Mike Maddox, who has served as VPPPA's board chairman for the past eight years and is seeking re-election, made it clear Aug. 25 that he sees the political leadership of OSHA -- meaning Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels and Jordan Barab, a deputy assistant secretary -- as counterproductive to VPPPA's progress.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health today released Recommended Practices for staffing agencies and host employers to better protect temporary workers from hazards on the job.
VPPPA Board Chairman Mike Maddox and other board members remarked on the association's strong growth since a total of 30 people participated in its inaugural conference in Washington, D.C., in 1984.
Willful and serious safety violations were cited.
The new Disaster Field Supply Center in Arlington, Texas, contains enough supplies to support as many as 100,000 people after disasters nationwide.
Because workers' exposures can exceed the NIOSH REL and STEL, the team recommends monitoring workers, equipping them with flammable gas monitors and respiratory protection as an interim measure, and controls such as alternative tank gauging procedures and dedicated sampling ports.
NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard said, "This draft document is aimed not just at preventing occupational injury and illness related to tobacco use, but also improving the general health and well-being of workers."
A new training unit will be purchased with a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant.
An ANPRM and a research report issued this week are about technology that "represents the next great advance in saving lives," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.
OSHA has proposed more than $54,000 in fines.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 removed the statutory size limit previously placed on offshore supply vessels and required the Coast Guard to issue the new regulations.
Kevin Burke Home Improvement faces more than $56,000 in proposed penalties for violations at its Lackawanna, N.Y., work site.
It will also reinstate drivers who had been terminated for raising safety concerns.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada's report lists 18 contributing factors involved in the July 6, 2013, accident that killed 47 people and destroyed 40 buildings in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec.
A free webcast of the day's symposium will be available. Speakers will include ASSE 2012-2013 President Rick Pollock, CSP, and Dan Anna, CIH, CSP, who is AIHA's president-elect.