OSHA has posted online injury and illness tracking data from 2023 that employers provided as part of the first compliance cycle for its electronic recordkeeping and reporting rule earlier this year, a move the agency says will allow stakeholders to identify safety hazards though the agency is not yet providing its own analysis of the reports.
April 19, 2024
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EPA has preliminarily determined that many activities that disturb legacy asbestos -- such as demolition of older buildings that were constructed with the material -- pose “unreasonable risk” to workers and others, potentially triggering new TSCA rules to protect them, according to a draft of the agency’s long-awaited “part 2” evaluation of the mineral.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has released its final update to 50-year-old standards for respirable crystalline silica (RCS), with more stringent reporting and monitoring mandates compared to a 2023 proposal, although it also extends compliance deadlines for operators, particularly those at smaller mines.
Environmentalists and their allies say EPA’s recently finalized updates to its Risk Management Program (RMP) rule leaves out many measures they believe are necessary to ensure it covers all facilities at risk of accidental releases, in particular because the agency rejected calls to expand the list of chemicals whose use at a site triggers RMP requirements.
A bill advancing in the California Legislature would require California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) to amend its hospital violence-prevention rules to require that facilities maintain metal detectors at certain entrances, and implement a number of supporting security measures.
Republican lawmakers are continuing their push-back against EPA’s draft risk evaluation of formaldehyde, with a new letter warning the agency that a potential workplace exposure limit is too stringent and could jeopardize a range of industrial sectors, while also raising concerns that any rule based on the review could conflict with Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) policies.
House Republicans have introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that seeks to roll back EPA’s controversial rule tightening many aspects of its risk management program (RMP) for chemical facilities, teeing up a statutorily mandated vote on the repeal in the coming weeks.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved OSHA’s final rule updating the hazard communication standard (HCS) that governs safety labels for toxic, flammable and otherwise dangerous chemicals, after employers and trade groups warned that the 2021 proposal would massively expand data-gathering requirements.
OSHA has released an FAQ document that aims to clarify implementation details for its controversial rule allowing worker representatives to take part in “walkaround” inspections even if they are not employed at the site under review, including how non-unionized workers can select representatives and steps employers can take to avoid disclosure to outsiders.
California OSHA (Cal/OSHA) officials say they are still “committed” to strong implementation of existing indoor heat protections and ongoing efforts to bolster them, despite the likely forthcoming rejection by state administrators of a sweeping set of more stringent rules adopted by the agency’s standards board last month at a chaotic meeting.