On May 15, ISRI Transportation Safety Director Commodor Hall attended a cross-industry meeting with the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels, and several OSHA staff members.
Approximately 13 industries were represented in the meeting. During the meeting the following items were discussed:
- Information on OSHA Reporting requirements that began January 1, 2015. Report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours, all work-related inpatient hospitalizations of one or more employees, all work-related amputations and all work-related losses of an eye. OSHA is receiving about 200 reports per week regarding the new requirement and they are investigating about 40 percent. The remainder of the reports are followed up by telephone calls and correspondence to ascertain incident root causes and corrective measures. OSHA is averaging about 40,000 inspections annually, and they have conducted roughly 4,000 inspections for 2015.
- The proposed standard on beryllium exposure is expected soon. Beryllium is a lightweight metal that is used for nuclear weapons, atomic energy, and for metal alloys such as beryllium- copper and beryllium-aluminum. The metal alloys are used in dental appliances, golf clubs, non-sparking tools, wheel chairs, etc. In addition to lung cancer, a new OSHA beryllium standard would address chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a fatal disease involving lung fibrosis and other organ toxicity.
- OSHA is aggressively involved in investigating Whistleblower Complaints under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Employees who work for publicly traded companies or companies that are required to file certain reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are protected from retaliation for reporting alleged mail, wire, bank, or securities fraud; violation(s) of SEC rules and regulations; or violation(s) of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.
- Electronic tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses: The final rule may be released later this year. With the information acquired through this proposed rule, employers, employees, the government, and researchers will have better access to data, resulting in improved programs to reduce workplace hazards and prevent injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. The proposal does not add any new requirement to keep records; it only modifies an employer's obligation to transmit these records to OSHA.
- The proposed Alliance between OSHA and ISRI. This is an alliance to raise awareness for the importance of workplace safety within the recycling industry, and also increase the effectiveness of industry safety programs by entering into a dialogue on leading causes of injuries and fatalities. In addition, it will provide ISRI, its members, and others with information, knowledge, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of industry workers and others that are involved in recycling operations. Consideration of OSHA lending support to ISRI's Safety Stand-Down Day by way of a statement from OSHA senior management and OSHA providing a link on their website to the ReMA Safety Stand-Down webpage was also discussed.
If you would like more details on the OSHA industry meeting contact ReMA Transportation Safety Director Commodor Hall at (202) 662-8519. If you are interested in scheduling an ReMA Outreach Safety Service (10-Hour Safety Training or a Safety Blueprint) contact ReMA Safety Program Manager Lisa Hazell at (202) 662-8511.