Acting Secretary of OSHA made a speech today at the Committee of Education and Labor House of Representatives conveying that he believes State Plan OSHA programs need more oversight and need to follow more closely with what Federal OSHA does.

Twenty-seven (27) States and territories operate some level of a state run OSHA program. Twenty-one (21) States and Puerto Rico have complete programs covering both the private sector and State and local governments; four States and the Virgin Islands have programs limited in coverage to public sector employees.

In his speech Barab disclosed that going forward Federal OSHA will require each state to also implement any National Emphasis Program (NEP) promulgated by federal OSHA. Until now states could elect not to follow federal NEP programs. He stated that based on how the state programs react that he may require them to also adopt the most recent NEP to inspect the accuracy of the injury and illness reporting requirements. In his testimony Barab said “Although we did not require the state plan states to adopt this initiative, we have told the states that we believe that it is essential that they do so because accurate reporting is critical to an effective enforcement program”. Then he went on to say “We plan in the future, to make all Federal OSHA NEPs and other similar initiatives mandatory rather than discretionary changes to the states’ programs”.

Barab believes that over a period of the last several years and especially in the mid-1990s oversight of state programs has been reduced. Citing the findings from a recent investigation of the Nevada OSHA program Barab demonstrated frustration with the lack of issuing Willful and Repeat violations during inspections and a need to step up Federal oversight of all state OSHA programs. It was determined that Nevada’s average of programmed inspections with serious violations was 26% compared with 79% for Federal OSHA. Barab believes this to mean Nevada inspectors were either failing to target inspections properly, failing to identify serious violations, or failing to classify those violations appropriately.

Federal OSHA has advised the Nevada program to ensure that all hazards identified during inspections are addressed with the employer through a citation, notification of violation, or some other method. Case files should be reviewed more thoroughly by supervisors, including review of photographs, to find hazards not initially identified. In other words Federal OSHA expects the Nevada program to write more citations.

As a result of the deficiencies identified in Nevada OSHA’s program and a shift in the administrations policies, Barab has notified all State Plans that he will be announcing a number of changes in stronger oversight, monitoring and evaluation of state programs. He has already sent interim guidance to each of OSHA’s ten Regional Administrators encouraging more extensive investigation of potential problems as part of OSHA’s monitoring procedures for all State Plans.

Barab also announced today that OSHA will conduct what he calls Baseline Special Evaluation Studies for every state that administers its own program. OSHA intends for these baseline studies to lead to better program performance and consistency throughout all State Plans.

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Milbank Manufacturing Co. recalled single meter sockets due to fire and electrocution hazards.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

1,400 of these single meter sockets were maufactured at Milbank Manufacturing Co., of Kansas City, Mo. These were sold from Electrical supply distributors in N.Y., Pa., Vt. and Mass. and at local hardware stores in N.Y. from May 2009 through August 2009 for about $70

A short may occur while in use due to an incorrect bridge installed in the product, to which the meter clips are attached. If the manufacturing defect exists, all metal parts of the meter could create a shock or burns can occur if the cover is off and the meter socket is energized.  Three incidents have been reportd of the unit shorting out and no injuries were reported.

The single meter 200 amp/4 terminal sockets are used for underground utility meter installations. The meter socket is 20 3/4 inches high by 9 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches deep with 1 meter position. It is used by the approving utility to mount their electric meter to measure how much electricity a residence uses. It can be used for an underground residential application. The recalled model number 9090 appears on the right or left side of the installed meter socket. If not installed, model numbers U9090-O or R9090-O will appear on the label on the outside of the box.

Consumers should stop using the recalled product immediately and contact the electrical supply contractor who installed the sockets. Contractors will contact Milbank Manufacturing for a replacement or reimbursement. Milbank will contact all distributors and stores where the recalled product was sold.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Milbank Manufacturing s Sales Engineer toll-free at (888) 537-0881 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the company s Web site at www.milbankmfg.com

CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Chairs made in China and sold by Office Depot Stores have been recalled due to fall hazard by Raynor Marketing.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

150,000 of the Quantum Realspace PRO™ 9000 Series Mid-Back Multifunction Mesh Chair and Multifunction Mesh Chair with Headrest were sold through Raynor Marketing LTD, of West Hempstead, N.Y.  The manufacturer is Comfort Office Furniture, LTD, China aka Evergood Co. Ltd.

The bolts attaching the seat back on the recalled chairs can loosen and detach, posing a fall and injury hazard to consumers. Raynor has received reports of 33 seatback detachments and 14 injuries involving bumps and bruises.

This recall involves the Quantum Realspace PRO™ 9000 Series Mid-Back Multifunction Mesh Chair SKU # 510830 and the Quantum Realspace PRO™ 9000 Series Mesh Chair with Headrest SKU # 690690. The Realspace PRO™ Mesh Guest Chair is not involved in this recall.

These chairs were sold Exclusively at Office Depot stores nationwide and on the Web at www.OfficeDepot.com from May 2006 through August 2009. The mid-back chairs sold for about $300 and the chair with headrest for about $350.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled office chairs and contact Raynor to receive a free repair kit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information and to receive a free repair kit, contact Raynor toll free at (866) 244-8180 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.Quantumchair.com/recall

CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting: https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC’s Web site at:

www.cpsc.gov.

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OSHA has cited Industrial Pipe Fittings LLC (IPF) for 47 alleged serious violations following an inspection at the company’s facility in Corsicana.

OSHA’s Fort Worth Area Office began its inspection on April 20 when a worker had his hand crushed in-between a rotating, unguarded drum drive wheel and pipe while performing an overwrapping operation at the drum drive wheel machine station. The serious violations include failing to provide machine guarding on lathes, drum drive wheels and saws; provide fall protective equipment, ensure workers are protected from electrical hazards, provide training for forklift operations and hazard communication.

“This company failed to provide a safe and healthful working environment for its workers,” said Zachary Barnett, OSHA’s area director in Fort Worth. “If OSHA’s standards were followed, it is possible this serious injury could have been avoided.”

The other-than-serious violations included failing to meet OSHA’s respiratory requirements by informing workers of the precautions and use of wearing a respirator and failing to provide a written personal protective equipment hazard assessment.

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The Dodge Co. Inc. cited for 41 safety and health hazards. Formaldehyde and other hazards lead to $138,000 in U.S. Labor Department OSHA fines for embalming fluid manufacturer.

OSHA has cited The Dodge Co. Inc. for 41 alleged violations of workplace safety and health standards at its Cambridge, Mass., production plant. The embalming fluid manufacturer faces $138,000 in fines for inadequate safeguards involving formaldehyde stored and used in manufacturing processes at the plant as well as for various chemical, mechanical, and electrical hazards. These were identified during comprehensive OSHA inspections conducted over the past several months.

OSHA found that the plant lacked a process safety management (PSM) program. They also discovered that the plants procedures to proactively assess and address hazards associated with processes and equipment using large amounts of formaldehyde. It was also noted that the plant also lacked controls and other safeguards to reduce the levels of formaldehyde to which some workers were overexposed.

OSHA also identified numerous deficiencies in the plant’s respiratory protection, emergency response, hazardous energy control, chemical hygiene and chemical hazard communication programs as well as electrical hazards, unguarded moving machine parts, untrained forklift operators, failure to maintain work floors in a clean condition, and the use of unapproved forklifts where flammables are used.

“Workers’ exposure to excess formaldehyde levels can impact their health, while the other conditions cited here pose more acute safety hazards,” said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA’s area director for Middlesex and Essex counties. “All of these hazards must be effectively corrected for the safety and health of the plant’s workers.”

As a result, OSHA has issued the company 38 serious citations for these hazards plus, four other-than-serious citations for incomplete and inadequate recordkeeping. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
Detailed information about process safety management and formaldehyde is available online at:

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/processsafetymanagement/index.html   and

http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/formaldehyde-factsheet.pdf.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit:

http://www.osha.gov.

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OSHA levies hefty $518,520 fine on All-Feed Processing and packaging Inc. for willfully violating OSHA standards.

GALVA, Ill. — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited All-Feed Processing and Packaging Inc. in Galva, Ill., with alleged serious, repeat, willful and failure to abate citations of federal workplace safety and health standards. Proposed fines total $518,520.

OSHA began its safety and health inspections at the pet food research and packaging facility in response to a fire in April that sent three workers to a local hospital. The resulting inspection revealed nine alleged willful, four serious, two repeat and two failure to abate violations.

Hazards identified as willful violations addressed the lack of explosion prevention systems for combustible dust, inadequate housekeeping where dust could accumulate, insufficient personal protective equipment, training deficiencies, failure to lockout energy sources during maintenance and other lockout/tagout issues, and the lack of warning signs where combustible dust was being processed. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

Serious violations included fall hazards and issues pertaining to employees entering or working in confined spaces where a variety of hazards could be present. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

The repeat violation cites the company’s failure to compile a list of hazardous chemicals used at the plant and the failure to include such a list in the hazardous communication program, and for the lack of proper employee training. The company had been previously cited for these violations and had agreed to correct the problems but had not done so. The failure to abate violations included use of flexible cords as a substitute for fixed wiring and equipment and wiring was not approved for hazardous locations.

“Recent events have shown the damage that can result from the failure to control dust and dust explosions,” said OSHA Area Director Nick Walters, Peoria, Ill. “The cost of human life and health is far too great a price to pay for anyone to ignore this hazard. All of us want to see working men and women go home safe at the end of every work shift.”

In business since 1997, the company has been inspected by OSHA on seven occasions since January 2000. These inspections have resulted in the issuance of 31 serious, nine willful, four repeat and seven other-than-serious citations.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director in Peoria or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit

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OSHA cites Steelplex Corp. for repeat workplace safety and health hazards following March fatality

OSHA cited Steelplex Corp. for alleged workplace safety and health violations found at a Clifton, N.J., worksite. Penalties proposed total $78,400.

OSHA initiated its investigation March 18 following a fatal workplace accident that occurred when a worker fell approximately 30 feet from the top of a structural steel. As a result of the investigation, the company has been cited with one repeat citation with a penalty of $70,000, and three serious citations, with an $8,400 penalty.

The repeat citation contains one repeat violation of employees exposed to fall hazards while engaged in steel erection activities.

“This company was previously cited for workplace hazards and did not take the necessary steps to be in compliance, resulting in this avoidable tragedy,” said Lisa Levy, area director of OSHA’s office in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. “By establishing and maintaining effective safety and health management systems, future accidents can be prevented.”

The serious citations contain three serious violations including a hand-operated power tool missing the guard; an employee exposed to an electrocution hazard while using a power tool and extension cord; and an employee exposed to an electrocution hazard while using a damaged extension cord.

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Failure to correct previous violations results in 7 proposed citations

OSHA is proposing $231,600 in penalties against Los Amigos Tortilla Manufacturing Co. in Atlanta for safety and health violations.

The agency is proposing $207,000 in penalties for the company’s failure to correct seven violations identified during an inspection in 2008. These include the company’s failure to establish an energy control program to ensure that machinery would not start up while employees are conducting maintenance or servicing on a machine or piece of equipment.

In addition, the company failed to correct electrical hazards and dangers created by using machinery that lacked protection to prevent employees from being pulled into moving parts. The company also failed to ensure that employees were trained in the use of fire protective equipment, use of power trucks and the safe use of hazardous chemicals.

Eight serious violations with proposed penalties of $24,000 resulted from the most recent inspection in 2009, which found that the company exposed employees to several electrical hazards, employees did not use personal protective equipment, and management failed to provide employees protection from hazardous machinery and chemicals. One other-than-serious citation with a $600 proposed penalty is being issued for the company’s failure to post its 2008 annual summary of injuries and illnesses (OSHA 300A).

“OSHA’s previous inspections made Los Amigos fully aware of the needed changes to its safety and health program,” said Andre Richards, area director of OSHA’s Atlanta-West office. “All employees have a right to a safe workplace, and it is irresponsible of an employer to continue exposing its employees to work hazards.”

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