October 14, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A dust explosion at a plant in Florida sent four workers to the hospital. One had to be airlifted to a burn center for critical injuries.
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Tags: combustible dust, dust explosion, serious burns
September 30, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and OSHA interim administrator Jordan Barab have said that a new combustible dust regulation is one of their rulemaking priorities at OSHA.
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Tags: combustible dust regulation, Hilda Solis, Imperial Sugar explosion, Jordan Barab
September 28, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A government agency says the February 2008 explosion and fire at the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth, GA, that killed 14 workers and injured 36 others, was caused by poor equipment design, maintenance and housekeeping.
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Tags: Chemical Safety Board, combustible dust, dust explosion and fire, Imperial Sugar explosion, poor housekeeping
September 15, 2009 by Fred Hosier
August 10, 2009 by Fred Hosier
California is one of only two states to have regulations that require employers to take steps to reduce employee injuries or deaths due to heat stress. It’s also been issuing fines and even shutting down some companies that have violated the regs. But now a lawsuit says California isn’t doing enough.
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Tags: ACLU lawsuit, agricultural workers, CAL-OSHA, heat stress, United Farm Workers Union
August 7, 2009 by Fred Hosier
The Transportation Department will require direct observation collections for all return-to-duty and follow-up drug tests for transportation workers in safety-sensitive jobs.
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Tags: drug testing, Transportation safety, urine samples
June 19, 2009 by Fred Hosier
California wants to toughen and clarify its heat-illness prevention standard.
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Tags: California heat standard, heat illness, shade water for workers
June 10, 2009 by Fred Hosier
In response to media coverage of a rash of construction worker fatalities, one state is now requiring such employees to get safety training.
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Tags: 10-hour OSHA course, construction worker fatalities, Nevada safety training
June 1, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Some tough talk about enforcement from OSHA’s interim administrator, Jordan Barab.
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Tags: Jordan Barab, OSHA enforcement, OSHA inspectors
May 5, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Companies face two new workplace health and safety rules: one on food flavorings, another on combustible dust.
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Tags: bronchiolitis obliterans, combustible dust explosions, diacetyl
May 1, 2009 by Fred Hosier
March 27, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Just two states, California and Washington, have specific safety regulations to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illness. Now, California has clarified what employers have to do to protect workers.
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Tags: CAL-OSHA, heat stress, outdoor workers
February 20, 2009 by Fred Hosier

Imagine this: One of your employees is on pain medication that could compromise his safety and productivity, as well as that of co-workers. But, because of state law, you have to accommodate the employee. Not only that, but federal law says the pain medication is illegal.
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Tags: accommodate, drug test, medical marijuana, pain management, terminate
February 19, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Preventing the accumulation of combustible dust in workplaces would become mandatory instead of just good safety practice if three members of Congress get their way.
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Tags: combustible dust, Congress, dust explosion
January 30, 2009 by Fred Hosier

Employers in another state may soon be facing mandatory rules to reduce the number of employees’ ergonomic injuries.
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Tags: ergonomics, musculoskeletal disorders, risk factors
January 22, 2009 by Fred Hosier
There will be a slight delay before the Obama administration issues a slew of new OSHA regulations.
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Tags: federal regulations, Obama administration, OSHA regulations