OSHA announced that auto parts manufacturer Sunfield Inc. has agreed to a settlement that includes a $1 million penalty, and will hire a safety and health coordinator to resolve safety and health violations found at the company’s Hebron plant.
OSHA inspected the facility in January and February 2016 after two employees suffered severe injuries when they came in contact with moving machine parts. The inspection also found that the company lacked adequate power press guarding, and hazardous energy control procedures that could have prevented the incidents.
“Employers have an obligation under the law to ensure safe and healthy workplaces,” said OSHA’s Chicago-area Regional Administrator Ken Nishiyama Atha. “In addition to paying a $1 million penalty, this company has committed to invest in the safety and health of its employees and work cooperatively with OSHA.”
As part of he settlement, Sunfield also agreed to revise die-change procedures, develop a program for ensuring installed light curtains and interlocks are functioning properly prior to each shift, work with third-party auditors to complete a safety and health audit of its facility, and meet quarterly with OSHA staff to assure implementation of this agreement.
Jacksonville Hazardous Waste and DOT Hazardous Materials Training
Register for Hazardous Waste Management and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in Jacksonville, FL, on March 27-29 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800-537-2372.
New Orleans Hazardous Waste and DOT Hazardous Materials Training
Register for Hazardous Waste Management and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in New Orleans, LA, on April 3-5 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800-537-2372.
San Diego Hazardous Waste and DOT Hazardous Materials Training
Register for California Hazardous Waste Management and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in San Diego, CA, on April 10-12 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800-537-2372.
Bill Introduced to Prevent Workplace Violence in Healthcare
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), together with 12 other House Democrats, introduced legislation intended to curb workplace violence in health care facilities.
The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act, introduced March 8, would require OSHA to create a standard that would direct health care facilities to develop and implement facility- and unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, at least 58 hospital workers died as a result of workplace violence between 2011 and 2016. In 2016, the Government Accountability Office found that health care workers at inpatient facilities were five to 12 times more likely to encounter nonfatal workplace violence than all other workers.
The legislation follows regulation enacted in 2014 in California, which went into effect in 2017, directing Cal/OSHA to craft a workplace violence prevention standard. The law requires all covered health care employers in California to develop and issue – by April 1 – plans to prevent workplace violence and ensure the safety of patients and workers.
The bill introduced by Khanna is similar: Workplaces would create and implement comprehensive violence prevention plans with input from doctors, nurses and custodial workers. The bill stresses prevention, training and worker participation. It defines workplace violence broadly to include not only physical acts of violence, but threats of violence. It emphasizes staffing as a crucial ingredient in preventing violence from occurring and responding quickly when it does.
“Health care workers, doctors and nurses are continuously at risk of workplace violence incidents – strangling, punching, kicking and other physical attacks – that can cause severe injury or death,” Khanna said in a March 8 press release. “This is simply unacceptable. The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act puts a comprehensive plan in place and is a national solution to this widespread problem modeled after the success seen in California.”
National Nurses United, the nation's largest union of registered nurses, applauded the bill. “Right now, health care facilities are not doing enough to prevent these violent incidents,” NNU Co-President Deborah Burger said in a press release. “Under the proposed federal standard, hospitals would need to assess and correct for environmental risk factors, patient specific risk factors, staffing and security system sufficiency. There are a number of interventions that can reduce violence in the hospital.
“For example, affixing furniture and lighting so they can't be used as weapons, maintaining clear lines of sight between workers while they are caring for patients, and providing easy access to panic buttons or phones to call for help. It is imperative that nurses, doctors, and other health care workers, along with security staff and custodial personnel, are all involved in the development and implementation of these plans.”
REACH Deadline Approaching for EU-Wide Registration of Chemicals
The European Union’s REACH Regulation requires companies that manufacture or import chemical substances into the EU to register them with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). If your company manufactures or imports chemicals, have a look at the seven steps to take for a successful REACH registration. The last registration deadline is 31 May 2018.
If your company uses chemicals in the EU, check the search for chemicals to make sure your critical substances have been registered or are intended to be, and that the registration covers your uses.
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