OSHA has issued notice of a stakeholder’s meeting for transportation employers including both motor carriers and railroads. The meeting will address impacts to the industry from OSHA policy. A Union Pacific intermodal train passes through Auburn, Washington on a recent May morning. Photo © 5/2018 by Nikki Burgess; all rights reserved.
May begins with a quiet week in the regulatory world. May also ushers in the season for heavy weather across much of the Midwest’s “Tornado Alley.” Are you ready with an action plan to help protect your employees and operations? Remember—an actual emergency is not time to start thinking about what to do. Plan today! Meanwhile, here’s the latest:
OSHA
The agency announced a public meeting to solicit comments and suggestions from stakeholders in the railroad and trucking industries, including employers, employees, and representatives of employers and employees, on issues facing the agency in its administration of the whistleblower protection provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the National Transit Systems Security Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The meeting will be held on June 12, 2018. Interested? Register by May 29, 2018. Here’s your starting point:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-05-04/pdf/2018-09456.pdf
The agency is issuing a direct final rule modifying its recently introduced beryllium standard for general industry. The modifications address situations where only trace amounts of the metal are present. A proposed rule identical to the final rule was issued simultaneously, in the events objections to the final rule arise and a comment period must be introduced. See the rules here:
- https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-05-07/pdf/2018-09306.pdf
- https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-05-07/pdf/2018-09307.pdf
Spring is here, and with it a great deal more outdoor work by employers. For the fifth year in a row, OSHA has designated a week as “Fall Protection Stand-down Week” which asks employers to spend extra time addressing this vital issue. This year’s event begins May 7th and runs all week long. Falls account for a large percentage of injuries to workers in the United States, and fall protection violations constitute a large percentage of the citations that OSHA issues each year. See the “Stand-Down 2018” web portal right here
EPA
The agency is renewing an ICR related to the definition of solid waste, especially as it relates to the presence of secondary hazardous substances in otherwise uniform waste streams. See the ICR here
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