EHS Professional – July 27, 2023

IHMM Excellence in EHS Management Award – Nominate Your Candidate This Week

The Excellence in EHS Management Award recognizes an individual who has excelled in their role as an EHS manager. The Institute for Hazardous Materials Management [IHMM] will present the award at the annual National Safety Council Expo.

The honoree will receive a commemorative plaque and be recognized in a press release and in IHMM member communications. Travel expenses to the award ceremony will be subsidized. If traveling from overseas IHMM will pay travel expenses from the nearest port of entry.

Nominations will be accepted from March through July of each year and the presentation to the winner will be in conjunction with the National Safety Council Congress and Expo, this year on October 23-25, 2023 in New Orleans.

Make your nominations here >>  https://ihmm.org/ehs-management-award/

See previous award winners here >> https://ihmm.org/past-honorees/

There are 1,031 different conversations going on in the IHMM/HMS Collaboration platform this week.

A collaborative culture is important for every business but is especially important for our hazardous materials, dangerous goods, environment, health, and safety communities of practice. Do you have a problem you need to solve and want the opinions of your colleagues? This is where we come together to help each other.

IHMM credentialed professionals are at the top 1% of their professions and their reach is global. We are at the forefront of environmental protection, health, and safety and this is where collaborating with the best people in their fields, always willing to help one another, lessens the stress of our jobs, and where we strive as a team to make a difference of which we are proud.

We opened COLLABORATION to enable thousands of certificants and supporters to collaborate together. You can collaborate here.

Access to COLLABORATION is through the same username/password you use to access your MYIHMM account. Having a problem? Contact Jimmy Nguyen at [email protected]

Is DE&I Facing Realignment?

ASSP President Jim Thornton talks about how DE&I should be a core value as it advances the well-being of all workers.

An unwavering characteristic of corporate strategy is to create initiatives to solve challenges. Often these initiatives slide seamlessly into the core culture finding a permanent home. But just as often these initiatives fade away after a couple of years. Reasons for these disappearing directives vary; the issue has been solved, budgets are cut due to economic conditions and often they just don’t stick.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), which began as an initiative, is facing a critical juncture. At many companies, it has moved so firmly into the company’s operations that it is considered a competitive advantage. Many companies have proclaimed, and there are studies to back them up, that having a diverse population has made them more profitable. A diverse workforce taps into different belief systems offering more input into problem-solving. Having a workforce that reflects the diversity of customers is advantageous on many levels. And employees, especially younger ones, find value in working for a company that embraces diversity.

These advantages have been recognized for a while and most companies have DE&I officers. However, these jobs and the concept of DE&I has come under scrutiny due to social unrest and politics.

Read more by clicking here.

How Gas Detector Maintenance Services Automate Safety

If you’re reading this, you probably have a subscription to some type of product or service. Whether you get groceries shipped to your house each week, binge watch tv shows on Netflix, or discover new music through a streaming app, you’ve used a subscription service to get what you need—quickly and conveniently.

While these services are common for consumer goods, they’re more of an insider secret in the safety industry. However, the safety industry is the very place where these services can make the largest impact.

From basic PPE like hardhats and gloves to more advanced devices like gas monitors, everything has a life span, and your company is responsible for tracking it. Unfortunately, it’s easy to assume that these items will continue to perform as expected and protect your workers day in and day out without giving them much thought.

Luckily, subscription services provide a simple solution. Gas detector maintenance subscription services reduce the opportunity for human error by automating common orders or processes for you. For example, if a worker calibrates a gas detector but doesn’t tell anyone that the gas cylinder is low, the next worker might not be able to calibrate their monitor. This is a small error that can have big consequences. A subscription to automatically replace calibration gas when cylinders are running low could easily solve this problem – without consuming your time to monitor the gas levels or releasing POs.

Read more by clicking here.

Workers Underserved: Court Requires Six Connecticut Restaurants, Owners to Pay $858K to 105 Workers After Department of Labor Investigations, Litigation

Employers withheld tips, wages, overtime from restaurant employees at six locations

A federal court has entered a consent judgment and order requiring six Connecticut restaurants and their owners to pay a total of $858,191 in back wages and liquidated damages to 105 employees after an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The restaurants are located in Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, New Haven and Westport.

In November 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut granted the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s motion for partial summary judgment in its entirety, concluding that the employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions. The court awarded a total of $251,129 in back wages for overtime violations and held the employers liable for liquidated damages and forbid them from violating the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions.

After obtaining a favorable order on partial summary judgment, the department and the employers entered into a consent judgment. The judgment — entered by the court in February 2023 — requires the employers to pay additional back wages, withheld tips and liquidated damages owed for all remaining claims, including those for minimum wage, tip pool and other overtime violations. It also forbids the employers from violating the FLSA and provides for a consent writ of execution should the employers fail to comply with the consent judgment’s monetary terms. The judgment also incorporates the court’s summary judgment decision and requires the restaurants and their owners to pay a total of $858,191 in back wages, withheld tips and liquidated damages.

Read more by clicking here.

OSHA Finds Sawmill Failed to Remediate Exposed Saw Following a Worker’s Death

Missouri Mats now faces $346,954 in proposed penalties.

A sawmill that was previously the site of a 21-year-old worker’s death due to an exposed saw has not taken steps to correct the issue.

In a release dated July 13, OSHA announced that a follow-up visit to Brashear, Missouri-based Missouri Mats revealed the sawmill operation site hadn’t complied with requirements to address an exposed saw. The equipment was responsible for the death of a young worker, who received fatal injuries after getting caught in the vertical edger blades on January 11, 2023.

An OSHA investigation followed, with investigators issuing Don Gibson—owner of Missouri Mats—a letter requiring changes to protect his employees from amputation hazards. Gibson failed to report to OSHA, as directed, to confirm the changes. In fact, when OSHA officials returned to the site on March 1, 2023, they found the hazardous environment remained.

Without the necessary procedures put in place, the saw which had claimed a worker’s life less than two months earlier remained in the same condition. OSHA placed an imminent danger notice on the equipment, which led Gibson to correct the safety hazard.

Read more by clicking here.

Executives say workers are doing well. Workers say otherwise

Results of a recent survey reveal a sizeable gap between how C-suite executives perceive workers’ well-being and how workers actually feel.

For Deloitte’s second annual Well-Being at Work Survey, researchers surveyed nearly 3,200 C-suite execs, managers and employees across four countries – the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia – in March. All respondents worked full time and ranged in age from 18 to 76.

Among the employees, 25% said their mental health had worsened in the past year, while 23% said their physical well-being had declined.

In contrast, only 3% of the C-suite execs said workers’ physical and mental well-being had gotten worse in the past year.

Negative emotions and fatigue were common among workers. Around half said they “always” or “often” feel exhausted or stressed, while others reported feelings of being overwhelmed (43%), irritable (34%), lonely (33%), depressed (32%) or angry (27%). Nearly 3 out of 4 find it difficult to take time off or disconnect from their jobs.

Read more by clicking here.

US Department of Labor Investigation Finds Jacksonville Psychiatric Treatment Facility Failed to Keep Workers Safe, Follow Safety Procedures

OSHA cites UHS of Delaware Inc., TBJ Behavioral Center LLC after patient attacks worker

A federal workplace safety investigation found a Jacksonville psychiatric health and substance disorder facility did not follow safety procedures, leaving workers vulnerable to injuries, including one who a patient reportedly kicked in the face.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned a registered nurse employed by UHS of Delaware Inc. and TBJ Behavioral Center LLC, operating as River Point Behavioral Health, was writing reports in January 2023 when a patient entered the staff-only workspace. The patient then allegedly punched and kicked the nurse in the face and head, causing the employee to suffer several injuries including a loss of consciousness and lacerations.

“Workplace violence is a growing concern for healthcare workers and industry employers must take all possible steps to prevent or abate recognized hazards,” said OSHA Area Office Director Scott Tisdale in Jacksonville, Florida. “Our investigation found River Point Behavioral Health failed to address their employee’s safety concerns in a timely manner. No one should go to work daily fearing for their lives and physical well-being.”

Read more by clicking here.

OSHA, DOL Launch Investigations into the Death of a 16-Year-Old Boy at Mar-Jac Poultry

Another worker died in 2021 due to injuries at the Mississippi facility.

The Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was the home of tragedy once again, as a 16-year-old worker from Guatemala lost his life following injuries sustained on the job.

According to NBC News, Duvan Tomas Perez, whose death authorities said was caused by equipment, became “entangled in machinery” at the Mar-Jac plant on July 14, 2023. Following the incident, OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division launched investigations.

As it turns out, Mar-Jac has a history of OSHA violations. In May 2021, another employee died at the plant after his sleeve was caught in a machine, leaving him pinned “partially” underneath. Mar-Jac contested OSHA’s fine of $27,306; the case is still open. Just a few months later, per OSHA, an employee lost the tip of her index finger on the job, inciting an $11,396 fine. That case closed in June 2023.

Read more by clicking here.

Working with Gen Z is a Bit Challenging

Survey says this generation lacks technological skills, effort and motivation. Each generation seems to feel that the younger generation is hard to work with. To test this theory for GenZers,ResumeBuilder surveyed 1,344 managers.

The verdict? 74% of managers agreed that the most challenging generation to work with is, in fact, Gen Zers.

Why? They lack technological skills (39%), effort (37%), and motivation (37%), among other skills and traits.

And these reasons cause companies to fire these workers. The survey found that one in eight have fired a GenZer within a week of their start date. The reason given for this early departure is that they lack motivation and effort and are too easily offended. But there is hope.

Read more by clicking here.

3 very different jobs carry a higher ovarian cancer risk: study

Women employed in hairdressing, construction and accounting may face a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, a recent study out of Canada suggests.

University of Montreal researchers looked at data from the Prevention of Ovarian Cancer in Quebec Study, which included 491 women ages 18-79 who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer between 2010 and 2016. They compared information from that group with data from 897 women without the disease.

Findings show that the women who were employed for at least 10 years as hairdressers, beauticians or related occupations had a threefold greater risk of developing ovarian cancer. These jobs were most often exposed to 13 different agents, including ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, organic dyes and pigments, and bleaches, and the second most frequent occupation exposed to talcum powder. However, the researchers note that it’s unclear whether “these associations were driven by a single agent, a combination or other workplace factors.”

Read more by clicking here.

Concurrent Group Faces OSHA Fines for Electrocution Hazards Following a Worker’s Death

The company faces more than $40,000 in proposed penalties.

The death of a 32-year-old lineman for Concurrent Group LLC in January 2023 led OSHA to kick off an investigation of the company’s safety measures.

In a release dated July 19, OSHA announced it had completed its investigation into the Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based electrical contractor. The findings determined employees parked a digger truck underneath energized overhead power lines without taking the necessary precautions. This oversight, OSHA found, ultimately led to the employee’s death by electrocution, which occurred when the truck’s boom made contact with the 7,620-volt power line.

Concurrent received five serious violations, amounting to a proposed $40,937 in penalties, as a result of the investigation. These violations include allowing employees to operate a digger truck within minimum approach distance to the overhead power lines, failure to designate an observer to supervise the activity, the lack of protective equipment to ground and insulate the area and the failure to inspect the site and equipment prior to starting work.

Read more by clicking here.

Texas Glass Manufacturer Earns ‘STAR’ Designation For Excellence in Workplace Safety, Health Management at Waxahachie Facility

Cardinal IG Waxahachie lauded for effective worker safety, health programs

Description: OSHA has welcomed Cardinal IG Waxahachie, a glass manufacturer and provider, into the agency’s Voluntary Protection Program with a “Star” designation. The action follows an OSHA audit at the company’s Waxahachie facility. The agency awards VPP status to companies with safety and health management systems that provide information, guidance and training to help protect the workers’ safety and health.

Background: OSHA’s VPP Program works with employers committed to worker safety and health to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. VPP programs bring company management, site employees and OSHA together to work proactively to focus on hazard prevention and control, worksite analysis, training, management commitment and worker involvement to prevent fatalities, injuries and illnesses.

Read more by clicking here.

5-minute breaks can restore concentration: study

Need to reset your attention during a complex work task? A five-minute break is all it takes.

So says a research team at the University of Sydney, which asked 72 college students to complete a difficult mathematics pre-test under “speeded testing conditions” for about 20 minutes.

Afterward, students in a control group (no rest) immediately went on to study a short lesson on mentally multiplying two-digit numbers. Another group was first given an unstructured five-minute rest break before studying the lesson, while a third group watched a video of an Australian rainforest beforehand.

All of the students then completed a short survey that asked about distractions they experienced during the mental mathematics lesson, before finally taking a 20-question, problem-solving test on applying the math strategy.

Read more by clicking here.

Dealing with Data Still an Issue for EHS Professionals

In a new survey, 42% of EHS professionals say data reporting is their most significant challenge.

A recent study, Complex Data. Increasing Regulations. Cutting-Edge Solutions, conducted by Intelex looking into the priorities and concerns of EHS professionals found that significant work needs to be done to improve incident prevention, with 90% of respondents reporting their organizations have experienced H&S incidents in the last 12 months and 85% reporting repeat injuries on job sites.

One particular challenge was the EHS professionals felt “overwhelmed and ill-equipped to manage huge amounts of data,” the study reported. According to the research, 42% state data reporting is their most significant challenge while only 7% have fully integrated systems in place. Poor integration, reported by 44% was a problem and lack of correct technology to collect and analyze the data they need in the first place, was reported by 32%.

Read more by clicking here.

OSHA’s Safe + Sound Campaign is a nationwide opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of the value of proactive occupational safety and health (OSH) programs in all workplaces. Mark your calendars! Safe + Sound Week will take place from August 7-13, 2023. Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide event held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs and offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe. Registration for Safe + Sound Week opens in early July.  We look forward to your participation!

Safe + Sound emphasizes the need for safety programs at small- and mid-sized businesses, which are more likely to have limited resources dedicated to safety. As you know, effective OSH programs can help organizations identify and manage workplace risk before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line. Safety and health management systems are a critical best practice to ensure that OSH programs achieve significant results and lower risk exposure.

IHMM  – 26 Fellows Are Mentors 

IHMM Fellows Committee Chair Atanu Das, CHMM, is leading the effort within the IHMM Collaboration networking platform to provide instruction to the more than 75 IHMM Fellows in becoming mentors.

Given the extraordinary experience Fellows have, this is a unique opportunity for IHMM Fellows to help guide more recent certificants in their professional development activities.

IHMM’s Collaboration platform contains a “Mentor Match” module [see below at right] that allows mentors to signup designating the hours, number of mentees, subject areas, and length of time they wish to mentor – as well as allowing mentees to signup requesting assistance in specified areas. The mentor match module does the rest by matching mentors and mentees.

Recert Video #1

Recert Video #2

IHMM Recertification Videos

IHMM is pleased to release two YouTube instructional videos about navigating the IHMM recertification process. These step-by-step videos easily enable IHMM certificants to start and complete a recertification application.

While the full recertification cycle is 5 years, IHMM encourages all certificants to start a recertification application and add certification maintenance points as they are earned to make the final submission quick and easy to accomplish.

• Every CSHM and CSMP should start a recertification application now.
• Even if your recertification is years away, starting an application now and adding your accumulated points enables you to see where you are all the time and it makes it very easy when you have to file your application

IHMM Scholarship Program

The Institute of Hazardous Materials Management is pleased to have created $32,000 in academic scholarships, divided equally between $16,000 for students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate education in approved schools and who are also Student CHMMs, and $16,000 for students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate education in approved schools and who are also Student ASHMs.

IHMM seeks to foster the growth and academic success of students whose courses of education, and participation in one of our Student certifications, will lead to those students becoming fully-certified IHMM credential holders later in their professional lives.

Go to >  https://ihmm.org/scholarship/

IHMM is a member of ASSP and is pleased to bring this important information to all of its certificants.

New Free Training Programs Offered by ASSP

ASSP is offering six new free, instructor-led courses developed under a Susan Harwood Grant from OSHA. These courses provide guidance on planning and managing pandemics; review regulations and a legal framework for infectious diseases; discuss industry best practices and more. The first course starts July 27, register today!

Also, we are very interested in having end users register and take the course.  We are hoping that our OSH colleagues who work for labor organizations will get the word out to teams so they will have the opportunity to participate.

Susan Harwood link: https://www.assp.org/resources/osha-susan-harwood-grant

Courses:

• Pandemic Challenges: How to Return to Work Safely [August 17^th]
• Managing Psychosocial Risks in the Workplace During Pandemics and Other Crises [August 10^th]
• General Considerations for Organizations on Managing Infectious Diseases  [August 3^rd]
• Managing Infectious Diseases and Health Hazards in the Construction Industry  [August 24^th]

IHMM is a member of ASSP and is pleased to bring this important information to all of its certificants.

ASSP News

• New Rule Expands Injury/Illness Data Reporting Requirements for High-Hazard Industries

• An Update on ISO 45001 With Kevin Lehner

• OSHA’s Proposed Rule Aims to Improve Fit of PPE in Construction

• Episode 112: Developing a Comprehensive Fall Protection Program for Your Workplace

• Episode 111: Creating a More Sustainable Future and Improving Safety and Health

• Safety 2023 Attendance Ranks Best in Event’s History

• Giving Back Moves Us Forward

• Hand Safety When Exposed to Energized Equipment

ASSP Webinars

Respiratory Protection Program Management – Susan Harwood Training Grant

University of Texas Medical Branch, William J. Pate, CHMM

This training course is intended to educate participants on the requirements of developing and implementing a compliant Respiratory Protection Program. The focus of this course will be on topics related to preparation for an infectious disease pandemic. At the end of this training the attendee should be able to:
1) Manage an effective respiratory protection program through proficient application of 29 CFR 1910.134
2) Compare potential routes of exposure
3) Identify and implement potential controls (engineering, administrative, and PPE)
4) List the equipment needed to support fit testing
5) Explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative fit testing
6) Discuss the different types of respiratory protection available
7) Demonstrate correct donning/doffing of respiratory protection

This training course is 7.5 hours and participants will receive a certificate of completion that may be suitable for professional certification maintenance (CSP, CIH, CHMM, CHSP, etc.).

This course will provide 7.5 Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) contact hours. Accreditation statement: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is approved with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Louisiana State Nurses Association –  Approver, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. LSNA Provider No. 4002176

This training is available only to employees and employers who are subject to OSHA regulatory requirements.  Grant-funded training is not available to state or local government employees unless they have occupational safety & health responsibilities (e.g. occupational safety and health trainers, program managers, committee members, or employees responisble for abating unsafe and unhealthy working conditions for their organization).  Registration in this course confirms that meet these conditions.  This training will include the opportunity to don, doff, and fit test respiratory protection including N95, half-face, full-face, and powered air-purifying respirators.  Anyone participating in this training and wanting to put on a respirator agrees that they have been medically cleared by their employer to do so in accordance with OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard.

The 8-hour training program is offered at various dates from March through September. For more information and registration for this FREE program go here >> https://www.utmb.edu/ehs/programs/radiation-occupational-safety-program/RPPSHTG2023

RCM&D Professional Liability Insurance

HMS is proud to have partnered with RCM&D to be able to offer an outstanding comprehensive professional liability insurance program to IHMM certificants. Here, you will find information about this important program offering Environmental Consultants and Engineers Professional Liability coverage. This coverage is intended to add protection for loss stemming from actual or alleged negligent acts, errors and omissions in performing professional services.

For more information see > https://hazmatsociety.org/professional-liability-insurance/