Document mB358XvgobdRmDe0YLjLrGJJB

TO: Distribution FROM: DATE: Interoffice Communication SUBJ: T. G. Grumbles January 27, 1987 GROUNDWATER CONTRACT VISTA Attached is the final (finally) copy of the Phase III contract with IT. Thomas G. Grumbles ajo/10 Attachment DISTRIBUTION: Jack Neeld Mike Hayes Gary Wojnowski Ron Truelove Bill McClain vVV 000009Z93 TO: Distribution FROM: DATE: Interoffice Communication SUBJ T. G. Grumbles January 26, 1987 PVC LABELING VISHA As a follow up to my memo of January 6 regarding PVC labeling, I would like to have a meeting Wednesday, February 4, 1:30-3:00 in Conference Room 2A to discuss the issues involving PVC labeling. Please let me know if you cannot attend. inomas u. crumbles aj o /10 DISTRIBUTION: H. R. Flammer R. E. Swantkowski E. L. Kieschnick J. F. Nelson D. F. Harman S. K. Saborsky W. L. McClain VVV 000009254 f: UO. *'F: .j<kto\<iA& i2l2_ uy _ .3 3 d (CAD O I- CO > o Qa JD E 3 7 o cCoD E o H VV* 000009255 -o -J-30 c Q* -0 5^ C2 o U> 0 c-k- 0 tV"a00t io \A a Q c 0 c c) o J Or-> aJ oi 0 o 3 /i (qV) os 3e o*C? c ia 3d: u? a cT O O V> c: nA ^g-- ---- 3_ 0> 0*v) S J) o Gi u0r <0j 0 o0 cT. zr cS cJ a? 'O rJ ^' (^ c y\ 9) U~ c o a c 0 -J 52. s^ '-- oH O nS tv \L L \/\ %| Vi) "HJ O ^4j UO CT7 C Ci_ Q_ d <0 ^o 0c /^>----5 v} ^ 5S <& V*> a *-> o co> a) 2 e) vT\ v_Is oO u> N. >) j3 0 5> 3^0 JD *I J2 ^0 / <2^:* ,,/1 a) a -P o ,. > 0 0 oJ O -U Q> C u> -4J % -c <<3l) Q o) > , J2 V if ^ u U-J q) ---- v> <3 * ->L> ,c O o) a) Ur <3 d o o IO ">V 868 it, making one director the coordinator and supervisor of the 10 regional administrators, while creating another position with responsibility for field support, including field direc tives and interpretations. White told BNA. Any changes made will be contingent on various negotiations inside and outside the agency, he added. Asked about reorganization plans. Carey said, "It's too premature to even comment on anything." Carey said the role of director of field operations "is a tough job, no doubt about it. "1 look at the position as a challenge and I look forward to meeting that challenge," he added. "The goal 1 have is to best represent the field's interests and work with the assis tant secretary [Assistant Labor Secretary John A. Pender grass] to see that his programs are implemented." Carey will oversee the agency's compliance officers and its safety and health inspections. OSHA's field staff consists of 1,700 employees in 10 regional and 72 area offices. In fiscal 1986, the field operations staff conducted more than 64,000 inspections, according to OSHA. Carey, 33, is a certified industrial hygienist with more than 13 years' experience at- OSHA. He became deputy director of field .operations in August 1985. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Allentown College and a master's degree in occupational health from Temple University. Right-7o-Know COURT RULES AGENCY INTERPRETIVE NOTICE CANNOT BE ATTACKED BY NON-AFFECTED PARTIES An Occupational Safety and Health Administration notice of interpretation that makes a distinction between mild and severe hydrotreating of lubricating ails, for the purpose of enforcing the haard communication standard, may not be challenged bv oil manufacturers thar do not utilize the bydrotreatment process, the tLS. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Grant ruled Dec. 19. This decision in Calumet Industries Inc. v. Brock (No. 86-1203) dismissed a suit by the lubricating oil manufactur ers on the ground that the companies lacked standing -- the legal right to bring their lawsuit. According to the appeals court, to allow lubricating oil manufacturers that make vacuum distillate a^d acid-treat ed oils to contest a notice that does not affect than would allow compering r~>armfarr;Trp'-s to use the Occupational Safety and Act far the impermissible purpose of protecting their "market position." In order to hr=TT judical review of the interpretive notice, the oil mancfacmrers msi show that the interest they seek to protect fsHa within the 7nn* of interests pro tected by the (VivV|iar*rural SafetV awH Art rfie court ruled. Review of th* rgnu Act iwt rh omirt to conclude that the statute protects worker safety. Arte1 reviewing the oil manufacturers* arguments, the court held that the compa nies were seeking to protect "their comperirive interests." and not worker safety. The opinion written by Circuit Judge Laurence H. Sflber- man, who was joined by Circuit Judge Stephen F. Williams, and Senior District Judge William J. Jameson, sitting by designation, will be published in a future Decisions issue. Chemical Labeling Under the hazard communication standard, all chemicals manufactured or imported must be assessed for hazards and appropriately labeled to reflect their hazard potential. To OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH REPORTER help manufacturers determine if a chemical is carcinogenic, the standard lists several authoritative sources for carcino genicity information, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A 1984 monograph by IARC concluded that all vacuumdistilled and acid-treated lubricating oils are carcinogenic. That monograph also stated that mildly solvent-refined and mildly hydrotreated oils are carcinogenic. However, the monograph concluded that severely solvent-refined oil was not carcinogenic and that the evidence was inconclusive as to the carcinogenicity of severely hydrotreated oil. Failure of the monograph to define the terms "mild" and "severe" caused OSHA to issue the notice of interpretation, which defined mildly hydrotreated oil as oil "processed at a pressure of 800 pounds per square inch (psi) or less, at temperatures up to 800 F." The agency did not define mild and severe solvent-refining (Current Report, Jan. 2, 1986, p. 843). Suit then was brought by Calumet Industries, Macmillan Ring-Free Oil Co., and Seaview Lubricants, all of which make either vacuum-distillate or add-treated lubricating oils, seeking to contest that interpretative notice (Current Report, Jan. 30, 1986, p. 918). . Recordkeeping .NOTl'CE~TOOSHA~REGiON, AREA STAFF ^DESCRIBES PILOT RECORDKEEPING AUDIT ` A pilot audit of employee injury and illness records at a pnrinm <arnnling of 200 Tnannfarfiiriflg estahTTsnmgnrs in .Massachusetts and Missoux.wiH begin Jan. 12. The pro gram, which was designed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, will be carried out by inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The goal of the pilot study is to serve as a foundation for a larger, long-term anditing project to assist BLS and OSHA in the accuracy and coraurehensiveness of establish ments' injury and illness records, and to eventually improve such records, the safety and health agency announced in a Dec. 22. 1986, directive to its regional and area staff. The directive, which was previewed in draft form at a November meeting of two BLS advisory panels (Current Report. Nov. 26, 1986, p. 653), will be published in a future Reference FHe supplement. vVV 000009256 CORRECTION An article on p. 827 of the Dec. 24. 1986. Current Report incorrectly stated that a Manville Corp. trust fnrwi to pav asbestos disease victims "wnnid be funded in part by 5615 billion in Consummation Dam Value from Manviile's insurance policies." The current fig ure is $615 million. The article also erroneously stated, "Another $150 million in Consummation Data Value added to the trust would consist of $800 million in cash and $70 million in receivables from Manville." The article should have said "$30 million" rather than "$800 million." 1-7-87 Copyright 1987 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. 0095-3237/97/S0+-S0 CURRENT REPORT ' Eight OSHA compliance officer? in the two states have received additional training from BLS and will conduct inspections at businesses selected by the bureau, according to Joanne L. Goodeil, manager of the project at OSHA. Citations May Result Among the documents to be examined are daily injury and illness reports, employee medical records, workers" com pensation reports, company and insurers' accident reports, absentee reports, and laboratory test results maintained during 1986. Citations wifi be issued for recordkeeping viola tions under 29 CFR 1904, and detection of above-average lost-workday injury rates may result in subsequent full safety inspections, according to the directive. OSHA's goal is to complete the inspections witbin six months, at which time the data collected will be turned over to BLS for evaluation, Goodeil told BNA. The bureau has indicated its desire to complete the recordkeeping assess ment "within several months" after the safety and health agency completes its work, she added. The audit procedures followed will be similar to those followed in generally scheduled inspections except that the pilot study will entail more detailed scrutiny of records and no "walkaround inspections," according to Goodeil and agency documents. Compliance officers will "reconstruct" a log of workrelated injuries and illnesses and compare the reconstruc tion with, the employers gaffing log to assess comoatihility. Compliance officers will attempt to reconcile inconsisten cies with emuloyers, if possible. In addition, employers and employees responsible for recordkeeping will be interviewed to determine their under standing of agency requirements, and a random sample of other employees, as well as their representatives, will be interviewed to determine if injuries or Alnesses were not recorded. Medical Records Access Recognizing that concern exists about the confidentiality of employee medical records. OSHA has addressed the ques tion of access in detail in its field directive, providing notice to employers that OSHA Administrator John A. Pendergrass approved a "formal written access order" requiring that "personally identifiable" portions of records be available to OSHA for examination and possible copying. However, agency access to personally identifiable seacal infurTTnirirm is limited to the on-site compliance officer, a principal investigator in Hansas dry, and two campiignp# officers, the project manager, and a technical expert in Washington. Information snhsecueutiy submitted to BLS for annraisal will not include medical records information that fnr^nnog employee identities, the directive states. AH Inquiries regardlaccess to medical records as out lined in 29 CFR i9m.B are to OSHA's medical records officer, Ralph Todaiken. iLD at the 'gponsl office. Enforcement OSHA CITES TEXAS SHELL OIL COMPLEX . - _ FOR ALLEGED WILLFUL RECORDKEEPING VIOLATIONS A Shell Oil complex near Deer Park, Texas, was cited Dec. 23,1986, by the Occupational Safety and Health Admin istration for 61 alleged instances of failing intentionally to record employee injuries. A penalty of ?4,000 for each instance was proposed by the safety and health agency. 869 The company also was cited for three alleged serious violations of respirator, hazard information, and shower and wash facilitv reouiremenis carrying a proposed penalty of $960, for a total of *244^60.-, The citations resulted from an inspection that began June 16, 1986, at Shell's hydrogen sulfide manufacturing units at Deer Park as part of OSHA's chemical industry special emphasis program (Current Report, Oct. 24, 1985, p. 421). According to the agency, the alleged violations involved several types of injuries, including burns; back, cervical, groin, and shoulder strain; contusions; and inhalation oi toxic substances. Contending that it does record and analyze all work- related injuries and illnesses. Shell stated Dec. 23 that it denies and will "vigorously challenge" OSHA's allegations. The alleged violations, the company said, "represent a dif ference in interpretation of what is required to be drawn from the Shell data and reported on to the Department of Labor." Shell said that this is the first challenge of the company's recordkeeping procedures, after 32 previous OSHA inspec tions spanning 10 years. The action is the latest in a series of citations against major companies for alleged violations of OSHA recordkeeping requirements. In December 1986, the agency cited Monsanto Corp. for 11 instances of alleged violations at its Nitro, W.Va^ plant, and USX Corn, for 98 instances of alleged violations at its Clairton, Pa_, coke works (Current Report, Dec. 17. 1986, p. 796). The citations are part of an effort by the agency to gmphflsire the importance of keeping accurate injury and iTInpq records in response to concerns about its policy of exempting some workplaces from comprehensive inspec tions based on inspections of firms' records (Current Report, Nov. 12, 1986, p. 614). Variances VVV 000009257 FLORIDA CHIMNEY CONSTRUCTOR SEEKS ALTERNATE PERSONNEL HOISTING METHODS Comment was sought Jan. 2 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on a pennon by Zam Industrie Ing., Tampa, Fla^ for variance from provisions of OSHA standards for boatswain's nra-ire and personnel hoists (52 FR 184). Zum. a builder of chimneys, towers, arte other tall con crete ana steel stmemres. requested tfrar it be allowed to use alternate methods of transporting employees to and from elevated work platforms. The company argued that compliance with current OSHA standards pose ha?-srr; to workers engaged in the construc tion of tail narrow stmemres that may taper at the top. Employers are required under 29 CFR, 1925.451(1X5) to provide and enforce the use of a block and falls with a boatswain's chair to provide a suspended enployee with a znemod to control ascent, descent, and stepping locations. Additional provisions under paragraph (c) of the standard require that employers anchor hoist towers to the structure being built, provide electrically interlocking entrance doors or gates, provide emergency stop switches, and use a mini mum of two wire ropes for drum-type hoists. The notice of application for variance is published in the Full Text section of this Current Report. Rope-Guided Hoist System Proposed The company contended that erecting and bracing a hoist tower inside chimneys and similar structures is hazardous 1-7-07 Occupational Safety & Health Reporter 0095-3237/87/50'!.50 - vc i.ji> r ;r :Yi :;*j i5 .-,r Thomas G. Grumbles To Ql C)<S1c\ \0l A VIS1A Date k^e-eA-t C.our.4 cb,ais;oA OA xke_ Cad Ci /icc^evi; c, uo) \ i e, LOVio S^ou)cP kW tb ^!fiase. C^5 4/1 l ^ ^ o009,5 fi 868 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH REPORTER it, making one director the coordinator and supervisor of the 10 regional administrators, while creating another position with responsibility for field support, including field direc tives and interpretations. White told BNA. Any changes made will be contingent on various negotiations inside and outside the agency, he added. Asked about reorganization plans, Carey said, "It's too premature to even comment on anything." Carey said the role of director of field operations "is a tough job, no doubt about it "I look at the position as a challenge and I look forward to meeting that challenge," he added. "The goal I have is to best represent the field's interests and work with the assis tant secretary [Assistant Labor Secretary John A. Pender grass] to see that his programs are implemented." Carey will oversee the agency's compliance officers and its safety and health inspections. OSHA's field staff consists of 1,700 employees in 10 regional and 72 area offices. In fiscal 1S86, the field operations staff conducted more than 64,000 inspections, according to OSHA. ' Carey, 38, is a certified industrial hygienist with more than 13 years' experience at- OSHA. He became deputy director of field operations in August 1985. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Allentown College and a master's degree in occupational health from Temple University, Right- To-Know COURT RULES AGENCY INTERPRETIVE NOTICE CANNOT BE ATTACKED BY NON-AFrECTED PARTIES As Occupational Safety and Health Administration notice of interpretation that makes a distinction between mild and severe hydrotreating of lubricating oils, for the purpose of enforcing the hazard coxnznunicstion standard, may not be challenged by oil manufacturers that do not utilize the hydrotreatment process, the U-S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Dec. 19. This decision in Calumet Industries Inc. v. Brock (No. 86-1203} dismissed a suit by the lubricating oil manufactur ers on the ground that the companies lacked standing -- the legal right to bring their lawsuit. A^wiT-rirng to the anpAalg court, to allow lubricating oil manufacturers that rrrsirg vacuum di^rfnstp snd acid--mast ed oils to contest a notice that does not affect them wuuid allow competing ms-mfarmrp^ to use tiie Occupational Safey and Health Act for the impermissihle purpose of protecting their "market position." In order to obtain judicial review of the interpretive notice, the oil manufacturers mrm show that the interest they seek to protect falls within the zone of interests pro tected by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the court ruled. Review of die OSH Act igd the court to mnHnrip that the statute protects worker safety. After reviewing the oil manufacturers' arguraens. the court held that the compa nies were seeking to protect "their competitive interests." and not worker safety. The opinion written by Circuit Judge Laurence H. SOberman, who was joined by Circuit Judge Stephen F. Williams, and Senior District Judge William J. Jameson, sitting by designation, will be published in a future Decisions issue. Chemical Labeling Under the hazard communication standard, all chemicals manufactured or imported must be assessed for hazards and appropriately labeled to reflect their hazard potential. To help manufacturers determine if a chemical is carcinogenic, the standard lists several authoritative sources for carcino genicity information, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A 1984 monograph by IARC concluded that all vacuumdistilled and acid-treated lubricating oils are carcinogenic. That monograph also stated that mildly solvent-refined and mildly hydrotreated oils are carcinogenic. However, the monograph concluded that severely solvent-refined oil was not carcinogenic and that the evidence was inconclusive as to the carcinogenicity of severely hydrotreated oiL Failure of the monograph to define the terms "mild" and "severe" caused OSHA to issue the notice of interpretation, which defined mildly-hydrotreated oil as oil "processed at a pressure of 800 pounds per square inch (psi) or less, at temperatures up to 800 F." The agency did not define mild and severe solvent-refining (Current Report, Jam 2, 1986, p. 843). Suit then was brought by Calumet Industries, Macmillan Ring-Free Oil Co., and Seaview Lubricants, all of which make either vacuum-distillate or add-treated lubricating oils, seeking to contest that interpretative notice (Current Report, Jan. 30, 1986, p. 918). . Recordkeeping NOTICE TO OSHA REGION, AREA STAFF DESCRIBES PILOT RECORDKEEPING AUDIT A pilot auffit of employee injury and Piness records at a random sampling of 200 manTTfartTn-rng establishments in Massachusetts and Missouri will begin Jan. 12. The pro gram. which was designed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, will be carried out by inspectors from the Occupational Safety aha Health Administration. The goal of the pilot study is to serve as a foundation for a larger, long-term auditing project to assist 3LS and OSHA in assessing the accuracy and 1-nTppT-ghpm.ionnpg* of establish ments' injury and flinpgs records, and to eventually improve such records, the safety and health agency announced in a Dec. 22. 1986. directive to its regional and area staff. The directive, which was previewed in draft form at a November meeting of two BLS advisory panels (Current Report. Nov. 28, 1986. p. 633), will be published in a future fipfprpnrp File snnplgmgrt. 000009259 CORRECTION An article on jl 827 of the Dec. 24. 1986. Cuueni Report iacorrectiv stated that a ManviHe Corn, trust fund to pay asbestos disease victims "would be funded in part bv $615 billion in Consummation Data Value from Mammies insurance policies." The correct fig ure is $615 million. The article also erroneously stated, "Another $150 million in Consummation Data Value added to the trust would consist of $800 million in cash and $70 million in receivables from ManviHe." The article should have said "$80 million" rather than "$800 million." 1-7-07 Copyright 1907 by The Bureau of National Affairs. Inc. 009&-3237/97/SO+.50