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SAFETY & COMPLIANCE NEWS
Keep up to date on the latest developments affecting OSHA, DOT, EPA, and DOL regulatory compliance.
On January 1, labor law posting updates will be required in 23 states. In addition, covered employers should have a new federal “Know Your Rights” posting on the wall.
To get ready for the 2023 changes:
These states will have a posting update that takes effect on January 1:
All changes are mandatory except for the minimum wage posting updates in Montana, South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington. Mandatory changes are required to be displayed. Employers are encouraged to post an updated poster even when an update is not mandatory, to avoid displaying outdated information.
Key to remember: Make sure you are ready for state and federal poster updates. Properly displaying updated posters can help employers avoid fines and employee litigation, and can reassure auditors that attention is being paid to the compliance details.
SUMMARY: Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA is proposing a significant new use rule (SNUR) for those per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have not been manufactured (including imported) or processed for many years and are consequently designated as inactive on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. PFAS are a group of chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s because of their useful properties, such as water and stain resistance. Many PFAS break down very slowly and can build up in people, animals, and the environment over time. Exposure at certain levels to specific PFAS can adversely impact human health and other living things. Persons subject to the SNUR would be required to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing any manufacture (including import) or processing of the chemical substance for a significant new use. Once EPA receives a notification, EPA must review and make an affirmative determination on the notification, and take such action as is required by any such determination before the manufacture (including import) or processing for the significant new use can commence. Such a review will assess whether the use may present unreasonable risk to health or the environment and ensure that EPA can prevent future unsafe environmental releases of the PFAS subject to this SNUR.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 27, 2023. Published in the Federal Register January 26, 2023, page 4937.
View final rule.
Thefts of catalytic converters have skyrocketed because they contain rare metals (i.e., platinum, palladium, and rhodium).
The price of these three rare metals have increased due to the war in Ukraine. The supply chain has been affected since Russia mines the metals. Catalytic converters are easy targets, as cutting the part from the vehicle takes less than a minute. Some vehicle types — specifically those with a higher clearance, such as trucks, SUVs, buses, and vans —are more desirable because they present less of an obstacle for thieves.
Some states have set up laws to help curb the sale of stolen catalytic converters to scrap yards. Most recently, the state of Massachusetts has started requiring specific recordkeeping by those buying catalytic converters. Required documentation includes:
The buyer is required to keep a record of the transaction and provide it to enforcement if asked.
Some of the best countermeasures against catalytic converter theft are “old school.” The following facility security tips may aid in reducing thefts at your motor carrier:
Key to remember: When given an opportunity, thieves will steal your catalytic converters. Put as many roadblocks as possible in their way so they look for an easier target.
The start of a new year is an ideal time to review safety policies and procedures if not done recently.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) uses the Safety Management Cycle (SMC) during carrier audits. The first step in the SMC is a review of policies and procedures. Safety policies should reflect current expectations and what the carrier will not tolerate.
Carrier personnel consistently following policies and procedures and exceeding regulatory minimums help keep carriers defensible.
FMCSA uses the Six-Factor Audit and the SMC to ensure that carriers:
Ensure that each policy contains these critical elements:
Each policy should be easy to remember. Procedures are for the details.
Examples of policies to maintain under each factor with the applicable FMCSRs:
Factor 1 – General
Factor 2 – Driver
Factor 3 – Operational
Factor 4 – Vehicle
Factor 5 – Hazardous materials
Factor 6 – Department of Transportation (DOT) Accident rate
Key to remember: Review policies and procedures at least annually to ensure these meet or exceed current regulations and reflect company expectations.
Paper can be expensive, especially when it’s missing.
A Maine motor carrier recently learned this lesson the hard way when it was forced to pay a fine of nearly $600 for missing a document from its drivers’ files.
That may seem like a pittance, but the company got off lucky. The potential fine for missing any required document is nearly $1,500 per day per document, as set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FCMSA).
The FMCSA requires motor carriers to keep a long list of documents. Such records are the only way to prove compliance with driver qualification, hours of service, vehicle maintenance, and other mandates.
It’s not surprising that some motor carriers lose track of, or overlook, documents that an FMCSA auditor may ask to see. The following lesser-known documents may not be on your radar, but failing to have them could be a costly mistake.
Conduct internal auditing and make sure you have these and all other FMCSA-required documents on file, for the proper length of time.
Keep in mind that even if a DOT auditor doesn’t penalize you for missing certain documents, a jury or judge just might.
> Find a list of all FMCSA-required documents here: FMCSR Recordkeeping Requirements
Key to remember: FMCSA auditors rely on you to keep all required records, even those that may be rather obscure. Missing documents can result in hefty fines.
Preliminary enforcement data from fiscal year (FY) 2022 shows that the healthcare and social assistance industry took in 63 percent of the Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Standard violations. That means 37 percent of the violations went to industries other than healthcare and social assistance, but what were those industries? The data for FY2022 show that the remaining industries included those listed below:
The above list of violators makes it clear that 29 CFR 1910.1030 does not just apply to the healthcare industry as one might think. Instead, the regulation may also apply to any general or shipyard industry, including, but not limited to, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail, warehousing, technical services, administrative services, waste and remediation, arts and entertainment, accommodation, services, and public administration.
In fact, OSHA’s BBP Standard is specifically meant to protect general industry and shipyard workers from exposure to hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and other microorganisms that are transmitted through blood or certain other body fluids.
According to the regulation, “[1910.1030] applies to all occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials …” That means if your organization has one or more employees with “occupational exposure,” it falls under the BBP Standard.
While an “exposure incident” is actual contact with blood or “other potentially infectious material” (or OPIM), “occupational exposure,” on the other hand, is reasonably anticipated contact with blood or OPIM. In addition to being reasonably anticipated, that contact must result from the performance of an employee’s duties. You likely would not reasonably anticipate an office worker to have contact with blood or OPIM, but if you designate the office worker to perform first aid involving blood-related injuries of coworkers, for example, then that employee is considered to have occupational exposure.
It’s worth noting that 1910.1030 does not cover good Samaritans. No employer can anticipate good Samaritan acts, so no employer can anticipate these types of exposures. Anyone who voluntarily assists a person at work is not covered, unless he or she is designated or expected de facto to assist workers.
Perhaps one of the reasons the BBP Standard is violated outside of the healthcare industry is because OSHA does not spell out which jobs or tasks have occupational exposure, so you, the employer have to determine whether your workers-- housekeepers, maintenance workers, security personnel, or any others– have occupational exposure by definition. Some of the occupations that are often (but not always) associated with occupational exposure include:
Still, it’s important for you, the employer, to make an exposure determination for the jobs and tasks in each workplace. See 1910.1030(c)(2) for more information.
The latest list of violators makes it clear that 1910.1030 does not just apply to the healthcare industry. That means if your organization has one or more employees with occupational exposure, it falls under the BBP Standard.