"As a Field Inventory Specialist, I see the good, the bad, and the ugly of chemical inventory practices! An accurate chemical inventory is the foundation for your overall chemical management initiatives and GHS compliance. Therefore, similar to building a house, periodic chemical inventories will ensure there are no cracks in your foundation. The foundation is built on understanding what chemicals you have on site, documenting where they are located, as well as ensuring an accurate and up-to-date safety data sheet (SDS) is available.

The rewards are that you will: 1) establish a solid baseline for creating chemical approval and control procedures, 2) ensure SDS compliance, and 3) automate regulatory reporting that is efficient and accurate.

Here are a few of the things I try to go over with EHS managers before I begin an inventory.

1. Tidy up. For safety and efficiency purposes, do a little "spring cleaning" on the areas that you are going to inventory. Dispose of unused or outdated chemicals before beginning.

2. Label and/or bar-code materials. Make sure all chemicals are labeled or use bar codes, if they’re available from your SDS or inventory management system. Labeled materials will speed up the inventory process and allow for the least disruptions of production lines or research activity.

3. Plan the work, work the plan. Set the date early and educate employees about the inventory process. Have a map of the facility and, if employing multiple teams to inventory, assign areas up front so there is no overlap or redundancy in effort."

To view the rest of the tips, click here!

Dr. David Michaels announced it during DOL's 2013 Workers' Memorial Day ceremony.

• Apr 30, 2013

OSHA's chief on April 29 announced an initiative to strengthen protections for temporary employees. The announcement was made during a program at Labor Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., marking Workers' Memorial Day.

OSHA also sent a memorandum to its regional administrators directing field inspectors to assess whether employers who use temp workers are complying with their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Inspectors will use a newly created code in their information system to denote when temp workers are exposed in violation of regulations and standards, and they'll assess whether temp workers received required training in a language and vocabulary they can understand.

"On Workers' Memorial Day, we mourn the loss of the thousands of workers who die each year on the job from preventable hazards," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "Many of those killed and injured are temporary workers who often perform the most dangerous jobs, have limited English proficiency, and are not receiving the training and protective measures required. Workers must be safe, whether they've been on the job for one day or for 25 years."

Click here to view this article!

"Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri announced the numbers while kicking off the Department of Buildings' ninth annual Construction Safety Week with the 2013 Build Safe/Live Safe Conference.

• Apr 30, 2013

New York City Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri opened the Department of Buildings' ninth annual Construction Safety Week on April 29 at the 2013 Build Safe/Live Safe Conference, with the announced results of Operation: Low Rise, a two-month inspection sweep of low-rise construction sites throughout the city. Detailed inspections at 920 sites resulted in full and partial stop work orders at 12 percent of the locations, 879 safety violations being issued, and a minimum of $954,450 in penalties.

The conference was held at the New York Marriott Downtown and more than 400 construction professionals and government regulators attended it.

The department's multi-lingual safety campaign for low-rise construction operations, titled Experience Is Not Enough, saw inspectors hand out more than 10,000 educational flyers encouraging workers to take proper precautions on the job site. According to the DOB news release, construction-related fatalities rose to eight last year from five in 2011, and seven of the 2012 deaths occurred on low-rise sites -- buildings under construction that will be nine stories or less."

Click here to read more!

*Note* If you need the training mentioned below, we are able to help! Contact us for more details.

EPA Takes Action Against Violators of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule

The RRP rule protects homeowners and tenants from dangerous lead dust that can be left behind after common renovation, repair, and painting work. It requires that contractors and subcontractors be properly trained and certified, and use lead-safe work practices to ensure that lead dust is minimized. Lead exposure can cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities to seizures and death, putting young children at the greatest risk because their nervous systems are still developing.  “Using lead-safe work practices is good business and it’s the law,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA is taking action to enforce lead rules to protect people from exposure to lead and to ensure a level playing field for contractors that follow the rules.”

The enforcement actions address serious violations of the RRP rule, including fourteen actions where the contractor failed to obtain certification prior to performing or offering to perform renovation activities on pre-1978 homes, where lead is more likely to be present. Other alleged violations included failure to follow the lead-safe work practices, which are critical to reducing exposure to lead-based paint hazards.  The 17 enforcement actions listed below include 14 administrative settlements assessing civil penalties of up to $23,000. These settlements also required the contractors to certify that they had come into compliance with the requirements of the RRP rule. Additionally, EPA filed three administrative complaints seeking civil penalties of up to the statutory maximum of $37,500 per violation. As required by the Toxic Substances Control Act, a company or individual’s ability to pay a penalty is evaluated and penalties are adjusted accordingly.  Enforcement action

For more information about the settlements, click here!

For more about lead and instructions on getting certified, click here!

As you plan your training for the summer, remember we have open enrollment classes going on! See below regarding, June 14th Hazwoper training!