Environmental, Health and Safety Brief for August

Several briefs ago it was noted that the penalties for violations were going to rise significantly (by about 80%). Well that time is very near. Starting next month (August) of this year the penalties will go into effect. The penalties will be: $12,400 for serious and $124,000 for willful before any potential reductions. If an employer is caught lying to OSHA the penalty could be up to 25 years in prison plus penalties...Note to Self...Don’t lie to OSHA!

OSHA’s agenda going forward includes evaluating and then eliminating outdated permissible exposure limits (PEL’s). Since it is very difficult and time consuming to develop and establish PEL’s, this gives the Agency the opportunity to use the General Duty Clause when employers are found to be violating current exposure limits. This means that employers would be forced to look to the latest research and determine what protection workers will need. To make these types of determinations, employers would likely need to employ the services of industrial hygiene professionals.

OSHA’s newest regulation on injury reporting significantly affects how companies handle drug testing. This rule prohibits employers from using the threat of post-incident drug testing as a form of adverse action against employees who report injuries or illnesses. OSHA says employers should follow two post incident policies:

•Testing should be limited to situations in which employee drug use is likely to have contributed to the incident.

•Testing should only be done when it can accurately identify impairment caused by drug use. Example: OSHA says it wouldn’t be reasonable to drug test an employee who reports a bee sting, a repetitive strain injury, or an injury caused by a lack of machine guarding.

(This information provided by Safety Compliance Alert)

The TCEQ finally came out with the changes to the Multi Sector General Permit for Storm Water (TXR050000). Permits can be submitted for renewal beginning August 14th.  Basically, there are no major changes in the rule versus the current rule. However, some of the changes that have been made involve impaired waters of the State and Endangered Species just to name a couple. The link to the rule is as follows:

https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/permitting/stormwater/txr050000_proposed_msgp.pdf

For those members who also have Ready Mix facilities, the TXG110000 general permit will be renewed on November 17, 2016. The link to the draft rule is noted below. 

https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/.../txg11_draft_permit.docx

OSHA’s Silica Rule for General Industry (includes hot mix plants) states that employers must comply with all requirements of the standard by June 23, 2018. An OSHA fact sheet link is provided below:

https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3682.pdf

OSHA’s Silica Rule for the Construction industry (would include paving crews) states that employers must comply with all requirements of the standard by June 23, 2017. An OSHA fact sheet link is provided below:

https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3681.pdf