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Dan Abbotoy
August 05, 2024
Good morning! For those who are not going to Denver this week, we’re here for you. For those who are going to Denver, we hope you have a great time.
THIS WEEK’S TIPS
This week’s safety upgrades:
EPA Changes - Effective Immediately
Global Safety Leader Data and Resources
Federal Laws and Resources
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
This Weeks Professional Development Tip
SAFETY KNIGHTS COMMUNITY
For Those About to Rock a New Gig.
SAFETY DATA
If Workplace Fatalities were an Olympic Medal Count.
In 2023, Singapore achieved a new safety record with a workplace fatality rate of 0.99 per 100,000 workers, the lowest since record-keeping began 16 years ago. The Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council, led by Mr. Abu Bakar Mohd Nor, aims to ensure every worker returns home safely. Despite progress, the council continues to strive for improvements, especially for small businesses.
Key Initiatives and Changes:
1. Increased Fines and New Rules: To deter unsafe practices, fines for workplace safety breaches have more than doubled, and new rules targeting high-risk sectors have been introduced.
2. Accessible Safety Practices: The WSH Council provides guidance materials in multiple languages and offers support through SME centers to make safety practices more accessible and affordable.
3. International Collaboration: The WSH Council collaborates with global experts through the International Advisory Panel (IAP) to adopt best practices from countries like Australia, Finland, Germany, Korea, the UK, and the USA.
“No matter how low the numbers get, they represent human lives.”
Impact of Safety Programs:
Companies like Gammon Pte Ltd and Lum Chang Interior Pte Ltd have benefited from WSH programs, leading to improved safety protocols and a reduction in accidents.
Initiatives like CultureSAFE and Total WSH have heightened safety awareness among employees.
Continuous Improvement:
The WSH Council emphasizes the importance of leadership in fostering a culture of safety. Efforts include creating networks for industry leaders to share safety experiences and incentivizing SMEs to invest in safety measures.
[Making workplace safety second nature] is about ensuring that health and safety are seen as on a par with profitability and efficiency.
Looking Forward:
The upcoming September, the WSH Council will run the Singapore WSH Conference 2024 will bring together businesses, experts, unions, and government representatives to discuss new trends and further improve WSH standards. Experts like Dr. Park Doo-Yong and Ms. Sarah Albon highlight the importance of flexibility, collaboration, and a culture that values health and safety alongside profitability and efficiency.
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ENVIORNMENTAL
Pesticide Drifts.
The EPA will now assess the potential for pesticide drift—where pesticides can travel to unintended areas and potentially expose people—earlier in the chemical review process. This aims to protect individuals in residential or recreational areas from symptoms caused by skin or eye contact with pesticides.
Effective immediately, the EPA will:
Update pesticide registrations to mandate a human health spray drift analysis for any new submissions for domestic uses of new active ingredients.
Require a human health spray drift analysis for new use and amended use registration submissions where that active ingredient previously received a chemical-specific spray drift analysis.
Implement spray drift analyses for ongoing registration actions under review, when possible.
Previously, these assessments were conducted 15 years after a pesticide's approval. The EPA will also mandate protective measures, such as adjusting labeling instructions for droplet sizes and buffer distances, to minimize drift and protect nearby individuals if hazards are identified.
Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator of the EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, emphasized the importance of ensuring public health protections are in place when a pesticide is initially approved, avoiding delays in implementing safety measures.
MSHA NEWS
2023 Injury and Illness Data is out!
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has announced results from a Pattern of Violations (POV) screening, identifying mines with chronic safety violations. This marks the first time more than one POV screening has been conducted in a calendar year. The POV process identifies mines with significant and substantial (S&S) violations that pose health and safety risks to miners.
Key points include:
MSHA now screens all U.S. mines to identify those with high numbers of S&S violations.
Under the Mine Act, MSHA can issue POV notices to mines with a pattern of S&S violations. If further S&S violations occur, miners must be withdrawn from affected areas until violations are corrected.
For the enforcement period ending April 30, 2024, MSHA identified Mine No. 39 in West Virginia as meeting POV criteria but decided not to issue a POV notice after reviewing mitigating circumstances.
POV notices for the following mines remain in effect:
Atalco Gramercy LLC’s Gramercy Operation in Louisiana (issued July 6, 2023) for caustic spills and leaks.
Morton Salt Inc.’s Weeks Island Mine and Mill in Louisiana (issued December 1, 2022) for roof and rib hazards.
MSHA provides online calculators to help mine operators monitor compliance and avoid meeting POV criteria. The POV Calculator and the S&S Calculator assist operators in tracking performance and taking corrective actions when necessary.
Related: MSHA providing $1M in safety grants
FEDERAL LAWS
Labor Enforcement to Securely (LET’S) Protect Workers Act (H.R. 9137).
House Democrats introduced the Labor Enforcement to Securely (LET’S) Protect Workers Act (H.R. 9137), aiming to increase fines for workplace safety and child labor violations. Sponsored by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), the bill proposes raising OSHA fines for serious violations from $7,000 to $80,000, and for willful or repeat violations from $70,000 to $800,000, with the minimum willful penalty increasing from $5,000 to $60,000.
The legislation also allows monetary penalties collected for mine safety violations to fund black lung benefits and provides options to shut down repeat violators. Other provisions include closing a loophole that lets employers escape penalties for not recording workplace injuries if undetected by OSHA within six months, new penalties for retaliation against workers using family and medical leave, and enhanced enforcement of mental health parity requirements for employer-sponsored health plans. The bill also increases penalties for violations of minimum wage, overtime rules, and farmworker protection standards.
Rep. Scott emphasized that the bill addresses labor law shortcomings that allow unethical employers to exploit workers and endanger children. The bill has been referred to the House committees on Education and the Workforce, Oversight and Accountability, and House Administration.
Cal’s New Workplace Violence Law
On September 30, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) No. 553 into law, creating a new workplace violence prevention standard in California effective July 1, 2024. This law mandates that nearly all California employers implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan with specific requirements. Cal/OSHA released a revised draft proposal for this standard, including definitions for engineering and work practice controls, and requiring communication with employee representatives regarding workplace violence issues.
Key points:
Comments on the proposal are due by September 3, 2024, with an advisory committee hearing scheduled for later this year.
Cal/OSHA must propose a workplace violence prevention standard by December 31, 2025, with the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board adopting the final standard by December 31, 2026.
The new draft includes requirements for maintaining records of workplace violence complaints and investigations, post-incident response procedures, and providing immediate medical care and trauma counseling for employees affected by workplace violence incidents.
Cal/OSHA plans to hold an advisory committee meeting later this year to gather input on the draft standard.
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