Occupational laws and regulations

An ever-expanding list of occupational and environmental laws and regulations affect schools and colleges. The corresponding responsibilities require school administrators and staff to not only be aware of the various hazardous chemical regulations, but also to expend substantial time and dollars to assure that liabilities are minimized. Compliance with many of these regulations can be simplified, or at least, effectively focused and prioritized, if hazardous chemical and product information is readily available (Forum for Scientific Excellence, 1990). 

In addition to the Civil Rights Act, other laws and regulations affect the management ofhuman resources. For instance, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and enforce workplace standards designed to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths (OSHA, 2007). Of particular relevance to pharmacy are OSHA s ergonomic workplace standards and its rules for preventing exposure to hazardous chemicals and bloodborne pathogens. 

The website of the U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can be found at http //www.osha.gov. The OSHA home page contains information of value to health professionals, links to publications, technical data, and advisory information. The site has links to compliance assistance, laws and regulations, news releases, safety/health topics, statistics, and more. 

Enforce Laws and Regulations That Protect Health and Ensure Safety. This service involves full enforcement of sanitary codes, especially in the food industry full protection of drinking water supplies enforcement of clean air standards timely follow-up of hazards, preventable injuries, and exposure-related diseases identified in occupational and community settings monitoring quality of medical services (e.g., laboratory, nursing homes, and home health care) and timely review of new pharmacologic, biologic, and medical device applications. 

Although the detail is beyond the scope of this monograph, pharmacists should also be aware of other laws and regulations impacting pharmacy-based laboratory testing. Many states have their own laws regulating laboratory quality and professional competency." In addition, there are Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards pertaining to laboratory... 

Environmental laws and regulations including permits are reviewed in this chapter. Included are the Federal Clean Air Act Amendment (CAAA), the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or, as it is also known, the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Also discussed along with the regulations under OSHAare the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER). 

The platform should provide the rules and norms of the industry. Such as occupational health laws and regulations of the database, the database of occupational health standards and technical specifications, technical measures of prevention... 

On November 1,2002 Production Safety Law has come into effect. Production Safety Law is China s first comprehensive special law in regulating safety protection. Compared with the previous occupational safety laws and regulations, Production Safety Law has the following characteristics ... 

Occupational safety and health, including compliance with the OSH requirements pursuant to national laws and regulations, are the responsibility of the employer. 

This company is committed to complying with and, where excellent practice would demand, exceeding applicable occupational health and safety laws wherever we operate. We believe that occupational health and safety laws and regulations can and must be integrated with our effort to produce a world-class research environment. 

In addition, all researchers should be familiar with the principal provisions and concepts of the most important laws and regulations that affect laboratories across the country. The two most important are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration s regulation. Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (the OSHA Laboratory Standard) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), under which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates hazardous waste. Because of its importance, the text of the OSHA Laboratory Standard is reprinted in Appendix A. Researchers, laboratory workers, and, in particular, laboratory managers and supervisors should read and understand these regulations. 

There are 50 titles in the CFR and to get a sense of the range of the CFR it is best to simply examine the 50 titles at http //www.access.gpo.gOv/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html pagel. Title 29 deals with Labor (see Figure 1.3.3.1). There are nine volumes in 29 CFR and Volume 5 contains Part 1910, which is where the laws and regulations associated with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are listed. Within 29 CFR 1910, there are 26 subparts labeled with the letters A-Z. Subpart Z has the title Toxic and Hazardous Substances and is the location of the Hazard Communication standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) and the Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories standard (29 CFR 1910.1450—commonly called the Lab Standard ). (See Figure 1.3.3.1.)... 

For some laws there is an attempt to keep the federal bureaucracy from growing too much. The laws encourage states to administer federal laws and regulations. Federal funds often defray administrative expenses. Examples are state-operated environmental protection agencies and occupational safety and health agencies. Often states have not chosen to set up agencies and left enforcement with the federal government for their states. 

Clarity of the law and regulations has been found to be crucial to compliance. Clay (1984), for instance, cites the complexity of occupational health and safety rules as a reason for non-compliance with OSHA regulations (see also Di Mento, 1989 Genn, 1993 Hasseldine, 1993). Brittan s (1984) respondents also complained about the comprehensibility of water pollution legislation and said they would prefer simpler legislation which they could understand. 

The anthrosphere, its activities, and its products are major potential sources of hazards from dangerous and toxic materials. Various countries have laws and regulations to protect workers and people in surrounding areas from such hazards. In the United States, the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act is designed to maintain a work environment free from safety and health hazards. Such hazards may include exposure to toxicants, ionizing radiation, and microwave radiation fire hazards explosives hazards unsanitary conditions excessive noise temperature stresses and mechanical dangers. 

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