National health and safety standards

In most European national jurisdictions (including Sweden, France, and the Netherlands), occupational health and safety standards are enforced by unitary labour inspectorates that fall within the responsibilities of State Departments of Employment or their equivalent (Cunningham and Johnstone 1999 378-379 Walters 1996 302-303 Walters et al. 2011). Some jurisdictions, such as Spain and Italy, utilise localised systems of regulation, while Cermany divides this... 

Lead in the Canadian diet is regulated under two Federal statutes The F D Act for Pb as a contaminant in various categories of foods, including infant formulae in the Canadian diet, and leachable Pb levels from ceramic ware and food utensils through the Hazardous Products Act. Food health and safety standards are established by Health Canada and enforced by agencies such as the Ministry of National Health and Welfare. 

Federal Standards (29 CFR 1910 Subpart Z). The first compilation of health and safety standards promulgated by OSHA was based on the existing federal and national consensus standards. 

A major US policy toward industrial safety measures was established in 1970, when for the first time all industrial workers in businesses affected by interstate commerce were covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1970), 29 CFR Part 1910. Under this act, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was given responsibility for conducting research on occupational health and safety standards, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was charged with setting, promulgating, and enforcing appropriate safety standards in industry. 

The first compilation of health and safety standards promulgated by the Department of Labor s OSHA in 1970 was derived from the then existing federal standards and national consensus standards. Thus, many of the 1968 TLVs established by the ACGIH became federal standards or PELs. In addition, certain workplace quality standards known as maximal acceptable concentrations of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) were incorporated as federal health standards in 29 CFR 1910.1000 as national consensus standards. These PEL values for general industry were subsequently updated in 1989. 

The two primary research organizations of the PHS, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), provide expertise and guidance in various areas of medical research and occupational safety and health. In the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Congress authorized the creation of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) under the CDC. NIOSH is charged with the primary responsibility for the development of new health and safety standards. This agency has no reg-... 

Specifications, Standards, Quality Control, and Health and Safety Factors. Formerly, there was an Insulation Board Institute representing the insulation board industry, but the decline in the market and number of producers has led to its demise. Currently (ca 1997), the industry is represented by the American Hardboard Association (AHA). Specifications and standards are found in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for CellulosicFiberboard (7). The standard includes descriptions of the various types and classes of ftberboard, as well as requirements for physical and dimensional stabiUty properties. QuaUty control tests are limited to a few basic strength and stabiUty tests, including bending strength, bond strength, and moisture resistance. 

A Proposed Public Health and Safety StandardforYucca Mountain, A Report prepared for the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technical Bases for Yucca Mountain Standards, EPRI TV-104012, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif., Dec. 1994. 

Regulatory and advisory bodies publish methods for ambient air analysis sueh as those issued by the British Standards Institute and the US Environment Proteetion Ageney (Tables 10.24 and 10.25, respeetively). Methods for assessment of workplace air are published by the Health and Safety Exeeutive. Some of these are generie methods (Table 10.26) whilst others are eompound speeifie (Table 10.27). Examples of other offieial methods for monitoring workplaee air quality are those published by the British Standards Institute (Table 10.28), and the US National Institute of Oeeupational Safety and Health (Table 10.29). Table 10.30 provides additional guidanee on analytieal teehniques for a seleetion of substanees. 

The motivation for ensuring good indoor air quality should be obvious. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 emphasizes the need for standards to protect the health and safety of workers. To fulfill this need, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed a strategy for disseminating information that assists employers to protect their workers from workplace hazards. This strategy includes the development of Special NIOSH Hazard Reviews, which support and complement the major standards development and hazard documentation activities of the Institute. These documents deal with... 

Congress passed the Occupational and Safety Health Act to ensure worker and workplace safety. Their goal was to make sure employers provide their workers a place of employment free from recognized hazards to safety and health, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions. In order to establish standards for workplace health and safety, the Act also created the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as the research institution for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor which oversees the administration of the Act and enforces Federal standards in all 50 states. 

The need for building control arose primarily to protect the health and safety of the population and, latterly, to conserve fuel and power and prevent waste. Local and State Building Regulations give standards of performance necessary in the building and, as such, make reference to national and international standards and codes of practice. The regulations cover two areas of health and safety and can be subdivided as follows ... 

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts research on occupational diseases and injuries, responds to requests for assistance by investigating problems of health and safety in the workplace, recommends standards to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and trains professionals in occupational safety and health. Contact NIOSH, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201 Phone 800-356-4674 or NIOSH Technical Information Branch, Robert A. Taft Eaboratory, Mailstop C-19, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cinciimati, OH 45226-1998 Phone 800-35-NIOSH. 

Injuries and fatalities from asphyxiation are often associated with personnel entry into inerted equipment or enclosures. Guidance on safe procedures for confined space access are provided by OSHA (OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.146, Confined Space Entry Standard, 2000), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, Z117.1, Safety Requirements for Confined Spaces, 2003), Hodson (Hodson, Safe Entry into Confined Spaces, Handbook of Chemical Health and Safety, American Chemical Society, 2001), and BP (BP, Hazards of Nitrogen and Catalyst Handling, 2003). OSHA has established 19.5 vol % as the minimum safe oxygen concentration for confined space entry without supplemental oxygen supply (see Table 23-18). Note that OSHA imposes a safe upper limit on 02 concentration of 23.5 vol % to protect against the enhanced flammability hazards associated with 02-enriched atmospheres. 

ANSI is a federation of over 1,000 national trade, technical, professional, labor, and consumer organizations, governmental agencies, and individual companies. It coordinates the standards development efforts of these groups and implements national standards when they are approved. Among other publications, it publishes documents on health and safety. 

In Canada, the federal mandate for food control rests with four departments Health Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Eood Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and Industry Canada. A cooperative relationship exists among departments with the ultimate goal of creating a harmonized and streamlined national food control system. All four departments ensure the application of food safety standards in their areas of responsibility to prevent or eliminate human health and safety threats created through chemical, biological, physical, or other hazards. 

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