Government workers.OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) covers a broad range of issues relating to worker health and safety, many of which impact the power generation industry (16,17). The Act sets standards designed to protect worker health and safety, particularly in industrial settings. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration, organized under the U.S. Department of Labor, implements and enforces OSHA standards and periodically updates poHcies governing worker health and safety. 

OSHA- Occupational Health and Safety Administration The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration, OSHA, is a federal government agency in the U.S. Department of Labor. OSHA s Web site is http //www.osha.gov/. The primary goals of OSHA are to save lives, prevent injuries, and protect the health of America s workers. OSHA employs over 2,000 inspectors to ensure job site safety. OSHA was created by the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act of 1970. While many see OSHA as an intrusive government agency intent on enforcing arcane rules, the fact is that OSHA saves lives. And if that is not enough... 

States and jurisdictions can operate their own occupational safety and health plans with OSHA approval. State plans must establish standards that meet federal requirements. Approved state plans must extend their coverage to state and local government workers. Alliances enable organizations committed to workplace safety and health to collaborate with OSHA to prevent injuries and illnesses in the workplace. OSHA and its allies work together to reach out to, educate, and lead the nation s employers and their employees in improving and advancing workplace safety and health. 

OSHA regulations apply to workers in private sector industries, the federal government, and state and local governments in OSHA-approved programs. However, self-employed workers, immediate family members of farm families without outside workers, and workers in some federal programs such as the Coast Guard or Federal Aviation Agency are exempt. 

These states and territories operate their own OSHA-approved job safety and health programs and cover state and local government workers as well as private sector workers. The Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Virgin Islands plans cover public workers only. States with approved programs must have standards that are identical to, or at least as effective as, the federal OSHA standards. 

US Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Audit. 2000. Evaluating the Status of Occupational Safety and Health Coverage of State and Local Government Workers in Federal OSHA States (report 05-00-0001-10-001). 

A leader in applying PSA to other parts of the chemical process industry has been the AlChf. s Center for Chemical Process Safety. A major difference between PSA for nuclear power and PSA for chemical processing has been the lack of government regulations that require risk analysis for chemical processes. A primary impetuous has been the Occupational Safety and Health Administration s (OSHA) PSM rule that defines the application of PSA to the chemical industry for ihc proteciion of the public and workers. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agcrii, . (EPA) regulates waste disposal. 

OSHA stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States government. OSHA is responsible for ensuring that workers are provided with a safe working environment. Table 1-2 contains several OSHA definitions applicable to accident statistics. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that the level of isophorone in natural waters (lakes, streams) should be limited to 5.2 parts isophorone per million parts of water (5.2 ppm) to protect human health from the harmful effects of isophorone from drinking the water and from eating contaminated fish and other animals found in the water. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a permissible exposure limit of 4 parts of isophorone per million parts of workroom air (4 ppm) during an 8-hour work shift to protect workers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that the amount in workroom air be limited to 4 ppm averaged over a 10-hour work shift. Further information on government recommendations can be found in Chapter 7. 

The federal government has developed regulatory standards and guidelines to protect workers from the potential health effects of other coal tar products in air. OSHA has set a Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 0.2 milligrams of coal tar pitch volatiles per cubic meter of air (0.2 mg/m3) in workroom air to protect workers during an 8-hour shift. 

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