U.S. Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor (OSHA) has ruled that an employee s exposure to dimethyl acetamide in any 8-h work shift of a 40-h work week shall not exceed a time-weighted average of 10 ppm DMAC vapor in air by volume or 35 mg/m in air by weight (7). If there is significant potential for skin contact with DMAC, biological monitoring should be carried out to measure the level of DMAC metaboHtes in urine specimens collected at the end of the shift. One industrial limit is 40 ppm DMAC metaboHtes, expressed as AJ-methylacetamide [79-16-3] for individuals, and 20 ppm metaboHte average for workers on the job (8). 

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. 

Safety Standards U.S. Department of Labor GPO Washington, D.C. 20402 Industrial safety ha2ards. 

Occupational Safety andHealth Standards, Tide 29, Subtide B, Chapt. XVII, Part 1910, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C., 1991. 

The U.S. Department of Labor (OSHA) has ruled that an employee s exposure to aniline in an 8-h work shift of a 40-h work week shaU not exceed an 8-h time-weighted average (TWA) of 5 ppm vapor in air. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommends a... 

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. 

Permissible exposure limits estabhshed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Labor are summarized below, with the mote restrictive levels proposed by NIOSH (47). 

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... 

A question often asked when dealing with hazardous materials is whether a eertain site is eompliant with the Proeess Safety Management Guidelines as well as HAZWOPER guidelines. In order to answer this question, we have modified a Department of Labor doeument and ineluded it below. Should the reader desire more information on this subjeet, refer to the OSHA web page for the following publieation U.S. Department of Labor Oeeupational Safety and Health Administration 1994. 

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. 

OSHA. 1989, Air Contaminants Permi.ssible Exposure Limits. Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1910.1000. U.S. Department of Labor. OSHA 3112. 

Figure 1-2. The take-off branch was dismantled with the Demco valve open. (Illustration courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor.)...

This increase in productivity is accounted for partly by a decrease in absenteeism and accidents as well as a general increase in working efficiency. For example, Vernon (1918), found that when women in a munitions factory worked a 12-hour day they incurred 2.5 times more accidents than when they worked a 10-hour day. One of the more comprehensive studies of the effects of total hours of work was carried out after World War II by the U.S. Department of Labor (Kossoris and Kohler, 1947). This covered over 3500 men and women in 78 work units. Data were collected on accidents and absenteeism as well as productivity. The overall findings were that exceeding the 8-hour work day, 5 days/40 hours work week resulted in lower productivity and higher absenteeism and accident rates. 

U.S. Department of Labor Hand and Power Tools, Publ. No. 3080... 

Material Safety Data Sheets (OSHA Form 20, see Figure 1) are available from suppliers for every chemical sold. These give valuable information of a specific nature and should be kept on file. A phone call to the nearest office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor will bring forth more information on safety, both oral and written. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Occupational Safaty and Health Adminiitration... 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor also publishes the average earnings of hourly and salaried employees for many categories. 

The average wage of the nonsalaried laborers can be obtained from Chemical Week s annual plant site issue (see references for Chapter 2) or the U. S. Department of Labor. This average wage does not include retirement benefits, social security, workman s compensation, company health insurance contributions, stock options, holidays and vacations, and other fringe benefits. These benefits... 

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