OSHA Activity Down in’99
by Allen Cooley
Occupational Safety & Health Administration activity in newspaper plants declined in 1999, with the usual suspects—guarding and lockout/tagout violations—generating the most citations and fines.
A total of 68 inspections were conducted at newspaper plants last year; 41 of those resulted in fines totaling $87,000. In 1998, 72 inspections generated $105,000 in fines.
Of the 1999 total, $57,000 went to the federal agency and $31,000 was paid in state OSHA fines, though both totals reflect reductions from initial citation amounts following negotiations with federal and state regulators.
Among federal OSHA activity, guarding drew the most citations, 20 in total, and $23,000 in paid fines. Lockout/ tagout ranked second, generating 13 citations and $11,000 in fines.
Rounding out the top 10 trouble areas were methylene chloride, garnering three citations; personal protective equipment, with six citations; walking and work surfaces, with five citations; electrical safety, with five citations; OSHA’s annual survey form, with three citations; the Hazard Communication Standard, with two citations; flammable and combustible liquids, with three citations; and portable fire extingushers, with one citation.
Cooley is an NAA industrial hygienist. E-mail, coola@naa.org; phone, (703) 902-1834; fax, (703) 902-1828.
Safety Kits
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NAA’s Technology Department has produced two new video-training kits: Pallet Jack Safety for Newspapers, and Lockout/Tagout for Newspapers.
Pallet Jack Safety for Newspapers covers the pre-operation phase of pallet-jack training, followed by operation, as well as load handling, and battery charging and recharging.
The Lockout/Tag-out for Newspapers kit reviews the areas of lockout/tagout devices, energy-control procedures and periodic inspections.
Together with transparencies, forms, checklists, and a variety of illustrative examples and tips, both kits include a videotape, an instructor’s manual, five employee handbooks and a CD-ROM.
The CD-ROM contains an instructor’s guide, an employee handbook and a wallet card, all in Adobe’s Portable Document Format.
Pallet Jack Safety for Newspapers, item 10069, and Lockout/Tagout for News-papers, item 10070, each cost $150 for NAA members and $300 for non-members. Quantity discounts also are available.
To order, call (800) 651-4NAA, or 1 (304) 725-7050 from overseas.