Worker exposure to silica during hydraulic fracturing

"Hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' is a process used_to 'stimulate' well production in the oil and gas industry. It is not a new process, but its use has increased significantly in the last 10 years because_of new horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracking (or 'completions') technologies that improve access to natural gas and oil deposits. It involves pumping large volumes of water and sand into a well at high pressure to fracture shale and other tight formations, allowing oil and gas to flow into the well. NIOSH's recent field studies show that workers may be exposed to dust with high levels of respirable crystalline silica (called 'silica' in this Hazard Alert) during hydraulic fracturing. This Hazard Alert discusses the health hazards associated with hydraulic fracturing and focuses on worker exposures to silica in the air. It covers the health effects of breathing silica, recommends ways to protect workers, and describes how OSHA and NIOSH can help. Workers and employers need to be aware of the hazard that silica dust poses. Employers must ensure that workers are properly protected from exposure to silica. This Hazard Alert also provides a brief summary of other health and safety hazards to workers conducting hydraulic fracturing activities." - p. 1The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) identified exposure to airborne silica as a health hazard to workers conducting some hydraulic fracturing operations during recent field studies."DTSEM 6/2012."Also available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (2.02 MB, 7 p.)

Use of blunt-tip suture needles to decrease percutaneous injuries to surgical personnel

"The purpose of this Safety and Health Information Bulletin is: 1. To describe the hazard of sharp-tip suture needles as a source of percutaneous injuries to surgical personnel; 2. To present evidence of the effectiveness of blunt-tip suture needles in decreasing percutaneous injuries to surgical personnel, particularly when used to suture muscle and fascia; and 3. To emphasize OSHA's requirement to use safer medical devices - in this case, blunt-tip suture needles - where clinically appropriate. Conclusion: OSHA and NIOSH strongly encourage the use of blunt-tip suture needles, whenever feasible and appropriate, to decrease percutaneous injuries to surgical personnel. Clinical use and scientific studies have established the effectiveness of blunt tip suture needles in decreasing the risk of percutaneous injuries. Employers in workplaces that use suture needles have the responsibility under the Bloodborne Pathogens standard to evaluate the use of blunt-tip suture needles as well as other appropriate safer medical devices. After this evaluation, which must include input from nonmanagerial employees responsible for direct patient care [29 CFR 1910.1030(c)(1)(v)] - e.g., in this case surgical personnel - employers must use safer devices to replace corresponding conventional sharp-tip suture needles in their workplaces when clinically appropriate. The introduction of any device must include training of staff in its proper use and follow-up to ensure a successful transition from conventional to safer devices. Where an employer has determined that the use of available safer devices is not feasible, the clinical justification for this determination must be documented in the facility's Exposure Control Plan and the employer must implement alternative means of protecting surgical personnel from percutaneous injuries. " - NIOSHTIC-2developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services.Includes bibliographical references

Development and evaluation of an advanced training technology course within a union-based industrial emergency response training program

Background The Health and Safety Department of the United Automobile Workers recently introduced the use of Advanced Training Technologies (ATTs) into a previously successful Industrial Emergency Response (IER) program. The new curriculum attempted to incorporate web-based technology, while preserving the historical emphasis on the use of peer trainers and the Small Group Activity Method (SGAM) to promote team problem solving and worker empowerment. Methods The University of Michigan evaluated the program by administering a survey combining open- and closed-ended questions to trainees. Results Of the 46 respondents, most rated the program very highly, found that the use of internet technology allowed faster access to current information, reported peer trainers as one of program aspects they liked best, and did not find working in groups of three per computer difficult. Conclusions It is possible to enhance a workplace health and safety training program through the introduction of ATT without compromising participant-centered, group learning program philosophies. Am. J. Ind. Med. 43:429–435, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34823/1/10193_ftp.pd

Occupational cooling practices of emergency first responders in the United States: A survey

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Temperature on 29/07/2018, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2018.1493907 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Despite extensive documentation directed specifically toward mitigating thermal strain of first responders, we wished to ascertain the degree to which first responders applied cooling strategies, and what opinions are held by the various agencies/departments within the United States. An internet-based survey of first responders was distributed to the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Firefighters, National Bomb Squad Advisory Board and the USA Interagency Board and their subsequent departments and branches. Individual first responder departments were questioned regarding the use of pre-, concurrent, post-cooling, types of methods employed, and/or reasons why they had not incorporated various methods in first responder deployment. Completed surveys were collected from 119 unique de-identified departments, including those working in law enforcement (29%), as firefighters (29%), EOD (28%) and HAZMAT technicians (15%). One-hundred and eighteen departments (99%) reported heat strain/illness to be a risk to employee safety during occupational duties. The percentage of departments with at least one case of heat illness in the previous year were as follows: fire (39%) HAZMAT (23%), EOD (20%) and law enforcement (18%). Post-cooling was the scheduled cooling method implemented the most (63%). Fire departments were significantly more likely to use post-cooling, as well as combine two types of scheduled cooling compared to other departments. Importantly, 25% of all departments surveyed provided no cooling whatsoever. The greatest barriers to personnel cooling were as follows–availability, cost, logistics, and knowledge. Our findings could aid in a better understanding of current practices and perceptions of heat illness and injury prevention in United States first responders. Abbreviations: EOD: explosive ordnance disposal; HAZMAT: hazardous materials.This project is financially supported by the United States Government through the United States Department of Defense (DOD).Published versio

The Tobacco Industry’s Role in the 16 Cities Study of Secondhand Tobacco Smoke: Do the Data Support the Stated Conclusions?

BACKGROUND: Since 1996, the tobacco industry has used the 16 Cities Study conclusions that workplace secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposures are lower than home exposures to argue that workplace and other smoking restrictions are unnecessary. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to determine the origins and objectives of the 16 Cities Study through analysis of internal tobacco industry documents and regulatory agency and court records, and to evaluate the validity of the study’s conclusions. RESULTS: The tobacco industry’s purpose in conducting the 16 Cities Study was to develop data showing that workplace SHS exposures were negligible, using these data to stop smoking restrictions by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The extensive involvement of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and the tobacco industry’s Center for Indoor Air Research in controlling the study was not fully disclosed. The study’s definition of “smoking workplace” included workplaces where smoking was restricted to designated areas or where no smoking was observed. This definition substantially reduced the study’s reported average SHS concentrations in “smoking workplaces” because SHS levels in unrestricted smoking workplaces are much greater than in workplaces with designated smoking areas or where no smoking occurred. Stratifying the data by home smoking status and comparing exposures by workplace smoking status, however, indicates that smoke-free workplaces would halve the total SHS exposure of those living with smokers and virtually eliminate SHS exposure for most others. CONCLUSIONS: Data in the 16 Cities Study reveal that smoke-free workplaces would dramatically reduce total SHS exposure, providing significant worker and public health benefits

Facts About Worker Safety and Health - 2012

[Excerpt] This year marks the 41st anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the effective date of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Act – which guarantees every American worker a safe and healthful working environment – created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to set and enforce standards and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to conduct research and investigations. This year also marks the 43rd anniversary of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, and 35th anniversary of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) and COVID-19

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not currently have a specific standard that protects healthcare or other workers from airborne or aerosol transmission of disease or diseases transmitted by airborne droplets. Some in Congress, and some groups representing healthcare and other workers, are calling on OSHA to promulgate an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect workers from exposure to SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) gives OSHA the ability to promulgate an ETS that would remain in effect for up to six months without going through the normal review and comment process of rulemaking. OSHA, however, has rarely used this authority in the past—not since the courts struck down its ETS on asbestos in 1983. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), which operates California’s state occupational safety and health plan, has had an aerosol transmissible disease (ATD) standard since 2009. This standard includes, among other provisions, the requirement that employers provide covered employees with respirators, rather than surgical masks, when these workers interact with ATDs, such as known or suspected COVID-19 cases. Also, according to the Cal/OSHA ATD standard, certain procedures require the use of powered air purifying respirators (PAPR). Both OSHA and Cal/OSHA have issued enforcement guidance to address situations when the shortage of respirators may impede an employer’s ability to comply with existing standards. H.R. 6139, the COVID-19 Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2020, would require OSHA to promulgate an ETS on COVID-19 that incorporates both the Cal/OSHA ATD standard and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) 2007 guidelines on occupational exposure to infectious agents in healthcare settings. The CDC’s 2007 guidelines generally require stricter controls than its interim guidance on COVID-19 exposure. The provisions of H.R. 6139 were incorporated into the version of H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, as introduced in the House. However, the OSHA ETS provisions were not included in the version of legislation that passed the House and the Senate and was signed into law as P.L. 116-127. A group representing hospitals claims that because SARS-Cov-2 is primarily transmitted by airborne droplets and surface contacts, surgical masks are sufficient protection for workers coming into routine contact with COVID-19 cases, and that the shortage of respirators may adversely impact some hospitals’ patient capacities. H.R. 6379, as introduced by the House, also includes a requirement for an OSHA ETS and permanent standard to address COVID-19 exposure

Technical Bulletins: OSHA Changes Forms and Procedures for Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (2010)

The 2002 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordkeeping rules require employers, subject to the rules, to record and report work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses

Technical Bulletins: OSHA Changes Forms and Procedures for Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (2011)

The 2002 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordkeeping rules require employers, subject to the rules, to record and report work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses