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OSHA/Cal-OSHA's new policy regarding Influenza

State Recalls Respirators -- Bad Fit Tests

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is ordering a recall of a specific type of N95 respirator and Cal/OSHA is advising employers not to use the respirators if employees cannot pass fit-tests on them. In October, the state released millions of respirators from its stockpile to local public health departments so that health-care facilities could protect workers from exposure to the H1N1 influenza virus.

Fit-tested N95 filtering facepiece respirators are recommended for workers in direct contact with patients with suspected or confirmed cases of H1N1. The recall affects 3M 8000 respirators, which comprise "the majority of the state stockpile, unfortunately," says Deborah Gold, senior safety engineer for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). CDPH has asked local health departments to stop providing the respirators to health-care facilities and is developing procedures for the return of remaining supplies.

The 8000 series "has a low success rate in fit-testing," Cal/OSHA says, which is a crucial safety factor because respirators protect people from inhaling infectious particles by sealing to their faces. DOSH says it is not prohibiting use of the 8000s, but it "strongly recommends against using this model for prevention of aerosol-transmitted disease" and urges employers to assure successful fit-tests if they decide to use them. Fit tests must be conducted according to General Industry Safety Orders ï¾§5144, Appendix A. DOSH and CDPH urge employers to use other respirators to protect employees; CDPH will provide other brands and models to local health departments upon request.

Even with the recall, California has alternative respirators in its stockpile. Nonetheless, the respirator supply remains under stress, DOSH says, reminding employers to use respirator-conserving procedures. Employers should take whatever steps they can to limit aerosol transmissible disease exposure to employees by appropriate patient identification and placement, source control measures, and using engineering and work practice controls to minimize respirators use.

Upcoming Changes on HAZ-COM

"Companies will have three years from promulgation to come into compliance with the final rule and two years to implement training requirements", says an article published by OS&H magazine by Jytte Syska, Erin McVeigh, Tamie Webber on Jan 01, 2010

Here is part of the article:
"On Sept. 30, 2009, OSHA released its proposal to modify the current Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to conform with the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). The proposed OSHA revisions include both philosophical and tactical changes to Hazard Communication that have far-reaching implications for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and the authoring, publishing, distribution, and management of labels. The proposal also includes revised criteria for the classification of hazardous chemicals, as well as changes to definitions and terms used in the standards and new training requirements for employees. When the final rule is promulgated, companies will face many challenges, including re-evaluating how their substances and mixtures are classified, reissuing MSDSs and labels, and training staff as appropriate.

The Timeline
After having accepted public comments until the end of 2009, OSHA estimates a minimum of 18 months from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking before the final rule is promulgated. Companies will have three years from promulgation to come into compliance with the final rule and two years to implement training requirements on the final regulation. Once the rule is final, companies can begin implementation. However, in accordance with a letter of interpretation from OSHA on Oct. 6, 2009, companies can begin following the EU GHS label format for their OSHA labels as long as the labels also comply with the current Hazard Communication Standard.In addition, there are 26 states and territories with their own OSHA-approved plans. These states and territories are Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Washington, and Wyoming. They will have six months from promulgation to adopt comparable provisions of the final standard. In the meantime, each individual State Plan will remain in effect until it adopts the required revisions."

For more about this information follow this link: http://ohsonline.com/articles/2010/01/01/ghs-countdown.aspx

OSHA PenaltiesJan 04, 2010

News from OS&H Magazine

OSHA today issued 71 citations against CES Environmental Services Inc.,. This time, the proposed penalties total $1.4 million.

CES Environmental Services Inc. is in a federal agency's enforcement crosshairs again. This time, OSHA has issued penalties totaling $1,477,500 to CES in connection with 17 allegedly willful violations and 54 allegedly serious violations -- all of them related to a July 2009 explosion at the company's Griggs Road facility in Houston. OSHA posted the announcement on its site late Monday. It says the explosion killed an employee who was cleaning a tank "when an altered piece of equipment ignited flammable vapors inside the tank. The fatality was the third death in less than a year at this employer's facilities; two hydrogen sulfide exposure-related deaths at a related facility, Port Arthur Chemical & Environmental Services LLC (PACES), occurred in December 2008 and April 2009." Those two fatalities in Port Arthur, Texas, on Dec.18, 2008 and the April 14, 2009, cases still being contested before OSHRC, brought proposed penalties of $16,600 and $207,800, respectively against PACES. CES and PACES together employ 155 workers, according to OSHA.

For more of this news please follow this link: http://ohsonline.com/articles/2010/01/04/osha-sends-message-with-filing.aspx