Alliances Established with Textile Industry and Target Shooting Facilities
Training For Nursing/Personal Care Facilities in Massachusetts and Connecticut
Maritime Industry Partnership Signed in Puerto Rico
OSHA Accepting Comments on Hearing Conservation Program for Construction
OSHA Reopens Glycol Ethers Rulemaking Record
Voluntary Protection Program Activity
OSHA Certifies Newest "SHARP" Companies
Maryland SHARP Company In Tune with Employees
Toledo Staff Volunteer as Safety Monitors for Juniors Go-Cart Race
Upcoming Speeches for Assistant Secretary Henshaw
OSHA established Alliances this month with two industries to promote and enhance worker safety and health. OSHA joined Aug. 5 with the National Association of Shooting Ranges and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute to enhance employee safety programs at target shooting facilities including educating and informing employees on ways to minimize noise and airborne pollutants in the work environment. On Aug. 12, the American Textile Manufacturers Institute joined with the agency in an Alliance to reduce worker exposure to cotton dust and other hazards. John Henshaw, OSHA Administrator, said both Alliances "demonstrate that safety and health add value to the workplace and to the individual worker and are an important feature in OSHA's commitment to cooperative efforts to
improve workplace safety."
OSHA will present free training for workers in the nursing and personal care facilities industry in Bridgeport, Conn. and Newton, Mass., Aug. 26 and Sept. 5, respectively. The training, designed for facility operators, safety and health managers, hospital managers and employee representatives, is part of OSHA's National Emphasis Program focusing on specific hazards in the industry. Interested persons can register for training in Bridgeport, by calling OSHA's Bridgeport Area Office at (203) 579-5581. Registration for training in Newton can be obtained by calling the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation at (617) 558-0202.
A partnership designed to protect workers at marine terminal operations in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was formalized Aug. 7 in a signing ceremony between OSHA, CSX Lines of Puerto Rico, Inc., and the International Longshoremen's Association-Local 1575.
Should OSHA add a requirement for hearing conservation to its construction noise standard? That's what the agency will determine by responses received to its Advanced Notice for Proposed Rulemaking published
Aug. 2. Hearing conservation requirements such as hearing protection, hearing tests and periodic noise exposure monitors, already exist for general industry workers. OSHA is requesting comment by Nov. 4, on whether those requirements should be applied to the construction industry and, if so, how they should be adapted.
Ethylene glycol ethers, substances that have been commonly used in the auto refinishing industry and in construction paints, surface coatings, printing inks, and in the semiconductor industry, are on the decline according to some industry sectors. OSHA reopened the rulemaking record on glycol ethers Aug. 8, soliciting information on the extent to which the substances are still being used. The agency also wants to learn about substitutes for the ethers that employers may be using, including levels of employee exposure and their degree of toxicity. The agency has asked that comments be submitted by Nov. 6.
The following companies were approved this month for new or continued participation in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP): Smurfit Stone Corporation, Stone Mountain, GA (1-year Conditional Star); Georgia Pacific, Waxahachie Container Packaging Division, Waxahachie, TX (Merit to Star); Georgia Pacific, Lawrenceville Distribution Center, Lawrenceville, GA (New Merit); GE Global Research Center, Schenectady, NY (Continued Star); United State Postal Service, Glens Falls, NY (New Merit); Pratt & Whitney, Columbus, GA (New Star); Armour Swift-Eckrich Brown 'N Serve, St. Charles, IL (Merit to Star); Frito-Lay, DBS, Dallas, TX (New Star); and Case New Holland (CNH), Grand Island, NE (1-Year Conditional Star).
OSHA certified 16 companies in July as Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) sites. SHARP recognizes employers who have demonstrated exemplary achievements in workplace safety and health by receiving a consultation visit, correcting all workplace safety and health hazards, and adopting and implementing effective safety and health management systems. The newest sites are: U.S. Magnegas, Inc., Largo, FL; Fred Netterville Lumber Co., Woodville, MS; Finetex, Inc., Elmwood Park, NJ; Colandrea Pontiac-Buick, Newburgh, NY; Walker-McGuire Co., Inc, Pocahontas, AK; Cornerstone Village North, Lafayette, LA; Martin Terminal North, Golden Meadow, LA; Martin Terminal South, Golden Meadow, LA; Centron International, Inc., Mineral Wells, TX; International Cassette Corp., Greenville, TX; Shippers Warehouse, Inc., Dallas, TX; Advanced Fixtures, Farmersville, TX; Makers Co., Haltom City, TX; Monitor Corp., Sherman, TX;
Rumber Materials, Inc., Muenster, TX; and U.S. Galvanizing, Inc., Kennedale, TX. OSHA also renewed the SHARP status of 22 other participants in July. (Note: These additions reflect July data reported as of the date of this publication.)
Paul Reed Smith, owner of the Paul Reed Smith Guitar Co. in Stevensville, MD, attributes his company's success to taking care of his employees. The company of 165 employees was certified a Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) site in 1999. Last year it became the 3rd largest electric-guitar maker in the United States and this year, the U.S. Small Business Administration named the owner Maryland's Small Business Person of 2002. Smith says success begins with "showing your employees that you care about them; you've got to spend time with them and listen to them."
Eight OSHA personnel from the Toledo, OH Area Office volunteered as safety monitors earlier this month at the city's Junior Achievement Grand Prix Go-Cart race. Responding to a request from the Associated General Contractors of Northwest Ohio, the OSHA employees were on-hand to ensure drivers' safe conditions during the race and to help respond to accidents. None occurred. The third annual event raises funds for the Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio teaching program.
OSHA Administrator John Henshaw is scheduled to address approximately 300 LIUNA members, contractors, union officials, training fund directors and trustees, on safety and health training needs for a growing Hispanic workforce on Aug. 21 at the Laborers/AGC Annual Apprenticeship and Training Conference in Nashville. Henshaw will travel to Orange Beach, AL, on Aug. 26 to address the 15th Annual Alabama Governor's Safety and Health Conference. Finally, he will speak to Valero Texas City employees on Aug. 29 in celebration of the company's selection as a VPP Star Site.
Editor: Bill Wright, OSHA Office of Public Affairs, 202-693-1999
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