cards verifyingcompletion of OSHA’s 30-hourconstruction and health course.

Tuition: $728Dates: October 29-

November 2

600 Collateral Duty Coursefor Other Federal AgenciesIntroduces federal agency collateralduty safety and health personnel tothe Occupational Safety and HealthAct and other federal codes relatedto workplace safety and health.


Course dates are subject tochange. For more completecourse descriptions or to registerfor courses or request a trainingcatalog, call (847) 297-4913;visit www.osha.gov and click onOutreach; or write: OSHATraining Institute, 1555 TimesDrive, Des Plaines, IL 60018.


The OSHA Training Institute has a program forother institutions to conduct OSHA courses for theprivate sector and federal agencies. These includeEastern Michigan University/United Auto Workers,Ypsilanti, MI, (800) 932-8689; Georgia Techno-logical Research Institute, Atlanta, GA, (800)653-3629; Great Lakes OSHA TrainingConsortium, Minneapolis, MN, (800) 493-2060;Keene State College, Manchester, NH, (800)449-6742; Metropolitan Community Colleges–Business and Technology Center, Kansas City, MO,(800) 841-7158; National Resource Center forOSHA Training, Washington, DC, (800) 367-6724;

201A Hazardous MaterialsEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI October 22-25Online Course November 1

Keene State CollegeManchester, NH September 24-28

Niagara County Community CollegeLockport, NY October 22-25

Red Rocks Community College-TrinidadState Junior CollegeLakewood, CO November 5-8

204A Machinery and MachineGuarding StandardsGreat Lakes OSHA Training Consortium

St. Paul, MN September 24-27

Keene State CollegeManchester, NH October 29-November 2

Metropolitan Community Colleges-Businessand Technology CenterKansas City, MO November 12-15

Red Rocks Community College-TrinidadState Junior CollegeLakewood, CO October 2-5

Texas Engineering Extension ServiceHouston, TX November 5-8

University of California-San DiegoSan Diego, CA October 15-18

National Safety Education Center, DeKalb, IL,(800) 656-5317; Niagara County CommunityCollege, Lockport, NY, (800) 280-6742; Red RocksCommunity College and Trinidad State JuniorCollege, Lakewood, CO, (800) 933-8394; TexasEngineering Extension Service, Mesquite, TX, (800)723-3811; University of California, San Diego, (800)358-9206; and University of Washington, Seattle,(800) 326-7568.

Course dates are subject to change. For tuitionrates and registration information, contact theinstitution offering the courses or visit OSHA’swebsite at www.osha.gov.

OSHA Training Institute Education Centers

222A Respiratory ProtectionEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI September 17-20

Georgia Technical Research InstituteAtlanta, GA October 16-18

Metropolitan Community Colleges-Businessand Technology CenterKansas City, MO October 15-18

Niagara County Community CollegeLockport, NY September 17-20

Red Rocks Community College-TrinidadState Junior CollegeLakewood, CO October 30-November 2

University of California-San DiegoSan Diego, CA September 17-20

225 Principles of Ergonomics Applied toWork-Related Musculoskeletal and NerveDisordersEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI November 26-28Online Course November 1

Great Lakes OSHA Training ConsortiumMinneapolis, MN October 31-November 2

Metropolitan Community Colleges-Businessand Technology CenterKansas City, MO September 24-27

November 26-29

Summer 2001 37

National Resource Center for OSHA TrainingMorgantown, WV October 9-12

National Safety Education CenterDecatur, IL October 23-25


Red Rocks Community College-TrinidadState Junior CollegeLakewood, CO September 5-7

Texas Engineering Extension ServiceMesquite, TX September 17-19San Antonio, TX November 26-28

University of California-San DiegoSanta Clara, CA October 22-25San Diego, CA October 15-18

University of WashingtonSeattle, WA November 5-7

226 Permit-Required Confined Space EntryEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI September 26-28November 14-16

Online Course November 1

Great Lakes OSHA Training ConsortiumCincinnati, OH October 24-26


Niagara County Community CollegeLockport, NY October 29-November 1

Red Rocks Community College-TrinidadState Junior CollegeLakewood, CO November 19-21

Texas Engineering Extension ServiceMesquite, TX September 17-19

University of California-San DiegoSan Diego, CA November 5-7

University of WashingtonSeattle, WA November 27-29

301 Excavation, Trenching and SoilMechanicsKeene State College

Manchester, NH October 9-12


Texas Engineering Extension ServiceMesquite, TX November 13-15

University of WashingtonRichland, WA October 1-4

309A Electrical StandardsEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI October 22-25


November 5-8

Niagara County Community CollegeLockport, NY November 5-8

University of California-San DiegoSan Diego, CA October 8-11Dr. Melinda Treadwill teaches an industrial hygiene course at

Keene State College in Manchester, NH. Photo by Peter Finger


311 Fall Arrest SystemsEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI November 5-8

Great Lakes OSHA Training ConsortiumCincinnati, OH October 9-12



Texas Engineering Extension ServiceMesquite, TX October 22-25

University of WashingtonRichland, WA October 29-November 1

Keene State CollegeAuburn, ME October 22-26Manchester, NH November 26-30


October 22-25

National Resource Center for OSHA TrainingCharleston, WV November 13-16Morgantown, WV October 2-5Silver Spring, MD September 17-20

November 3-6

National Safety Education CenterHillside, IL November 5-9



October 8-11November 5-8

Texas Engineering Extension ServiceCorpus Christi, TX September 10-14

November 5-9Houston, TX September 24-28Mesquite, TX October 15-19

November 26-30

University of California-San DiegoLas Vegas, NV October 29-November 1San Diego, CA October 1-4

University of WashingtonPortland, OR October 15-18

501 Trainer Course in Occupational Safetyand Health Standards for General IndustryEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Findlay, OH November 12-15Livonia, MI October 8-11

November 26-29

Georgia Technical Research InstituteAtlanta, GA September 17-21

November 5-9Charlotte, NC October 8-12

Great Lakes OSHA Training ConsortiumCincinnati, OH November 13-16St. Paul, MN September 10-13

500 Trainer Course in Occupational Safetyand Health Standards for the ConstructionIndustryEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Findlay, OH October 15-18Livonia, MI November 12-15Ypsilanti, MI September 17-20

Georgia Technical Research InstituteAtlanta, GA October 29-November 2Jacksonville, FL September 10-14Miami, FL November 12-16

The National Safety Education Center offers OSHAtraining courses at Northern Illinois University inNaperville. Photo by Joe Whinnery

Summer 2001 39

Keene State CollegeGroton, CT November 5-9Manchester, NH September 17-21

October 22-26Springfield, MA November 26-30


October 8-11

National Resource Center for OSHA TrainingHuntington, WV November 13-16Morgantown, WV September 24-27

October 16-19Richmond, VA September 10-13

National Safety Education CenterAppleton, WI October 22-26Itasca, IL September 17-21Naperville, IL November 12-15





Texas Engineering Extension ServiceAustin, TX November 5-9Baton Rouge, LA October 1-5Houston, TX September 10-14

October 29-November 2Mesquite, TX September 24-28


University of California-San DiegoLas Vegas, NV October 8-11San Diego, CA September 24-27

October 29-November 1San Francisco, CA September 17-20

University of WashingtonPortland, OR November 13-16

502 Update for Construction IndustryOutreach TrainersEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI September 12-14November 26-28

Great Lakes OSHA Training ConsortiumCincinnati, OH November 27-29


November 5-7


November 26-28

National Resource Center for OSHA TrainingMorgantown, WV November 27-29

National Safety Education CenterHillside, IL September 11-13

November 27-29


November 12-14



University of California-San DiegoSan Diego, CA October 17-19

University of WashingtonSeattle, WA September 24-26

503 Update for General Industry OutreachTrainersEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI September 26-28October 8-10

Online Course November 1

Georgia Technical Research InstituteAtlanta, GA November 27-29


Keene State CollegeGroton, CT September 5-7Manchester, NH November 7-9



National Safety Education CenterNaperville, IL October 16-18


November 13-15



November 13-15


October 22-24

University of WashingtonSeattle, WA September 10-12

510 Occupational Safety and HealthStandards for the Construction IndustryEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI November 5-8

Georgia Technical Research InstituteAtlanta, GA October 1-5



October 1-5


November 12-15

National Resource Center for OSHA TrainingSilver Spring, MD November 5-8

National Safety Education CenterHillside, IL September 24-28

Niagara County Community CollegeLockport, NY November 26-29

Red Rocks Community College-TrinidadState Junior CollegeLakewood, CO October 29-November 1

Texas Engineering Extension ServiceHouston, TX September 17-20

November 13-16November 26-29


November 12-15

521 OSHA Guide to Industrial HygieneEastern Michigan University-United Auto Workers

Livonia, MI October 15-18Online Course November 1


Metropolitan Community Colleges-Businessand Technology CenterKansas City, MO November 12-15

National Safety Education CenterNaperville, IL October 29-November 2

Texas Engineering Extension ServiceAustin, TX October 15-18Baton Rouge, LA November 13-16

University of California-San DiegoSan Diego, CA November 5-8

600 Collateral Duty Course for OtherFederal AgenciesTexas Engineering Extension Service

Mesquite, TX September 10-14

The Texas Extension Service provides OSHA trainingthrough the Texas A&M University System in Mesquite.Photo by Bernita North

Summer 2001 41

On November 6, 2000, theCongress passed the NeedlestickSafety and Prevention Act directingOSHA to revise its bloodbornepathogens standard to describe ingreater detail its requirement foremployers to identify and make useof effective and safer medicaldevices. That revision was publish-ed on January 18, 2001 and becameeffective on April 18, 2001.

The revision specifies the typesof engineering controls—such assafer medical devices—in thehealth-care setting. It also addstwo requirements for employers;but, it does not add any newrequirements to protect workersfrom sharps injuries. The followingis a summary of the revisions:• Two new definitions and one

amended term:– NEW Sharps with Engi-

neered Sharps Injury Protec-tions include non-needlesharps or needle devices usedfor withdrawing fluids oradministering medications orother fluids that containbuilt-in safety features ormechanisms that effectivelyreduce the risk of an exposureincident.

– NEW Needleless Systems aredevices that do not useneedles for the collection orwithdrawal of body fluids, orfor the administration ofmedication or fluids.

– AMENDED EngineeringControls include all controlmeasures that isolate or re-

move a bloodborne pathogenhazard from the workplace.The revision now specifiesthat “self-sheathing needles”and “safer medical devices,such as sharps with engi-neered sharps injury protec-tions and needleless systems”are engineering controls.

• Employers must review theirexposure control plans annuallyto reflect changes in technologythat will help eliminate orreduce exposure to bloodbornepathogens. That review mustinclude documentation of theemployer’s consideration andimplementation of appropriate

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Highlights of OSHA’sBloodborne PathogensStandard Revision

commercially available andeffective safer devices.

• Employers must solicit inputfrom non-managerial healthcare workers regarding theidentification, evaluation, andselection of effective engi-neering controls, including safermedical devices. Examples ofemployees include those indifferent departments of thefacility—for example, geriatric,pediatric, nuclear medicine.

• Employers with 11 or moreemployees, who are required tokeep records by current record-keeping standards, must main-tain a sharps injury log. The logmust be maintained in a way toensure employee privacy andwill contain, at minimum, thefollowing information:

– type and brand of needledevice involved in theincident, if known;

– location of the incident; and– description of the incident.For more information on this

and other topics, visit OSHA’swebsite at www.osha.gov. JSHQ

ToolBox

The revisionsdetail employers’requirement to

identify and makeuse of effective and

safer medicaldevices.


Description of Accident An employee was operating afront-end loader up a dirt ramponto a lowboy trailer. The tractortread began to slide off the trailer.As the tractor began to tip, theoperator, who was not wearing aseat belt, jumped from the cab. Ashe hit the ground, the tractor’srollover protection structure fell ontop of him, crushing him.

Inspection Results Following its inspection, OSHAcited the employer for two seriousviolations and one other-than-serious violation. If the front-endloader had been equipped with seatbelts, and if the employee hadworn them, he might not havebeen killed.

Accident PreventionRecommendations1. Provide seat belts in material

handling equipment withrollover protective structures[Title 29 Code of FederalRegulations (CFR)1926.602(a)(2)(i)].

2. Instruct employees to recognizeand avoid unsafe conditionsassociated with their work [29CFR 1926.21(b)(2)].

3. Permit only employees qualifiedby training or experience tooperate equipment andmachinery [29 CFR 1926.20(b)(4)].

FatalFactsAccident Report No. 38

Accident type Caught in or betweenWeather Clear, dryType of operation construction Highway, streetCrew size 4Collective bargaining? YesCompetent safety monitor on site? YesSafety and health program in effect? YesWorksite inspector regularlyby employer? YesTraining and education provided? No

Employee job title Equipment operator

Age/Sex 38/Male

Experience at this type work 11 months

Time on project 1 hour

Sources of Help• Safety and Health Standards for

the Construction Industry(OSHA 3149) contains OSHAjob safety and health rules andregulations (29 CFR 1926 and1910) covering construction.

• OSHA-funded free onsiteconsultation services areavailable to help the smallbusiness employers identify andcorrect workplace hazards,develop or improve an effectivesafety and health managementsystem, or both. Contact theOSHA regional office in yourarea for additional information,or visit OSHA’s website atwww.osha.gov. JSHQ

Accident Summary

NOTE: The case described here is representative of fatalities caused by improper work practices. No special emphasis or priority is implied,nor is the case necessarily recent. The legal aspects of the incident have been resolved, and the case is now closed.

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Summer 2001 43

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Sporting GoodsManufacturer

A manufacturer employs 145people to produce sporting goods.Eight of the workers use solventsin their part of the manufacturingprocess, and the employer wasconcerned about the effect thesesolvents were having on hisemployees. He asked OSHA for aconsultation to help identify waysto protect them.

Deficiencies FoundThe consultant found that the

manufacturer used vinyl chloride,yet had not conducted the initialmonitoring required by the OSHAvinyl chloride standard. Employeesalso sprayed solvents onto molds tofacilitate the release of the moldedproduct. In addition, the employerhad no hazard communicationprogram. Although employees usedrespirators, the employer had notset up fit-testing procedures. Inaddition, several respirators hadnot been maintained properly andwere missing exhalation valves.

Consultant’s AnalysisThe consultant measured

worker exposure to solvents andconducted the required initialmonitoring for vinyl chloride.Fortunately, solvent exposureswere below permissible limits, andthe vinyl chloride levels werebelow detectable limits.

Although the consultant foundno overexposures, the substances inuse posed potential hazards. Inaddition, the lack of a hazardcommunication program, con-tinuing use of a substance withoutconducting the required initial

monitoring, and reliance ondefective respirators compoundedthe potential problems.

Consultant’sRecommendations

The consultant recommendedthat the manufacturer take thesesteps to reduce the risk of sol-vent exposures:• Establish a hazard communica-

tion program based on theOSHA standard as explained bythe consultant.

• Substitute a different type ofmold (Teflon) so solventspraying is no longer necessary.

• Provide respirators to employeesin accordance with the OSHArespiratory protection standardwhen monitoring indicates theneed for respiratory protection orwhere there is a potential needfor respiratory protection andmonitoring has not beenconducted.

Solutions and ResultsThe consultant explained the

requirements of the respiratoryprotection standard, includingproper maintenance, and gave the

employer written instructions forrespirator fit testing and respiratorymaintenance. The employertrained employees on the hazardsposed by chemicals in usethroughout the plant. In addition,the manufacturer replaced themolds with new, non-stick molds,eliminating the need for solventsand, as a result, for respirators.

Additional BenefitsThe consultant gave the

employer a basic grounding inresponsibilities for employee safetyand health under the OccupationalSafety and Health Act of 1970. Thisgeneral information served as thefoundation for the company’s newsafety and health program.

SafeWorks summarizes the results ofan employer’s request for workplacesafety and health assistance. Smallbusiness employers can receive thisassistance, without cost, under aconsultation program funded largelyby OSHA and administered by stateagencies and universities. Contact theOSHA regional office in your area foradditional information on theconsultation program, or visit OSHA’swebsite at www.osha.gov. JSHQ

Solvent Exposures:An Employer Turns to OSHA for Help


Purpose• To inform employers and

employees that when replacingmachine guarding observationwindows, they must use eitherthe original manufacturer’s partor a material having at least thesame impact resistance as theoriginal part.

• To advise employers and em-ployees that various materialswith the same generic/chemicalname (such as members of thepoly-carbonate family) may haveless impact resistance than themanufacturer’s original materials.

BackgroundOSHA’s Denver Regional

Office brought to the attention ofthe Directorate of TechnicalSupport a fatality caused by theinstallation of transparent replace-ment guarding material having alower impact resistance than themanufacturer’s original guard forthe machine.

Description of HazardThe fatality involved the use of

the thermoplastic polymer ofmethyl acrylate, generically knownas “plexiglass,” as the machineguarding window for a lathe. Whilea lathe was turning, the bell castingon it loosened. It was propelledthrough two 1/2-inch-thick plex-iglass material windows before itstruck an employee in the head andneck as he was looking through thewindow. The plexiglass materialwindows had been installed as a

replacement for the manufacturer’soriginal composite window on themachine’s door frame.

The manufacturer’s originalobservation window was made of a1/4-inch-thick laminated glassplate with a 1/2-inch-thick pol-ycarbonate window, separated byan approximately 1/4-inch airspace. The original window was re-placed with plexiglass material thathad a lower impact resistance.

Technical InformationPolycarbonates represent a

family of various polymers, eachpossessing different impactresistance at the same thicknessand surface area. Variouspolycarbonates include Macrolux,Lexan, Replex, Dyna-glass, Exolite,Verolite, Cyrolon, and Makrolon.*These materials have differentimpact resistance for differentthicknesses and surface areas.Increasing the thickness beyond acertain level does not alwaysimprove or increase the impactresistance.

ConclusionsReplacement machine guardwindows must meet or exceed themanufacturer’s original designspecifications.

RecommendationsWhen replacing original equipmentparts, employers should ensure thatthe specifications of the replacementmaterials meet or exceed the originaldesign specifications.

Hazard Information BulletinsThis Hazard Information

Bulletin (HIB) is not a standardor regulation and it creates nonew legal obligations. It isadvisory in nature, informationalin content, and is intended toassist employers in providing asafe and healthful workplace.

OSHA’s Directorate of Tech-nical Support issues HIBs toprovide relevant informationregarding unrecognized ormisunderstood health and safetyhazards, as well as potentialhazards associated with particularmaterials, devices, techniques,and engineering controls. HIBsare initiated based on informa-tion provided by the field staff,studies, reports, and concernsexpressed by safety and healthprofessionals, employers, employ-ees and their representatives, andthe public.

The Occupational Safety andHealth Act requires employers tocomply with hazard-specificsafety and health standards. Inaddition, employers must providetheir employees with a workplacefree from recognized hazardslikely to cause death or seriousphysical harm under Section5(a)(1), the General Duty Clauseof the Act. Employers may becited for violating the GeneralDuty Clause if there is arecognized hazard and they do nottake steps to prevent or abate it.However, failure to implementHIB recommendations is not, initself, a violation of the GeneralDuty Clause.

More information about thisbulletin may be obtained bycontacting OSHA’s Directorateof Technical Support at(202) 693-2300. JSHQ

Hazard Information BulletinNo. 00-06-23

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*Note: The mention of trademark or brand names does not constitute a product endorsement by OSHA.

Potential Hazard Associated with the Useof Replacement Materials for Machine Guarding

FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Job Safety & Health Quarterly

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Transcript of FEATURES DEPARTMENTS Job Safety & Health Quarterly