All posts by totalsafetyadmin

Downstream, Midstream, News, Training, Compliance & Certification, US

OSHA announces final rule on updated eye and face protection

Employers may need to make changes to the equipment they supply to their workers, as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has published its final rule updating the requirements for eye and face protection.

The updated OSHA regulations will affect workers in general industry, shipyard, long shoring, marine terminals and construction. The new regulations will go into effect  April 25, 2016, which gives employers 30 days to adjust.

The update makes changes to the Eye and Face Protection Standards to recognize revisions in the American National Standards Institute's safety standard on Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices. The OSHA update removes references to the 1986 edition of the ANSI standard, which is now considered outdated. However, references to 2003 and 1989 versions of the ANSI standard will be kept in the finalized OSHA rule. The OSHA standard has also been changed to bring any other provisions of the eye and face protection standard into alignment with OSHA's general industry and maritime standards.

"The updated regulations affect general industry, shipyard, long shoring, marine terminals and construction."

As Occupational Health & Safety magazine reported, OSHA issued a notice of its intention to update the standard March 13, 2015. During the open public comment period, the agency received no significant adverse feedback, and the standard was published as originally proposed. The magazine noted the changes made by the updated standard will likely not affect the equipment most employers are currently using.

The need for eye and face protection
According to OSHA, the Eye and Face protection standard is designed to lower the rate of serious accidents and high medical costs in the workplace. The agency estimates thousands of workers are blinded each year from eye injuries at work sites that could have been prevented through proper selection and use of eye and face protection.

From the combined costs of lost production time, medical expenses and worker compensation, eye injuries alone cost U.S. businesses more than $300 million per year on average, OSHA reported. The agency requires employers to provide workers with personal protection equipment against any chemical, environmental, radiological or mechanical irritants and hazards at the job site.

As noted by Safety + Health magazine, environmental conditions at work locations may create additional complications to eye and face protection that employers will need to overcome. For workers in industries such as metalworking, oil and gas and construction who are faced with hot or humid work conditions, this may mean fogged-up eyewear that can hinder vision and safety. In circumstances such as these, employers should utilize environmental controls such as dehumidifiers or other forms of temperature regulation in order to reduce the humidity workers are exposed to. If this is not possible, employers can provide protective eye wear that uses anti-fogging technologies such as hydrophobic and hydrophilic coating.

Gas Detection, Training, Compliance & Certification, Upstream, US

OSHA safety campaign focuses on upstream oil and gas

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is increasing its efforts to prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the upstream oil and gas industry.

A new campaign from OSHA called Step Up For Safety is a voluntary event designed to increase training and awareness at oil and gas work sites. The campaign is a collaborative effort of OSHA, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the National Service, Transmission, Exploration and Production Safety Network, a volunteer organization that works for improvements in safety, health and environmental improvements in the oil and gas industry.

According to Safety + Health Magazine, the campaign was launched following increased regulatory concern for worker safety. The oil and gas extraction industry has one of the highest on-site fatality rates in the country. More than 140 works suffered fatal injuries while on the job in 2014 alone.

In a press release, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels said the campaign, which will run through the end of March, is designed to increase awareness around safety issues and stop preventable accidents and fatalities.

"The campaign includes a new website and toolbox of education materials for employers."

"Hazardous working conditions are taking the lives of a growing number of workers employed in oil and gas extraction," Michaels said in statement. "This safety step-up will help emphasize the tremendous value in dedicating time during a workday to improve safety and health."

The campaign includes a new website, a toolbox of education materials for employers as well as site inspections and safety training. OSHA also issued two alerts on hazards associated with worker exposure to silica during hydraulic fracturing and hydrocarbon gases during manual tank gauging.

New alerts
In announcing the joint alerts on hydraulic fracturing and tank gauging, OSHA noted the recommendations fall into three general categories: engineering controls, work practices and personal protective equipment.

"It has been known for years that oil and gas extraction is extremely dangerous work, with high rates of workplace fatalities," Michaels said in a statement. "We also know that every incident is preventable. It's critically important that we all work together to make sure that oil and gas extraction workers are aware of life-threatening exposure to hydrocarbon gases and vapors and low oxygen atmospheres, and that they are protected."

The hydrocarbon alert provides specific recommendations to protect workers when opening tank hatches to manually gauge or sample hydrocarbon levels. New procedures are recommended in order to reduce potential exposure to volatile chemical compounds, including methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane, benzene and xylene, all of which have been associated with immediate health effects, including loss of consciousness and death.

"OSHA issued two joint alerts on hydraulic fracturing and tank gauging."

The hydraulic fracturing alert follows NIOSH field studies that revealed workers at fracking sites may be exposed to dust with high levels of respirable crystalline silica. Crystalline silica is a common mineral found in the earth's crust, in components such as quartz, sand, clay and stone. Respirable crystalline silica is the portion of the mineral that is small enough to enter the gas-exchange regions of the lungs if inhaled, which may lead to the lung disease silicosis.

Addressing hazards
The OSHA 2016 StepUp Safety Campaign includes training resources for increasing worker safety around common hazards, including: falls, struck-by/dropped objects, fire and explosions, inspection checklists, transportation and behavior-based risks, as well as tank gauging and hydraulic fracturing. 

Procedural recommendations from the tank gauging alter include:

  • Use remote or alternative gauging and sampling to keep fuel tank hatches closed whenever possible
  • Keep employees from working alone
  • Provide flame-resistant clothing and impermeable gloves
  • Utilize blowdown valves, tank sampling taps and thief hatch pressure indicators
  • Work upwind and at a distance from open valves, if possible

In order to minimize the risks of silica exposure in hydraulic fracturing, OSHA recommended:

  • Using alternative proppants such as sintered bauxite, ceramics and resincoated sand where feasible
  • Implementing monitoring programs to check for worker exposures to silica
  • Utilizing engineering controls that reduce dust, including capping unused fill ports on sand movers, reducing drop heights between transfer belts and blender hoppers.
  • Implementing administrative controls such as limiting the number of workers and the time workers spend in areas where dust and silica levels may be higher
  • Perform dusty operations remotely whenever possible.
  • Applying water to roads and around well sites to reduce dust

The full recommendations for the two new safety alerts are available as part of the campaign's educational tool kit. Additional safety recommendations are available on the StepUp website.

Confined Space Safety, Fire Protection, Gas Detection, Training, Compliance & Certification, US

OSHA releases safety bulletin on hydrogen gas purging

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a new safety and health information bulletin on the hazards associated with hydrogen gas purging.

Hydrogen gas-cooled generators are common in electric power plants. As Energy Tech explained, hydrogen has been used to cool large electric generators in power plants since the 1930s. Hydrogen has superior cooling properties and because the gas is so light, it is able to cool generators without the resistance created by wind cooling, which can reduce efficiency.

However, hydrogen presents unique safety challenges. For one, it has a wide flammability range, and air with hydrogen concentrations as low as 4 percent can be highly flammable. According to OSHA guidelines, concentrations higher than 10 percent are considered immediately dangerous. Additionally, hydrogen has a low ignition energy, meaning even a small spark, such as an electrostatic charge from a worker's movements or plugging in an electrical device, can be enough to ignite a fire.

"Air with hydrogen concentrations as low as 4 percent can be highly flammable."

The new OSHA bulletin provides safety guidelines for when employees need to perform maintenance tasks on electric generators, and addresses the risks associated with the combustible nature of hydrogen. The document spells out the importance of ensuring the gas is properly purged from generator housings and bushing boxes before maintenance begins in order to minimize the risk of flash fires.

According to the bulletin, much of the work involved in maintaining or servicing electric generators, including work on the housings and bushing boxes, requires following permit-required confined space entry procedures. These steps include checking for oxygen concentration and the presence of flammable gases, such as hydrogen, in the workspace. However, safety challenges become present because it can be difficult to detect if hydrogen is still lingering in the confined or enclosed space. 

As the American Industrial Hygiene Association noted, hydrogen is also a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas, so it gives off no sensory clues to its presence. The gas is also lighter than ambient air, meaning it may migrate to overhead areas where it is more difficult to detect. In addition to flammability risks, hydrogen exposure can result in asphyxiation if not completely purged from the area.

How fatal flash fires occur
In order to illustrate the importance of this issue, OSHA's safety bulletin included a case study from a 2011 incident in which hydrogen gas was not properly purged from a work site during turbine generator repair. In this incident, hydrogen gas was present in the turbine's generator housing and its bushing box.

"OSHA recommends drafting written guidelines for hydrogen purging."

While the generator was taken offline and purged of hydrogen, the workers used a fixed gas detector to test for lingering presence of hydrogen in the confined space instead of a portable gas monitor, as required by the employer's written procedures. The fixed gas detector was only able to check for hydrogen gas in the generator housing base. Unfortunately, because the gas is lighter than air, it had accumulated in the generator housing roof where the hydrogen was vented. The fixed gas detector failed to identify the hazard, and a flash fire occurred when another worker entered the area with an electric drop light and electronic fan.

Recommended safety procedures
In order to prevent flash fires and injuries relating to hydrogen gas in gas-cooled electric generators, OSHA recommends the following steps:

  • Train workers on proper purging procedures and the dangers related to hydrogen gas
  • Draft written procedures for maintenance in confined and enclosed spaces
  • Ensure training procedures cover fully purging hydrogen from the work site using carbon dioxide or other suitable inert gas, as well as purge that gas with ambient air
  • Train all employees to follow manufacturer's recommendations for equipment used during purging procedures
  • Use both fixed and portable hydrogen monitoring equipment to determine no hydrogen gas is present before entry to the confined workspace and throughout the entirety of completing the maintenance task.
  • Be sure to use gas detectors in areas where hydrogen gas accumulates
  • Create and follow ignition control procedures

As the bulletin is not a new standard or regulation, its recommendations are not legally binding. They are designed to help employers identify risks that may compromise workplace safety. However, employers are still required to follow applicable standards for their industries and work sites.

Fall Protection, News, Training, Compliance & Certification, US

OSHA continues emphasis on fall protection standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is continuing to place an emphasis on its fall protection regulations and cracking down on employers who violate the standard.

An Ohio roofing company was recently cited $116,900 in proposed fines by the federal agency after a worker died following a 40-foot fall. The employer had failed to provide guardrails, safety nets or personal fall prevention devices, according to the OSHA. Additionally, workers had not been properly trained about fall hazards and the job site did not have a designated safety monitor. The employer had also failed to develop a safety and health program, kept no records of injuries and illness and had not properly trained workers to operate powered industrial vehicles. The roofing company received one willful, 11 serious and three other-than-serious safety citations.

"Fall protection has been OSHA's most frequent citation for five years in a row."

"Four of 10 fatalities in the construction industry in 2014 were the result of a deadly fall," Ken Montgomery, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati, said in a statement. "Falls are a leading cause of death for construction workers and can be prevented with proper fall protection. Yet another worker has died needlessly because his employer failed to protect his safety. This has to stop."

Additionally, a Chicago-area roofing contractor was issued proposed penalties totaling $115,500 after inspectors found workers on two job sites were not equipped with fall protection. These inspections were conducted as part of the agency's ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign.

As The National Law Review reported, OSHA is making other moves to crack down on fall protection violations, including bringing states in compliance with federal standards. California, which does not have specific fall protection regulations for residential construction, was ordered to create a standard in line with OSHA's regulations.

The fall protection standard was OSHA's most frequent citation in 2015, for the fifth straight year in a row. As Insurance Journal reported, falls are the leading cause of death for construction workers and accounted for nearly 40 percent of all construction fatalities in 2014. 

Downstream, Gas Detection, Medical Management, Midstream, News, Respiratory Protection, Training, Compliance & Certification, Upstream, US

OSHA, NIOSH issue hazard alert for oil and natural gas industry

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have issued a hazard alert to the oil and natural gas industry over the risk of hydrocarbon gas to worker safety.

The announcement comes after nine workers suffered fatal illnesses related to hydrocarbon gas exposure and/or oxygen depletion in nine separate incidents from 2010 to 2014. OSHA believes the common factor in each of these deaths was the task the worker was performing. All nine fatalities involved manually gauging or sampling production tanks at oil and gas well sites.

"It has been known for years that oil and gas extraction is extremely dangerous work, with high rates of workplace fatalities," Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels said in a statement. "We also know that every incident is preventable. It's critically important that we all work together to make sure that oil and gas extraction workers are aware of life-threatening exposure to hydrocarbon gases and vapors and low oxygen atmospheres, and that they are protected."

"OSHA and NIOSH now recommend employers take several additional steps to protect workers."

New safety protocols
The new alert provides specific recommendations to protect workers who are opening tank hatches to manually gauge or sample hydrocarbon levels. As OSHA noted in the alert, when workers open production, flowback, or other tanks, hydrocarbons including methane, ethane, propane and butane can be released as liquids, gases or vapors. Additionally, vapors may contain pentane, nexane, benzene and xylene. All these hydrocarbons are considered volatile organic compounds and have been associated with immediate health effects, including loss of consciousness and death.

OSHA and NIOSH now recommend employers take several additional steps to protect workers, including making sure workers are not alone while gauging or working around the tanks. The agencies recommended using remote gauging or sampling of the tanks whenever possible. However, if workers must be opening or working around tanks they should also be provided safety equipment including a supplied air respirator or a self-contained breathing apparatus.

The alert also identified several circumstances that can increase the risk of hydrocarbon exposure. These include operational and task-related factors, such as:

  • Drilling out plugs during completion operations
  • Tanks that are not isolated prior to opening hatch
  • Interconnected tanks/ tank batteries
  • Tanks using flare systems with backpressure on the vapor space
  • Flowback operations
  • Working around tanks with vapor recovery units
  • Maintenance work
  • Working around separators/enclosed spaces

Additionally, the alert said environmental factors including higher temperatures, weather inversions, higher altitude and low wind speed increase risks. The characteristics of the fluids in the tanks also contributes to the amount of hydrocarbons they produce. For example, condensate and lighter crude, as opposed to heavy crude and unstabilized (non-degassed) crude oils will come with higher exposure risks.

In addition to remote gauging and sampling, OSHA and NIOSH recommend utilizing blowdown valves, tank sampling taps and thief hatch pressure indicators. Working upwind and at a distance from open valves, and using flame retardant clothing and impermeable gloves can also decrease risks.

Additional precautions
Although the alert advised employers should implement these precautions, doing so does not eliminate all risks associated with hydrocarbons.

"Companies failing to implement these recommendations will be at 'high risk' for OSHA citations."

"Hydrocarbon gas and vapor emissions from production and flowback tanks are wide-ranging," the agencies said in statement. "Consequently, it is difficult to predict the magnitude of risk from any specific gauging or sampling task."

Speaking with Business Insurance, Alex Beaver, a consultant in Liberty Mutual Insurance's national insurance specialty division, said the oil and natural gas community needs to work together to improve worker safety. Beaver noted that switching to remote tank gauging is not a quick or easy process.

"It's going to take not just one company to come up with a proper, effective and efficient engineering control to remotely sample these tanks," Beaver said. "It's going to be an oil and gas community effort."

Beaver added compounds exposure is still an emerging risk for the industry, and one that will require further study and likely additional recommendations for reducing risk. He further advised smaller oil and gas companies should find financial partners to help implement these new safety procedures.

Business Insurance also noted companies failing to implement these recommendations will be at a "high risk" for OSHA citations. Though the agency does not have a standard that is directly applicable to this situation, OSHA inspectors can still issue citations under the general duty clause – which requires employers to furnish all employees with a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees. Now that this alert has been issued, hydrocarbon exposure will likely be considered a recognized hazard. OSHA also noted all worker fatalities related to hydrocarbons are highly preventable when proper safety precautions are utilized. 

Fire Protection, Training, Compliance & Certification

Increased regulatory attention shows importance of hazardous chemical safety

A Newark, New Jersey, chemical manufacturing company is facing more than $72,000 in fines after officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration uncovered 17 serious safety and health violations at its facility.

The violations stemmed from equipment process safety information, process hazard analysis, written operating procedures, contractor safety, equipment inspection and testing along with management of process changes. OSHA said the violations resulted in a hazardous environment for workers made even more dire due to the facility's storage of more than 10,000 pounds of ethyl chloride, a highly flammable liquefied gas.

"The company's failure to comply with OSHA's process safety management standard could result in a chemical release, as well as a serious fire or explosion," OSHA Area Director Kris Hoffman said in a statement.

The violations were found as part of an increased OSHA effort to improve safety in chemical manufacturing facility. Unfortunately, the incident is only one of the many recent events underscoring the importance of the process safety management standard, the OSHA regulation that governs the management of hazards associated with processes using highly hazardous chemicals.

What is the PSMS?
The PSMS is OSHA's program designed to increase worker safety around processes involving the use, storage, manufacturing, handling or moving of highly hazardous chemicals in the workplace. The standard looks at the use of safety technologies, as well as training programs and managerial practices.

The standard is mostly used in manufacturing industries, particularly chemical, pyrotechnics or explosives manufacturing or transport, and fabricated metal products. However other industries, including those that work with natural gas liquids, farm product warehousing, food processing, or electric, gas and sanitary service, may also be affected by the standard.

"Facilities with hazardous chemicals must submit to compliance audits at least once every three years."

The PSMS guides employers to utilize a process hazard analysis, a method for identifying risks relating to hazardous chemicals and implementing safeguards to prevent their release. This includes implementing written operating procedures, employee training, emergency action plans, pre-startup safety reviews, mechanical integrity evaluations of critical equipment, contractor requirements and written procedures for managing any change in the work environment. Facilities must also submit to compliance audits at least once every three years and undergo investigation following any release or near release of hazardous chemicals.

Safety upgrades needed
While the PSMS provides many guidelines for safety in workplaces processing or storing hazardous chemicals, it may face further revision in the future. An investigation following a 2013 chemical explosion in Texas has drawn attention to the need for increased chemical processing safety and may facilitate the need for upgrades to the PSMS.

In early February, the Chemical Safety Board issued recommendations for both OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency after concluding its examination of a chemical explosion in Waco, Texas, that killed 15 people and injured 260 others. The explosion occurred after a fire caused 30 tons of fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate stored in combustible plywood bins to overheat. In addition to fatalities and injuries, the blast caused structural damage to 150 nearby structures, including residential buildings and two schools. Damage to several of these structures was great enough to necessitate their demolition.

The CSB noted that OSHA process safety management standard does not cover fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate, and has recommended an upgrade to the guidelines. Additionally, CSB investigators advised that all bins made of wood and other combustible materials should be removed from chemical processing facilities and replaced with non-combustible varieties.

"The CSB noted more fertilizer facilities should be made aware of OSHA guidelines."

"This is one of the most destructive explosions ever investigated by the CSB," Vanessa Sutherland, chairperson of CSB, said in a statement. "The CSB's report found that limited regulatory oversight, poor hazard awareness, inadequate emergency planning, and the proximity of the facility to nearby homes and other buildings all led to the incident's severity. The proposed safety recommendations address steps needed to help prevent a similar tragedy in the future."

In addition to possible OSHA updates to the standard, the CSB noted safety can be increased by making sure more facilities that hold fertilizers are aware of the possible hazards and follow the existing guidelines in the PSMS. Following the announcement of the CSB report, the Agricultural Retailers Association called on OSHA to update its guidelines for the storage of fertilizers and other hazardous chemicals, and called on all facilities handling or storing fertilizers to maintain and comply with all federal regulations.

Emergency Response, New Technologies, Training, Compliance & Certification

How to increase lone worker safety

One of the most common methods for ensuring worker safety is to promote watchfulness among employees. Workers are often trained to look out for their colleagues, from recognizing signs of health problems, such as hypothermia, to alerting each other to dangerous conditions such as slippery walkways.

While this training does a lot to increase workplace safety, it isn't effective for lone workers, those employees whose jobs require them to work in isolation from other workers and without supervision. These workers face additional safety hazards as, in addition to the risks present for all workers on a job site, lone workers cannot call out for help to a fellow worker in the event of an emergency.

Though companies are required by law to provide for the safety of all their employees in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not provide a standard for managing lone worker safety. However, there are applicable OSHA guidelines, as well as state standards on lone worker safety, that employers can consult.

Workers who complete their tasks in isolation face the additional hazard of being unable to ask another work for assistance in an emergency. Workers who complete their tasks in isolation face the additional hazard of being unable to ask another work for assistance in an emergency.

Safety guidelines for lone workers
As Safety + Health magazine reported, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is one of a several state agencies that has released guidelines for lone worker safety. Many of these procedures boil down to communication – training workers to recognize hazards and providing ways to contact supervisors for assistance.

"Supervisors check in with employees working in isolation through both periodic visits and communication devices."

The guidance document advises performing risk assessments first to make sure it is safe for workers to perform their jobs alone. Workers should then be trained to understand risks inherent in the job and know when and how to contact others in an emergency. Supervisors should regularly check in with any employees who are working in isolation through both periodic visits and communication devices, such as radio or telephone. Finally, employers should create systems to account for all workers and confirm the worker has returned to the home base once his or her task is completed.

The California Department of Industrial Relations further recommends ensuring there are safe entry and exit points for any locations where employees are working, whether in isolation or not. Employees should also have their individual medical risks assessed before being allowed to work alone. If employees are pregnant, have disabilities or medical conditions that may put them at risk for stroke, seizure or other life-threatening ailments, it may not be an acceptable risk to allow them to work alone. Additionally, if the employee's primary language is not English, the employer will need to make arrangements to ensure clear communication.

Take advantage of available technologies
It's essential to determine if individual workers must work alone in order to perform the responsibilities of their jobs, and that these employees are medically fit to work in isolation. After this point, the employer may utilize technology to further reduce risks at the job site.

In addition to periodic check-ins and a means for employees to contact supervisors, either via phone or radio, the employee may also be outfitted with a warning device or alarm. This may include panic alarms or other distress signal the employee can activate from the work site. Employers may also choose to utilize an automatic alarm that goes off under certain conditions, such as when it detects a lack of movement or exposure to hazardous substances. Automatic alarms can be especially helpful for reducing safety risk in the event a lone worker has fallen unconscious or is unable to speak.

Alarms are available from multiple manufacturers and may be selected based on the specific characteristics of the work environment. Alarms are available with weather-resistant casing, long-life batteries or the ability to wirelessly alert emergency responders. However, as Facility Safety Management pointed out, unless there is a procedure in place for what happens after the alarm is triggered, the alarm itself will do little to protect workers. Employers should also be sure all employees are trained in emergency response procedures specific to their job. 

In addition to alarms, all employees are required to be outfitted in the personal safety equipment mandated by OSHA, regardless of whether they are working in isolation or with others. Routine health surveillance should be implemented for any employees working near hazardous substances that may cause a negative impact on the employee's health. Finally, employers should implement a system for incident reporting so that if any accidents or injuries do occur, the situation can be remedied before additional incidents occur.

Fire Protection, Gas Detection

A new combustible dust safety standard may be on OSHA’s horizon

Employers looking to increase fire safety in their facilities should consider an often overlooked hazard: combustible dust. In fact, addressing this issue now could make businesses better poised to adapt to new regulations from the Occupation Health and Safety Administration that could go into effect within the next few years.

According to Safety + Health magazine, OSHA is in the early stages of its rulemaking process for a new standard on combustible dust. The magazine reported the Chemical Safety Board has been advocating for an adoption of such a standard since 2006, but recent accidents at industrial facilities have led to increased concern.

The most wanted safety improvement
In 2010, an explosion and fire at a Cumberland, West Virginia, facility were caused when a spark from a malfunctioning metal blender ignited zirconium powder shavings. The shavings created a burning cloud of metal shavings that ignited additional metal dust throughout the facility, resulting in an explosion that killed three workers.

"The Chemical Safety Board has been calling for a combustible dust standard since 2006."

An OSHA investigation of the incident resulted in one willful, 16 serious and one other-than-serious violation, including the use of an unsafe water sprinkler system with flammable metals. The company had also failed to provide a properly designed gas detection system for hydrogen, safely store flammable metals or provide required safety equipment to workers, OSHA found.

"This tragedy could have been prevented," Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, said in a statement. "It is imperative that employers take steps to eliminate hazards and provide a safe working environment."

As Safety + Health noted, tragedies like the incident in Cumberland are what led the CSB to call a combustible dust standard its "Most Wanted Chemical Safety Improvement" program.The CSB has recorded 281 dust-related accidents between 1980-2005, resulting in 119 fatalities and 718 injuries.

A possible new standard?
OSHA has previously announced a combustible dust standard is in the pre-rule stage, and will hold hearings on the proposed regulation, as required by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, in August 2016. However, that does not guarantee the legislation will become a rule.

According to Bloomberg BNA, passing such regulation may be difficult given the complex nature of combustible dust fires. As OSHA defines combustible dust as "all combustible particulate solids of any size, shape or chemical composition that could present a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in air or other oxidizing medium," potentially regulated substances could range from fertilizer and metals to sugar. Without the standard, some safety experts, including Peter Dooley, a consultant for the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, cautioned injuries and fatal accidents are likely to continue.

"Regulation may be difficult given the complex nature of combustible dust fires."

"Not every one of those results in catastrophic loss of life or property, but that happens," Dooley told Bloomberg. "It's all a matter of proportions. When the next big one happens, it's going to have everyone scurrying around to get regulations in place."

Best safety practices
While OSHA does not yet have a standard in place for combustible dust, the National Fire Protection Association released a voluntary combustible dust standard in September 2015.

The standard encourages employers to detect the combustibility and explosibility hazards of any materials at the job site. Once the hazards are identified, employers should follow NFPA recommended storage, handling and management guidelines, while also initiating training programs to ensure workers are aware of the risks present in their work space.

As Susan Bershad, a senior chemical engineer at NFPA noted in the organization's blog, training is an especially crucial part of the standard. 

"This training is needed to develop an understanding of the hazards of combustible dust," Bershad cautioned. "A leading cause of incidents involving combustible dust is a lack of awareness of the hazards."

New Technologies, Respiratory Protection

NIOSH study emphasizes importance of respirator fit testing

Respirators serve an important function by protecting workers from significant hazards including insufficient oxygen and harmful pollutants in dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors and sprays. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has long stressed the importance of respirator protection and proper fit testing on a regular basis. Now, a new study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has found the percentage of improperly fitted respirators increases with the length of time in between fittings.

The importance of respirator fit testing
As the study's authors noted, respirator fit tests have been a contentious issue for some employers who may feel burdened by their time-consuming nature. The amount of time that a respirator may safely be used before a new test is needed was debated for some years, though OSHA settled on annual testing in its 1998 respiratory protection standard.

"NIOSH found questions about the necessity of respirator testing remained for many sectors."

However, NIOSH found many sectors still had questions about the necessity of respirator testing, including the industrial hygiene industry. In order to establish whether a respirator's fit changes over time, how weight fluctuations may alter the fit and the necessity of annual testing, NIOSH conducted a study of seven different sizes and models of respirators over a three-year period using more than 100 volunteers as subjects.

According to the study's findings, the longer the length of time between fit tests, the greater the risk that the respirator will no longer adequately protect the worker. Of the workers who participated in the study, 10 percent needed to have their respirator adjusted after one year. However, for subjects who went two years between fitting tests, 20 percent needed to have their respirator adjusted, suggesting the risk of exposure doubles after two years. After three years, the risk of exposure increased to 26 percent. 

"This study found that respirator fit did change over time," NIOSH reported in a statement. "The greater the weight loss, the higher the chance that respirator fit will change. Therefore, this NIOSH study supports the current OSHA requirement for annual fit testing."

Additionally, the study found respirator users who lose more than 20 pounds since their last fit test should have their fittings prioritized, as they will be at a greater risk for exposure.

Updates to NIOSH safety tools
The release of the study follows an update from NIOSH to its MultiVapor computer tool, which helps employers estimate the service lives of air-purifying respirator cartridges, including the average "breakthrough time," or time it takes for the user to be exposed to toxic vapor.

The update adds 66 new compounds to the tool's library since the release of the previous version in December 2009. Additionally, the tool now includes updated service life and capacity estimates for three of the most commonly used respirator filter models.

Medical Management, Training, Compliance & Certification

Aging workforce calls for additional workplace precautions

As the baby boomer generation continues to age, the workforce population is also aging, presenting increased safety challenges for businesses.

According to a report from Safety Health magazine, by 2022 about 25 percent of all U.S. workers will be 55 years old or older. It's important that employers realize an increasing number of older workers is not a temporary trend. Whereas previous generations were more likely to retire by age 55, members of the baby boomer generation have remained active in the workplace and are expected to continue working into their late 60s.

Speaking with Safety Health, Mitra Toossi, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, noted that the recent economic recession combined with longer life expectancy and changes to retirement and pension plans have increased the average retirement age to 67 years old. Many workers also simply enjoy their jobs and are in no hurry to retire.

"Older workers are less likely to have severe work injuries, but need more time off to recover when injuries occur."

"Every year since the 1990s, [baby boomers] have been increasing their participation rate," Toossi told the publication. "This is in contrast to all the other age groups where participation rates are declining."

For employers, a more experienced workforce has some advantages. In many ways, older workers contribute to a safer work environment by being more familiar with safety procedures, and are more communicative and less likely to engage in risky behaviors. In fact, data from the BLS shows older workers are less likely to have severe work injuries, though when injuries do occur these workers often need more time to recover. The BLS found that in 2014 the median number of days needed to recover from a workplace injury increased with each age group. Workers ages 16-18 years old averaged four days out of work for an injury, while workers 65 and older averaged 17 days. 

As Safety Health noted, this can mean increased workers compensation costs for employers. In addition to added recovery, it's important for businesses to realize even if older workers are more cautious and follow safety procedures, they will face more challenges to their hearing, vision, balance and respiration than younger workers. Certain injuries, including slips, trips and falls, are also more common in workers 65 and older, the magazine reported.

How to protect older workers
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted, employers need to be aware of the health issues affecting older workers, including chronic conditions. The CDC estimated two chronic conditions, arthritis and hypertension, affect nearly half of the workforce over age 55.

In order to avoid injuries or aggravation of chronic conditions, the CDC recommends adjusting tasks to workers' physical abilities as much as possible, while ensuring workers are able to self-pace their work load and take self-directed breaks when needed. Helping workers of all ages to avoid repetitive tasks and sedentary work will also contribute to a healthier workplace.

"The CDC recommends adjusting tasks to workers' physical abilities as much as possible."

In fact, many of the workplace practices that can prevent injury in older adults will also be beneficial to younger workers. According to the CDC, these practices include promotion of a healthy lifestyle through on-site medical care, tobacco cessation programs, physical activity, health screenings or healthy meal options in on-site cafeterias and eateries. Special attention to trainings and employee skill development can also prevent accidents and help workers learn how to use safety equipment and technologies.

Account for flexibility
As the Society For Human Resource Management noted, employers should also avoid thinking of the needs of employees solely by grouping them together based on age, gender or other characteristics. Instead, a comprehensive safety program will consider the individual worker as well as the specific hazards present in the workplace.

Employers should eliminate or provide safety equipment to minimize any noise, slipping, falling or other physical hazards that are present at the job site. Encouraging workers to vocalize any challenges related to their individual schedules, tasks or work location can also help to address the concerns of each employee. Having a flexible return-to-work process following an injury or health-related problem can encourage self-care and promote a more complete physical recovery before the employee returns to work, reducing the risk of further injury.