Document Qgnp6jMkXR0QeRoV8N3kO5Bo7

Memorandum from FRED DOVELL TO: A w. j)u., SBw* J?A. /?, W . J ^f aJ f-sty ? ) t A*-*'. URL 05037 t 470 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH REPORTER URL 05038 CsHtomia ABSENCE OP DATE ON CITATION NOT FATAL DEFECT, APPEALS BOARD SAYS hazards to which the safety order is addressed and to which employees are exposed." the panel said in giving its view that tbe hazard la not minimized or negated by the employ ees' job titles or job functions. SAN FRANCISCO -- (By a BNA SUE Correspondent) -- The absence of a date on a citation does not invalidate the document, according to a decision after reconsideration by the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. "While the face of the citation contains a space for the date of issuance, nothing can be found in the applicable provisions of the Labor Code requiring the citation to be dated," the board explained. The case involved Channel Constructor, Inc., Inrindale (Docket Nos. 028-77 and 137-77), which contested one alleged serious, and two nonserious, violations before the board. The company was cited in 1977 by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) for alleged nonserious violation of 8 CAC 1341(a) lac failure to meet minimum spacing require ments for trench shoring. Channel Constructors challenged tbe citation on several ground! including DOSITs failure to date the citation. The Appeals Board concluded that the abeence of an issuance date did not invalidate tbe citation. The panel noted that the Labor Code requires a citation to be served on the employer before further action may be taken by DOSH. It further observed that the employer's notice of appeal stated the date on which the citation was received and there was no apparent error in the form or manner of issuance or in the service of the citation. Turning to the violation Itself, the board affirmed DOSITs citation with a finding that shoring uprights were spaced too far apart. It also upheld tbe serious violation citation, find ing that Channel Constructors failed to slope tbe walls of a trench properly. That infraction carried a $890 dvU penalty. Other DeeMone In another decision after reconsideration, the board re versed an administrative law judge and ruled that an em ployee of an engineering company inspecting a construction site should have worn flagging garments when expound to heavy earthmoving equipment The ruling Involved Spencer Engineering, Eureka (No. 1304-81), which was cited by DOSH for serious violation of 8 CAC 1390(a)(5) for allegedly exposing the employee- to dangerous equipment without proper garments. At issue in the case was whether the employer knew of the violation. lW law jodga found tht inewledga requirement was not proven by D06H. hot the Appeals Board reversed, saying the employer's pnrpsrted ignorance of the applicabil ity of the rule wap m exenaa for non-compliance. The standard applies to eBiploynaa expdesd to vehicular traffic in off-highway coodtttoas, the board said, a situation which existed in this case. Finally, tbe board upheld a law judge's decision that cleaning sawdust from an electric eye of a sawmill saw is not servicing or cleaning within the meaning of 8 CAC 3314(a). That board ruling sustained an appeal by Louisa ana~Pacific Corporation, Samoas (No. 1338-81). "Cleaning, servicing, or adjusting operations within the meaning of section 3314(a) generally mean that parts of tbe machine are altered and that work is performed on a part or piece of that machinery itself," the board said in explaining its decision. Though it found no violation, the board did say the law judge erred in applying tbe standard solely to general repairmen "Tbe Appeals Board focuses on the Cafffomis JOB FATALITIES RECORDED IN 1M0 MT 40 YEAR LOW. STATE INDICATES SAN FRANCISCO - (By a BNA Staff Correspondent) The number of occupational deaths in California in 1980 was tbe lowest recorded since 1940, tbe state Division of Labor Statistics and Research reported. A total of 341 job related deaths occurred in 1980, a 19 percent drop from the previous year and the best record since 1940, when 538 workers lost their lives on the job, tbe division said. Of the 341 fatalities in 1960, over half involved aircraft or motor vehicle accidents, the division said. It counted 233 deaths that were "standards related" and might have been associated with violations of state job safety and health rules. Despite the decrease in tbe overall number of deaths, fatalities due to falls from elevations, confined spaces, and contact with electric current all increased between 1979 and 1980. Tbe overall number of disabling work injuries In 1980^fell by 2.2 percent from tbe 1979 total of 382,227 despite a 2. percent increase in employment The most common acci dent types were "struck by or against" and overexertion, which each accounted for 28 percent of the total. The most common injuries were strains, sprains, dislocations, and hernias, which together accounted for 42 percent of all injuries. The division found that 44 percent of the workers injured in 1980 had worked tor their employers for less than one year at the time the injuries occurred. It speculated that Job experience and worker age are two factors that contribute to injuries. Five industry categories enjoyed injury reductions in 1980; construction, manufacturing, transportation and utili ties, wholesale trade, and state and local government Min ing and agriculture showed sharp increases in injuries and illnesMO. Copies of the report, entitled "California Work Injuries and Tllnnwns 1080," are available by writing to tbe Division of Labor Statistics and Research, P.O. Box 003, San Francis co, Calif. 94101. CAUBES OF WORKPLACE CARCINOGENS ADORffBBED IN NEW UAW SUDE SHOW An overview of the causes of and remedies for occupation al cancer is provided in a new slide show produced by the United Auto Workers, the union announced. The 20-minute film, "Fighting Workplace Cancer," focus es on tbe industries and operation* where excess cancer has been found, the union stated. Cancer-causing chemicals are identified and control methods are discussed. In addition, policy issues relating to tbe regulation of carcinogens and obstacles to their control are explored, the announcment said. InrlTdtd in the show are 124 slides in a carousel and a tape with inaudible pulsing. A keyed script and a copy of a 11-11-S2 Copyright e 1902 by Tho Suroou of NaUonol Affair*. Inc now mr/w/soo-so CURRENT REPORT booklet, "The Case of the Workplace Killers: A Manual for Cancer Detectives on the Job," also are included. The show can be obtained from the UAW Education Department, 8000 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48214; tel. (313) 920-3474. There is a charge of $100 per copy plus $10 for previewing. Regulatory Reform COST-BENEFIT, OMB REVIEW OF RULES CRITICIZED IN POLICY EXCHANGE STUDY Cost-benefit analysis and centralized review of proposed safety and health regulations should not be the cornerstones of the federal regulatory reform effort, according to a study issued by the National Policy Exchange, a Washington, D.C., research and education organization whose board of direc tors includes former Labor Secretary Ray Marshall and AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland. More flexible compliance strategies and greater opportu nities for negotiation during the standard-setting process offer "more promising routes out of the current regulatory traffic jam," according to the report, written by Marguerite Connerton, senior economist with the Department of Labor, and Mark MacCarthy, a staff economist with the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Tests on cost-benefit imposed by President Reagan's Ex ecutive Order 12291 (Reference File, 71:9601) and pending cost-benefit reform legislation are "steps in the wrong direc tion," the authors charged in Cost Benefit Analysis and Regulation; Expressway to Reform or Blind Alley? After examining the historical relationship between eco nomics and the development of social regulation, Connerton and MacCarthy assessed what they termed the scientific and factual uncertainty involved in identifying and measuring regulatory effects, especially where health and safety are involved. Scientific understanding of the etiology of many occupa tional diseases is uncertain, tbe authors argued, and factors such as multiple exposure sources and long latency periods complicate any scientific determination of exposure hazards in the workplace. "For these reasons," according to Connerton and MacCarthy,"many risk assessments may only sup port the qualitative conclusion that a substance poses a significant risk." Tbe need to measure regulatory benefits la monetary terms presents an even greater difficulty, the authors con tinued, noting that "the most controversial of these pricing problems concerns the valuation of human life." Aarigning a monetary value to an individual based entirely on that person's economic contribution to society, they charged, leads "to the perverse conclusion that death is 'cheaper' than permanent disabilities which may Involve long periods of expensive medical treatment ... on top of any earnings lost." Centralized review of propoeed standards by OMB, the study also charged, involves an "ill-defined boundary" be tween technical review and policy review of a proposal, and raises the possibility of "beds door" influence of tbe Presi dent on agency policy. Tbe regulatory system might be made more efficient through tbe introduction of compliance strategies geared to 471 individual industries, the study suggested. As examples, it noted a tripartite OSHA/industry/labor agreement involv ing enforcement of tbe lead standard at an ASARCO smelter in Montana (Current Report, March 25, p. 843), and labormanagement committees such as the one e*tahii<ih<^ at a Bechtel construction site in San Onofre, Calif. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Expressway to Reform or Blind Alley? is available for $5 from tbe National Policy Exchange, 1899 L Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20086; tel: (202) 838-3293. Csttfomie THIRD QUARTER ENFORCEMENT REPORT SHOWS EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE RATE CLIMBED SAN FRANCISCO -- (By a BNA Staff Correspondent) -- The percentage of employers found in compliance with California job safety and health standards climbed over the 80 percent mark for the first time in 1982, according to statistics submitted to tbe Occupational Safety and Health Administration. California's report to OSHA on its third quarter enforce ment activity showed that 30.3 percent of employers were found in compliance with state standards, a 3.4 percent increase over tbe second quarter (Current Report, Sept. 23, p. 348). Between July 1 and Sept. 30, California's 184 job safdty and health inspectors made 4,186 inspections, 752 fewer than in tbe previous quarter. Of those third quarter inspec* tions, 459 were accident investigations, 1,337 were com plaint responses, and 1,813 were listed as general schedule. Follow-ups numbered 557, and when they are excluded from tbe total, 30.3 percent of employers inspected were found in compliance. The compliance officers cited 1,220 instances of alleged serious violations for which $282,539 in penalties were pro posed. That figure includes penalties for serious, repeat serious, and willful citations. Citations also were issued alleging 7,839 nooserious infractions for which proposed fines totaled $62,573. FMMIowIteM MOW IBBUCB CUMULATIVE CATALOG UBTMG AVAIABLE PUBLICATIONS Copies of NIOSH Publications Catalog: Fourth Edi tion, are available from the National Institute for Occupa tional Safety and Health. Tbe 277-page catalog presents, in six sections, a cumula tive listing of numbered publications, health hazard evalua tions and technical assistance reports, NIOSH contract re ports, industry-wide studies, unnumbered publications, and a variety of other educational and training materials. Tbe final section of the catalog contains a subject index guide to all NIOSH documents. Tbe catalog also includes information for ordering docu ments from tbe Government Printing Office, the National Technical Information Service, and NIOSH itself. To obtain the catalog (NIOSH Publication No. 82-116), contact Publications Dissemination, DSDTT, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226. URL 05039 11-11-S2 OeomMtfcmW SSMy a HmMi PNpotWi 0QK-S237/>S/*M.M