Mold Inspection and Testing in the Indoor Environment

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:33:25 -0400

The Centers for Education and Training - School of Public Health’s 2-day Mold Inspection and Testing in the Indoor Environment course will now be accepted as an elective under the OSHA Construction Safety and Health Specialist Certificate.

The next Mold Inspection and Testing in the Indoor Environment course will run on September 22-23, 2009. (Click to Register)

Course topics include:

- Identifying indoor molds.
- Describing the various potential health impacts of mold exposure
- Applying skills needed for residential surveys
- Describing equipment used in mold sampling
- Assessing options for cleaning HVAC systems
- Reviewing mold remediation
- Citing post-abatement assessment sampling plans and interpreting results
- Describing the types of dehumidification equipment necessary for a successful drying plan
- Citing various mold abatement procedures

Pilot National Emphasis Program Targets Workplaces that Release Hazardous Chemicals

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:27:23 -0400

OSHA is establishing a Chemical National Emphasis Program that outlines the policies and procedures for compliance officers to follow when inspecting workplaces covered by the agency's Process Safety Management Standard. The one-year pilot program targets facilities that could release highly hazardous chemicals resulting in toxic fires or explosions.

Combustible Dust Hazards

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:15:56 -0400

OSHA published a new document titled "Hazard Communication Guidance for Combustible Dusts" that helps chemical manufacturers and importers recognize the potential for dust explosions, identify appropriate protective measures, and fulfill the requirements for disseminating this information on material safety data sheets and labels.

Four New Graduates of the Safety and Health Specialist Certificate Program

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:30:02 -0400

Centers for Education and Training - School of Public Health is proud to announce four new graduates of the Safety & Health Specialist Certificate Program. Congratulations to Timothy Mazza (PSE&G), Karen Emery (PSE&G), Thomas Soper, Jr. (PSE&G), and Brian Corrigan (Monmouth County Parks)

Program Overview

The certification program is intended to give the health and safety professional comprehensive knowledge of workplace hazards and an understanding of OSHA regulatory standards. These practical courses help students immediately apply what they have learned.

Exposure Concerns of Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan Symposium

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:49:17 -0400

Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) are presenting a joint symposium on exposure concerns of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan on Thursday, August 6, 2009.
Click Here to download the symposium brochure

NIOSH Continuous Personal Dust Monitor Proposal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:23:27 -0400

NIOSH and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will hold a public hearing July 8 on a proposal to establish criteria for the approval of a new type of device, the continuous personal dust monitor, for use in measuring exposure to respirable dust in underground coal mines. The device holds promise for advancing efforts to prevent coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease. More...

Avoiding Heat Stress on the Job

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:54:45 -0400

The stress of working in hot weather is a concern for many as summer approaches. For the thousands of workers exposed to the oftentimes lethal combination of heat, humidity and physical labor, a few precautions can go a long way to preventing many heat-related injuries or deaths. OSHA's "Heat Stress" QuickCard™ offers a good first step in acquiring prevention information. The card is also available online in Spanish. Copies of the laminated card can be ordered, at no cost, through the agency's publications Web page or by calling 202-693-1888. Visit OSHA's Safety and Health Topics page on heat stress to learn more about this hazard and ways to avoid it.

Quick Action by OSHA Inspector Helps Avert Injuries in Trench Collapse

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:52:16 -0400

When a compliance safety and health officer from OSHA's Chicago North Area Office arrived at a jobsite in April to conduct a trench inspection, he observed an employee working in an unprotected 8-foot-6-inch deep trench. The employee had exited the trench and was preparing to re-enter when the compliance officer identified himself. The employee then voluntarily agreed to not re-enter the trench until adequate cave-in protection was provided. The CSHO began identifying signs of cracks and fissures to the employer as indicators of a potential collapse and explaining the dangers of working in such conditions. Within minutes, the wall collapsed in the area where the employee had been working. Detailed information on excavation safety is available on OSHA's trenching and excavation Safety and Health Topics Web page.

OSHA Releases H1N1 Flu Guidance for Employers and Workers

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:46:32 -0400

OSHA issued worker safety and health guidance for H1N1 flu, including fact sheets on "What Employers Can Do to Protect Workers from Pandemic Influenza" (English/Spanish), "Respiratory Infection Control: Respirators Versus Surgical Masks" (English/Spanish), and "Healthcare Workplaces Classified as Very High or High Exposure Risk for Pandemic Influenza" (English/Spanish). QuickCards™ were also released on "Pandemic Flu Respiratory Protection" (English/Spanish) and "How to Protect Yourself in the Workplace during a Pandemic" (English/Spanish).

Labor Secretary acts swiftly to avoid workers' exposure to diacetyl

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:31:35 -0400

Secretary Hilda L. Solis withdrew an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for occupational exposure to food flavorings containing diacetyl for OSHA's timely development of a standard to protect workers from bronchiolitis obliterans, a serious and potentially fatal lung disease associated with such an exposure.

New publication discusses mandatory respirator selection provisions added to existing Respiratory Protection Standard

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:08:19 -0400

Assigned Protection Factors, a new guidance document, provides employers with information for selecting respirators for employees exposed to contaminants in the air. A limited number of copies are available for ordering from OSHA's publications page or by calling 202-693-1888.

30th Annual Scientific Meeting on April 3, 2009

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 10:17:34 -0400

NYNJ 30th Annual Scientific Meeting
From Research to Practice in Occupational Health and Safety
April 3, 2009
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

For information on the NYNJ 30th Annual Scientific Meeting
including the agenda, speaker bios, registration and directions, please click here.
You can also register directly by clicking here.

The 30th Annual Scientific Day of the New York/New Jersey Education and Research Center will look at progress that has been made in terms of better understanding the impact of occupational safety and health on individuals through specific examples. The impact of asbestos on human health has been enormous; seminal work was done at Mount Sinai that laid the foundation for future studies on the connection between asbestos exposure and malignancy. Lead, a ubiquitous heavy metal, has deleterious effects on human health from the fetus to the elderly worker; the assessment of how lead exposure can be measured has changed dramatically over time. The workforce in the United States has also changed over the past thirty years, and as the baby boomers age and remain the workforce longer, there are new challenges related to threats to the older worker. Great strides have been made over the past thirty years, and there is great potential for future work to ensure greater worker safety and health -- and the vision for how workers can be best protected will be addressed in this conference.

OSHA enforcement programs help assure safe and healthful workplaces

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:34:53 -0500

There will be more employees coming home healthy and uninjured each day thanks to OSHA's enforcement efforts. Innovative approaches such as the Enhanced Enforcement Program, Site Specific Targeting and National Emphasis Programs are methods OSHA uses to target the most hazardous workplaces and employers with high injury and illness rates. To learn more about how OSHA's enforcement programs have helped improve workplace safety and health, examine the enforcement activity fact sheet.

Final rule issued on employers duty to provide PPE and train employees

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:32:59 -0500

OSHA issued a final rule on Clarification of Employers' Duty to Provide Personal Protective Equipment and Train Each Employee. The rule revises OSHA standards to clarify that, for employers to be in compliance, they must provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and hazards training for each employee covered by the standards. More information is available in the Dec. 12 Federal Register.

OSHA publishes proposed rule to revise procedures for fit testing respirators

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:28:19 -0500

OSHA is proposing to add two PortaCount® quantitative
fit-testing protocols to its Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR
1910.134); the proposed protocols would apply to employers in general industry, shipyard employment, and the construction industry. The first of the two proposed protocols consists of the eight fit-testing exercises described in Part I.A.14 of Appendix A of the Respiratory Protection Standard, except each exercise would last 30 seconds instead of the currently required 60 seconds.\1\ The second proposed protocol would eliminate two of the eight fit-testing exercises, and each of the remaining six exercises would last 40 seconds; in addition, this proposed protocol would increase the current minimum pass-fail fit-testing criterion from a fit factor of 100 to 200 for half masks, and from 500 to 1,000 for full facepieces.

Read more...