This is the second post in a three-part series reviewing OSHA’s new standard for respirable crystalline silica. In part one, we mentioned that the new permissible exposure limit (PEL) for respirable crystalline silica is 50 µg/m3 with an action leve...

On March 25, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the long awaited respirable crystalline silica standard which they say will affect 2 million construction workers who drill, cut, crush, or grind silica-containing ...

The beast that is that cold, heartless machine with gnashing teeth, clamping jaws, and slashing claws has no respect for the hand that feeds. Poised and ready to pounce in an instant, its hardened steel mouth can tear savagely through soft tissue and...

The first year of OSHA’s Severe Injury Reporting Program is a success but smaller employers need more outreach and education on the new requirements, according to a new report from OSHA. The report warns now that the program is in its second year, OS...

The scope of OSHA’s The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) standard covers “the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment in which the unexpected energization or start up of the machines or equipment, or release of stored energy, ...

OSHA has recently been granted an increase to their fine structure. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 had exempted OSHA from increasing penalties to adjust for inflation. The new budget, signed into law on November 2, 2015,...

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), four million people go to work each day exposed to damaging noise, 10 million people in the U.S. have noise-related hearing loss, and 22 million workers are exposed to po...

On August 7, 2015, OSHA provided a notice for a proposed rule for Occupational Exposure to Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds. It should be noted that this process did not start in 2015 but on November 26, 2002. This proposed rule not only updates the...

OSHA has previously issued guidance directed to the health care industry for safe patient handling procedures and now intends to enforce this guidance. With its recent announcement OSHA is indicating they will now inspect the facility’s patient and/o...

Evaluation of employee’s exposure to airborne contaminants is one of the disciplines within the occupational safety and health field. Most safety and health professionals usually use the recommended exposure limits or RELs from the CDC’s National Ins...