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Featured Resource: Time's Up: Now What Do We Do with All of These Records? June 2012 It can take decades for an illness caused by a work-related exposure to manifest. That's why Cal/OSHA requires employers to retain records of employee exposures to toxic substances and harmful physical agents for decades. . . . more » Cal/OSHA Inspections: Are You at Risk? May 11, 2012 Considering whether your safety program is truly prepared for a Cal/OSHA inspection at any moment can keep even the best safety managers up at night. How do you make sure you've covered all of your bases? How do you know whether you're at risk? It can help to know where the greatest risk of inspection lies. . . . more » Featured Resource: California's Injury, Illness, and Fatality Reporting Requirements: When to Call DOSH May 2012 When a worker is injured on the job, you have a lot to think about: Do I need to call emergency medical services? What about my insurance carrier? . . . more » Featured Resource: This Is a Fire Drill … Checklist April 2012 When was your last fire or emergency evacuation drill? If more than six months ago, it's time to think about staging another. Careful planning and evaluation can help you get the most out of your drills. Use our checklist to help with both. . . . more » Featured Resource: Pests Getting Pesky? Strategies for Protecting Your Workplace March 2012 They say that cockroaches could survive a nuclear holocaust, so is it any surprise that they sometimes defy our best efforts to keep them out of our homes and workplaces? Other insects and pests can periodically find their way in as well. . . . more » More

Online Exclusive: Sample Policy for Employee Participation in Incident Investigations COCA Online Exclusive June 2012 The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB)--which investigates the root causes of catastrophic chemical incidents--recently released a new policy on employee participation in those investigations. Like many employers, the CSB already included employees in its incident investigations; the new policy is intended to assure uniformity and increase employee participation. . . . more » DOL withdraws proposed revision to child labor laws for agriculture June 2012 In the February issue of COCA, we told you about the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL's) proposed revisions to its agricultural employment rules for minors. The proposed revisions included a rul . . . more » NIOSH and federal OSHA launch national campaign for construction fall prevention June 2012 The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are joining forces with CPWR—The Center for Construction Res . . . more » Worksite health promotion program reduces absenteeism June 2012 A study reported in a recent issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggests that comprehensive workplace health promotion programs can reduce absenteeism. Researchers . . . more » Heat Illness Prevention: DOSH Waves the Red-Hot Red Flag; What You Need To Know About the High Heat Procedures June 2012 It's June, and in much of California, that means it's hot. If you have employees who work outdoors, your heat illness prevention program should already be up and running. And as the summer progresses and the heat intensifies, employers in some industries will need to pay special attention to their extreme heat procedures. . . . more » Appeals Board Decisions: OSHAB Says No Conflict Between Mine and General Industry Safety Orders; GISO Reporting Requirements Apply June 2012 Under Section 342(a) of the Cal/OSHA administrative rules, California employers that fail to report the "serious injury or illness, or death, of an employee occurring in a place of employment or in connection with any employment" to Cal/OSHA within eight hours of learning of it will be hit with a mandatory $5,000 penalty. That's on top of any citations the agency issues as a result of its post-incident inspection. . . . more » Reporting: Does DOSH Know What You're Doing? 4 Standards That Require You to Keep Cal/OSHA in the Loop June 2012 All California employers are required to notify the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) if a worker suffers a serious injury or illness, or is killed, on the job. But injury and illness reports are not the only time you're required to tell DOSH what's going on at your worksite. You also must notify DOSH about the following hazardous exposures in your workplace. . . . more » Hazardous Chemicals: DOSH Updates Guidance on Lead in Construction; Know the Compliance Triggers June 2012 Lead is one of the most common chemical exposures in industry and a leading cause of workplace illness. It is also a serious public health risk. Children are at high risk for lead poisoning, particularly children under the age of 6, and parents who work with lead may not realize that they can expose their children by carrying lead dust home on their clothes. . . . more » Enforcement: New Federal OSHA NEP Targets Nursing and Residential Care Facilities; What Inspectors Will Look For June 2012 When you think of dangerous jobs, does logging come to mind? Highway work? Commercial fishing? What about … nursing? . . . more » Trainer's Handbook: Set Up Your Summer Staffers for Safety; Basic Safety Orientation for Teen Workers June 2012 If you are hiring young workers for the summer months, it's important to keep them safe. With their combination of eagerness and inexperience, young workers can put themselves at increased risk of injury when compared with newly hired adults. This basic safety orientation can help your young workforce stay out of harm's way. . . . more » Featured Resource: Time's Up: Now What Do We Do with All of These Records? June 2012 It can take decades for an illness caused by a work-related exposure to manifest. That's why Cal/OSHA requires employers to retain records of employee exposures to toxic substances and harmful physical agents for decades. . . . more » Cal/OSHA Compliance For Supervisors - June 2012 Issue In This Issue: The Health Threats of Shift Work; 10 Rules for Safe Handling of Hazardous Materials; What Does It Take to Build a Strong Safety Culture?; Train Your Employees to Protect Their Eyes . . . more » Online Exclusive: Sample Voluntary Respirator Use Policy COCA Online Exclusive May 2012 In many workplaces, hazards from air contaminants are not generally present at levels that require respiratory protection, so respirators are not part of the personal protective equipment regularly used. . . . more » Federal OSHA issues memo on safety incentive and disincentive policies and practices May 2012 OSHA's Deputy Assistant Secretary Richard Fairfax has distributed a memo to OSHA regional administrators and whistleblower investigative staff addressing workplace policies and practices that can disc . . . more » Obese workers cost more than smokers May 2012 A study recently published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports that obesity adds more to healthcare costs than smoking. The researchers collected data from more th . . . more » Federal OSHA: The Globally Harmonized System Comes to the U.S. at Last; Short-Term Costs Could Lead to Long-Term Savings May 2012 On March 26, federal OSHA published its Hazard Communication Final Rule. The rule aligns OSHA's hazard communication standard (29 CFR 1910.1200)--and its substance-specific standards, standards for flammable and combustible liquids, and process safety management rule--with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) adopted by the United Nations in 2003. . . . more » Appeals Board Decisions: Fall Protection Was Required on Top of Trailer Load; Board Rules That Exemption Did Not Apply May 2012 Cal/OSHA's fall protection rules can be confusing to apply. The height at which fall protection is required varies, the standards are scattered among different safety orders, and many exemptions exist. In one recent case, an employer thought it was exempt from fall protection requirements, but a strict interpretation of the exemption's wording left it liable for a worker's injury. . . . more » Inspections: DOSH Creates Special Emphasis Program on Confined Spaces; What Inspectors Will Look For May 2012 In January 2011, three workers were overcome in a plasma fractionation tank at Baxter Healthcare in Los Angeles. One of the workers died. Another fell into a coma. It was a bad omen. . . . more » Trainer's Handbook: Chlorine Releases Sicken Dozens of People; Training Could Have Prevented These Incidents May 2012 Chlorine is used as a disinfectant in municipal drinking water systems throughout the United States and keeps our public pools and food supply safe. Without it, we would suffer many more illnesses and deaths than we do now. . . . more » Enforcement: Cal/OSHA Turns Up the Heat on Warehouse Operations After Worker's Heat-Related Illness May 2012 Temperatures inside the San Bernardino County warehouse were well over 90 degrees in August 2011, and 49-year-old warehouse worker Domingo Blancas was feeling nauseated and dizzy. He asked for a ride to the hospital but couldn't get one. At the end of his shift, Blancas' son took him to Pomona Valley Hospital, where he was admitted and treated for dehydration and heat exposure. . . . more » Risk Management: Study Finds Increased Costs of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Identifies Previously Unknown Cost Drivers May 2012 What does a work-related injury, illness, or fatality really cost? . . . more » Featured Resource: California's Injury, Illness, and Fatality Reporting Requirements: When to Call DOSH May 2012 When a worker is injured on the job, you have a lot to think about: Do I need to call emergency medical services? What about my insurance carrier? . . . more » Cal/OSHA Compliance For Supervisors - May 2012 Issue In This Issue: How to Breathe Easy on IAQ; Safety Issues for Off-Site Employees; Reduce Injury Rates with Safe Lifting; Hints for Effectively Communicating Your Safety Message . . . more » Online Exclusive: Guide for Choosing the Right Chemical Protective Glove COCA Online Exclusive April 2012 You probably already know that you need to protect the hands of workers who are exposed to hazardous chemicals. But whether you're worried about irritating skin rashes or acute poisoning, it's important to realize that not all chemical protective gloves protect workers against contact with all chemicals. . . . more » We want your opinion! April 2012 We're thinking about switching to electronic PDF delivery of this newsletter and bulletin each month. Love the idea? Hate it? We want to know what you think! Please fill out our a href=www.ca-safety. . . . more » Federal OSHA posts respirator protection videos April 2012 Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors, and sprays. These hazards may lead to cancer, lung impairment, other diseases, . . . more » Special Report included with this issue: What's That You Say? How to Handle Occupational Noise in Your Workplace April 2012 The tiniest bones in your body are in your ears, and these bones connect to a system where microscopic nerve cells transmit sound waves to the brain. Excessive sound can damage those tiny nerves, and . . . more » Appeals Board Decisions: Mistakes and Miscommunications Lead to Double Drowning; Don't Let This Happen in Your Workplace April 2012 Workers for Teichert Construction of Sacramento were digging a trench as part of a municipal water project in Paso Robles on Oct. 2, 2008. Three men worked in the excavation at the corner of Niblick Road and South River Road. Two were inside a large pipe removing wooden supporting timbers; they passed these to a third man who stood outside the pipe. . . . more » Injury and Illness Prevention Programs: Do They Work? Study Examines the Link Between Compliance and Safety April 2012 With federal OSHA considering the implementation of an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) standard, employers and academics alike have asked the question: Do injury and illness prevention programs really work? . . . more » Agriculture: Cal/OSHA Updates Field Sanitation Fact Sheet; What You Must Know If You Use Hand Laborers April 2012 California agriculture employs nearly 650,000 farm laborers every year to plant, prune, and harvest the state's crops. In 1992, Cal/OSHA implemented field sanitation standards to protect the health and safety of these workers. This past fall, the agency issued an updated field sanitation fact sheet summarizing the basic sanitation requirements that apply to hand laborers in California's fields. . . . more » More

Toxic Mold: Preventing Mold-Related Problems in Indoor Workplaces; Guidance from Federal OSHA and California November 2006 California was the first state in the nation to pass a law addressing the hazards of toxic mold in buildings: the Toxic Mold Protection Act of 2001. This act required the California Department of Health Services (DHS) to present a study to the legislature evaluating . . . more » Roofing Safety: A Review of Cal/OSHA's Requirements; Prevent Slips, Falls, Serious Injuries, and Deaths November 2006 Workers on roofs are at risk for serious injuries and death from falls. Not only do they perform their jobs at substantial heights, but they may also be working on surfaces that are . . . more » Best Practices: Federal OSHA's Fundamentals of a Workplace First Aid Program; Are You Ready to Respond to Medical Emergencies? September 2006 Employers in California are required to ensure that medical treatment is readily available to sick or injured workers under General Industry Safety Order Section 3400, Medical Services and First Aid. . . . more » Sign up for a trial and access more articles like these