| February 15, 2004 · Volume 3, Issue 4 | |
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| A bi-weekly e-news memo with information, updates, and results from OSHA about safety and health in America's workplaces. | |
In This Issue FY2005 Budget Request Includes $4.1 Million Increase for OSHA Joint Safety Initiative Focuses on Young Workers Operating Forklifts OSHA Renews Alliance with Printing Coalition, Welcomes Lubricant Association OSHA Schedules Cranes and Derrick, MACOSH Meetings Commercial Diving Operations Standard Amended Chicago Region Schedules Small Business Safety Seminars Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Newest Subject on Safety and Health Topics Page Michigan OSHA Reports Success Stories New Partnerships Announced in New York, Chicago Regions OSHA Strategic Partnership Activity Regional Alliances Established in Chicago, New York Voluntary Protection Program Activity FY2005 Budget Request Includes $4.1 Million Increase for OSHA The President's budget request of $461.6 million for OSHA during FY2005 includes a $6.6 million increase to expand outreach and compliance assistance programs, and $2 million in new funding to fulfill OSHA's enforcement responsibilities administering 14 whistleblower statutes. Overall, the request represents an increase of $4.1 million from FY2004 appropriations. Joint Safety Initiative Focuses on Young Workers Operating Forklifts OSHA, in concert with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration, has put together a safety initiative to increase awareness of the hazards youth workers experience with forklift operations. More than 2,500 copies of materials that include an OSHA safety and health bulletin, a NIOSH/Wage and Hour Division alert, "Forklift Stop Sticker" and a compliance assistance resource brochure, were provided to federal agencies, professional associations, and educational institutions. OSHA Renews Alliance with Printing Coalition, Welcomes Lubricant Association The Graphic Arts Coalition (GAC) agreed to keep moving forward with its Alliance during a signing ceremony Feb. 9. GAC (formerly the Printing Industry Alliance) renewed the Alliance with OSHA an additional two years to focus on ergonomics issues. GAC has already developed an Ergonomics Training Program for employers interested in establishing successful strategies to reduce ergonomic injuries and illnesses. The agency also welcomed the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association (ILMA) as the newest participant in OSHA's Alliance program. That agreement highlights protecting workers from industrial hazards in the manufacturing industry, including metalworking fluids. OSHA Schedules Cranes and Derrick, MACOSH Meetings The Cranes and Derrick Negotiated Rulemaking Committee has scheduled its next two public meetings in Washington, D.C., March 3-5 and March 29-31. Notice of the meetings is published in the Feb. 13 Federal Register. The 23-member committee is composed of representatives of government, labor and industry that will be impacted by a proposal for a construction safety standard for cranes and derricks. The Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C., is the site for the three-day Maritime Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH) meeting, beginning March 2. MACOSH deals with occupational safety and health issues for workers involved in shipbuilding, ship breaking, ship repair, and longshoring in the maritime industries. Details on the meeting were also published in the Feb. 13 Federal Register. Commercial Diving Operations Standard Amended OSHA has amended its commercial diving operations standard to allow recreational diving instructors and guides the opportunity to use alternatives to an on-site decompression chamber. The revision only impacts recreation divers who rely on SCUBA gear at depths of 130 feet or less. These divers can use nitrox breathing gas under specified conditions, making a decompression chamber near the dive site unnecessary. The revised standard will be published in a Feb. 17 Federal Register notice. Chicago Region Schedules Small Business Safety Seminars OSHA's North Aurora area office is co-sponsoring two safety and health seminars this month to provide small businesses in northern Illinois information on safety standards, and assistance in identifying, eliminating or controlling workplace hazards. The classes are a continuation of the Partnership for Illinois Small Businesses program and will be held at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake on Feb. 17, and again at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, Feb. 24-25. Co-sponsors include the State of Illinois On-site Consultation Service and the Illinois Small Business Development Network. To register at McHenry County College, call (815) 455-8592; for Illinois Valley Community College, call (815) 224-0427. Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Newest Subject on Safety and Health Topics Page Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHFs) are a group of diseases, such as yellow fever, that has been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as likely to be used as biological weapons. OSHA's information on the fevers includes hazard recognition, emergency response, and control and prevention. Links to additional resources are also provided. Michigan OSHA Reports Success Stories The state of Michigan, one of 26 states and territories that operate its own state OSHA program, recently awarded its first Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) award to IMCO Coldwater South Recycling. Birchwood Construction Company in northwestern Michigan credits the state's Consultation Education and Training Division for helping to revive a business that was on the verge of completely going under four years ago after having its workers compensation insurance cancelled. The company now maintains that thanks in large part to the division's construction safety consultants, they're passing workplace inspections, realizing returns on their safety investments, and actually having insurance carriers seek them out. New Partnerships Announced in New York, Chicago Regions OSHA's New York Region recently entered into three partnerships to further workplace safety and health. The area office in Puerto Rico signed on with the National Park Service and the American Federation of Government Employees at the San Juan Historic Site. Approximately 150 workers involved in the truck weigh station construction on Route 78 in New Jersey will benefit from an agreement signed by the Avenel, NJ Area Office and local labor unions, and management and state government agencies in New Jersey, while the Long Island Area Office signed its third partnership for construction of a combined-cycle power plant in Queens, NY. The agency's Peoria, IL Area Office has joined forces with Walsh Construction to ensure the safety and health of workers involved in the four-year Interstate 74 construction project through the heart of Peoria. OSHA Strategic Partnership Activity OSHA's Bridgeport, CT area office recently signed a partnership with Skanska USA Building Inc. and Skanska's subcontractors at the IKEA Long Wharf site, in New Haven, CT. More than 1,500 construction workers involved in the Cincinnati Convention Center Expansion and Renovation Project will benefit from a partnership signed last month between OSHA's Cincinnati Area Office, the Hunt Construction Group, and project trade contractors. That project is slated to be completed by December 2006. Clark Construction has joined OSHA's Baltimore office in a partnership agreement for the HQ2 International Monetary Fund Office Building in Washington, D.C. OSHA's Philadelphia Area Office signed a partnership with the Dunn/Intech Joint Venture at the USPS Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center last month, while Lubbock, TX-based Lee Lewis Construction, Inc. signed on with the Lubbock Area Office Jan. 28 for various upcoming construction projects throughout the region. OSHA's strategic partnership program is a voluntary and cooperative relationship geared to encourage, assist and recognize employer efforts to eliminate serious hazards and achieve high levels of worker safety and health. Regional Alliances Established in Chicago, New York The Peoria, IL construction industry is set to benefit from an Alliance signed last month between OSHA and the 325-member Greater Peoria Contractors and Supplier Association. Six area offices in the New York Region signed an Alliance with the New York State On-Site Consultation Program and the Greater New York Healthcare Facilities Association to improve workplace safety and health for more than 10,000 healthcare workers throughout the five boroughs in New York City. Finally, the Puerto Rico Area Office has joined in an Alliance with the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico to create training and education programs for employers and workers in the construction, maritime, manufacturing, and services industries. Voluntary Protection Program Activity Mary Kay, Inc., a national cosmetics manufacturer employing approximately 3,600 workers worldwide, was recognized for eight years of excellence in effective safety and health management during a ceremony in Dallas last month to renew its VPP "Star" status. Other companies recently approved for new or continued participation in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) include: Occidental Chemical Corporation, Cincinnati Silicate, Cincinnati, OH (Cont. Star); Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Stillwater, OK (Cont. Star); Entergy Waterford 1 & 2 Plant, Killona, LA (Cont. Star); Dauterive Hospital, New Iberia, LA (Cont. Star); Entergy Corporation – Williow Glen Power Station, St. Gabriel, LA (New Star); Monsanto Company, Dumas, TX (New Star); Rohm and Haas, R&D Center, Reading, PA (New Star); Honeywell Aircraft Landing Systems, Allentown, PA (Cont. Star); Delta Air Lines, Inc. Technical Operations/Engines, Components & Ground Support Equipment Maintenance Center, Atlanta, GA (New Star); Delta Air Lines, Inc. Technical Operations Center, Base Maintenance, Atlanta, GA (New Star); International Paper, Forest Park, GA (New Star); Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Savannah River Mill, Rincon, GA (Cont. Star); NASA @ KSC, Kennedy Space Center, FL (New Star Demo); Prayon, Inc., Augusta, GA (1-yr Cond) ; USPS, Omaha Processing & Distribution Ctr., Omaha, NE (New Star); Kellogg, Brown & Root - Ft. Huachuca DOL II Project, Ft Huachuca, AZ (New Star Demo); Weir Hazleton, Inc. Hazleton, PA (Cont. Star); GE Industrial Systems, Springfield, MO (Cont. Star); American Ref-Fuel SECONN, Preston, CT (Cont. Star); JE Merit Constructors, Inc. at ATOFINA Sulfox Project, Beaumont, TX (New Star Demo); Dell, Inc., Round Rock 2, Round Rock, TX (New Star); Parkview Health Care Facility, Bolivar, MO (Cont. Star); Koch-Glitsch, LP, Wichita, KS (New Star); and Butterfield Residential Care Center, Bolivar, MO (Cont. Star). Editor: Bill Wright, OSHA Office of Communications, 202-693-1999 |
