Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced a request for information seeking public comment on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management standard and related standards. The government agency is also looking for input regarding other policy options to prevent major chemical incidents.
The RFI comes as a response to executive order 13650. This order looks to improve chemical facility security and safety. It was issued in the wake of the April 2013 West, Texas, tragedy that killed close to 20 workers in an ammonium nitrate explosion.
Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that there are as many as 100,000 deaths and 390,000 injuries each every year as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals in the workplace. If there are toxic chemicals, wherever they may be, officials with OSHA regulate how they should be handled and in what quantities they are allowed. Unfortunately, employers aren’t always on the same page. The five main components of the OSHA’s Hazard Communication (Hazcom) standard are hazard evaluation, a written hazard communication program, material safety data sheets (MSDS), labeling and other hazard warnings, and employee information and training.
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