The Occupational Safety and Health Act

Safety and health professionals who work in industrial settings concentrate primarily on ensuring compliance with, at the very least, the minimum safety and health standards promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, as enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These rules form the basis of most all occupational safety and health programs currently in place throughout both the public and private sectors. 

Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees, and shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act. 

Basic Guide to System Safety, by Jeffrey W. Vincoli Copyright 2006 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

It is clear that the intention of the Occupational Safety and Health Act is to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. In fact, the General Duty Clause has been the precursor for many of the regulations that have followed since 1970 and continues to ensure worker safety in the absence of a specific standard for a specific occupational situation. Less clear, but equally important to worker safety, is that the methods and techniques associated with the system safety efifort are an excellent means of assuring that the intent of the General Duty Clause is met at the earliest possible time in the project or program development process. 

Historically, the occupational safety and health profession has relied primarily on achieving safety through compliance with established standards and mandated operating criteria. However, as noted earlier, most standards and regulations reflect minimum requirements for safe operations and do not place any additional responsibilities on employers to be safer than what is required by these standards. It is well known within the occupational safety arena that, in order to ensure continued safety in a given situation, it is often necessary to exceed the minimum requirements established by law. 

Basic Guide to System Strfety, Third Edition. Jeffrey W. Vincoli. 

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Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), as amended in 1990, encourages reduction of occupation safety and health ha2ards and promotes safe and healthful conditions. 

Industrial hygienists work closely with members of several other professions concerned with workplace health and safety, eg, occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, and safety engineering. AH of these groups are involved in the implementation of the laws that regulate workplace health and safety. In the United States the principal law is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) (1) enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. 

The principal function of OSHA is the protection of people, eg, employees, visitors, and temporary help, in the workplace. Regional offices are in the same areas as those of the EPA (see Table 1). The principal law covered by OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (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. 

The demand for trichloroethylene grew steadily until 1970. Since that time trichloroethylene has been a less desirable solvent because of restrictions on emissions under air pollution legislation and the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Whereas previously the principal use of trichloroethylene was for vapor degreasing, currentiy 1,1,1-trichloroethane is the most used solvent for vapor degreasing. The restrictions on production of 1,1,1-trichloroethane [71-55-6] from the 1990 Amendments to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the stratospheric ozone and the U.S. 

Exposure Limits. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1990 Hsts a multitude of acetates, phthalates, formates, and acrylates along with the corresponding permissible exposure limits and threshold limit values (76). The PEL data is Hsted in Table 2. If there is potential for exposure to an organic ester for which PEL or TLV data has been identified, then an exposure limit lower than that Hsted is usually selected for working in that environment. 

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... 

The required notification must be provided at ieast annually In writing. Acceptable forms of notice are, for example, a letter, product labeling, and product literature distributed to customers. If you are required to prepare and distribute a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the mixture under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard, your section 313 notification may be attached to the MSDS or the MSDS may be modified to include the required information. (A sample letter and recommended text for inclusion in an MSDS appear on pages E-4 and E-5 of this appendix.)... 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) was enacted by Congress in 1970 and established tlie Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which addressed safety in tlie workplace. At tlie same time tlie USEPA was created. Both USEPA and OSHA are mandated to reduce tlie exposure of Itazardous substances over Umd, sea, and air. Tlie OSH Act is limited to conditions that exist in the workplace, where its jurisdiction covers both safety and health. Frequently, both agencies regulate tlie same substances but in a different manner as they are overlapping environmental organizations. 

Interior wiring design and installation for most commercial and industrial uses should follow the National Electrical Code (NEC) which has been a national standard since 1970 with the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Some localities, however, may not accept the NEC and require that their own (more stringent) standards be followed. 

The Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances. The Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS) [70] is a database of toxicological information compiled, maintained, and updated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 mandated the program. RTECS now contains over 133,000 chemicals as NIOSH strives to fulfill the mandate to list all known toxic substances and the concentrations at which toxicity is known to occur. This database is available for searching through the GOV. Research Center (GRQ service at http // grc.ntis.gov by subscription or by a day pass. 

In 1970 the US Congress enacted a health and safety law that continues to have a significant impact on the practices of industrial hygiene in the chemical industry the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHAct). To appreciate the significance of the OSHAct, it is helpful to review regulations and practices2 before 1970. 

The design requirements for intrinsically safe would seem to be demanding, and a review of NFPA 493 enforces this fact. Today s industrial environment imposes additional requirements not only on the use of intrinsically safe electrical circuits, but other hazardous electrical techniques as well. These requirements are due to the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the employer s increasing vulnerability for liability. 

The rights of chemists, employers, and professional societies are discussed in relation to layoffs and other grievances where the Labor Management Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1954, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 apply. Instances of political discrimination, blacklisting, employee entrapment and dismissal, and no-switching agreements are also included in the discussion. 

For many, familiarity with the TSCA generally stems from its specific reference to polychlorinated biphenyls, which raise a vivid, deadly characterization of the harm caused by them. But the TSCA is not a statute that deals with a single chemical or chemical mixture or product. In fact, under the TSCA, the EPA is authorized to institute testing programs for various chemical substances that may enter the enviromnent. Under the TSCA s broad authorization, data on the production and use of various chemical substances and mixtures may be obtained to protect public health and the environment from the effects of harmful chemicals. In actuality, the TSCA supplements the appropriate sections dealing with toxic substances in other federal stamtes, such as the Clean Water Act (Section 307) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Section 6). 

Subsequently, under the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, these same 1968 TLVs and ANSI standards were promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as the... 

These chemicals can be subject to much more testing under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if they are known to be present in the workplace and a risk has been identified. In Europe, new chemicals are subject to more testing but still far less than that required for new drug or agricultural applications (National Research Council, 1996). 

In 1971 when safety and health standards were established by the U. S. Department of Labor for several hundred chemical substances, there were analytical methods available for some of the compounds, but few were validated to ensure the accurate monitoring of the exposure of workers to these toxic substances (1). Consequently, programs were undertaken by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to develop and validate sampling and analytical methods. The initial intent was to provide methods that would be useful to industry in measuring the exposures of personnel to potentially toxic materials at concentration levels near the accepted standard levels. Consequently, many earlier methods were developed around the standard levels established by the Occupational Safety and Health Act with validation at, for example, levels ranging from one-half to twice the established standard level (2). Often these methods were not validated at lower concentration levels, say, one-tenth of the original level. 

The Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act The Occupational Safety and Health Act The Federal insecticide Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act... 

Occupational Safety and Health Act. Administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Occupation Safety and Health Act concerns health and safety in the workplace, OSHA sets standards for worker exposure to specific chemicals, for air concentration values, and for monitoring procedures. Construction and environmental controls also come under this act. This act provides for research, information, education, and training in occupational safety and health. 

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Enacted in 1976, the TSCA provides the EPA with the authority to require testing and to regulate chemicals, both old and new, entering the environment. It was intended to supplement sections of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act that already provide for regulation of chemicals. Manufacturers are required to submit information to allow the EPA to identify and evaluate the potential hazards of a chemical prior to its introduction into commerce. The act also provides for the regulation of production, use, distribution and disposal of chemicals, toxicant See poison, toxicokinetics See pharmacokinetics. 

Other related regulations on the management of pesticides are the Environmental Quality Act 1974, the Food Act 1983 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Sufian Yek, 2005). The primary objective of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 is to control the discharge of chemical and industrial wastes including pesticides into the environment, so that there will be no adverse effects on human health and the environment. The disposal of pesticides has not been a significant problem in Malaysia as it is an offence to discharge any toxic waste into the environment. There is a chemical waste treatment facility, which is able to handle all the chemical wastes produced in the country. The Food Act 1983 (under Schedule 16 of its Food Regulation 1985) prescribes the maximum residue levels of certain pesticides in food. The Occupational... 

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. 

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