January/February 2011 their employers to send them to a doctor for evaluation. OSHA has also issued a one-page Worker Alert on diacetyl hazards https://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib10142010.html
US Labor Department’s OSHA extends comment period to March 21, 2011, and announces stakeholder meeting on noise control interpretation The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it is extending by 90 days the official comment period on the pro- posed interpretation titled “Interpretation of OSHA’s Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise,” which was pub- lished in the Federal Register on Oct. 19. Interested parties are encouraged to sub- mit comments by March 21, 2011.
The agency also announced that it will hold a stakeholder meeting before the end of the comment period to listen to the concerns of businesses and workers about the proposed noise interpretation.
Thousands of workers every year continue to suffer from preventable hearing loss due to high workplace noise levels. Since 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that more than 125,000 workers have suffered significant, permanent hear- ing loss. In 2008 alone, BLS reported 22,000 hearing loss cases.
Responding to continuing high levels of hearing loss among employees in the nation’s workplaces, the notice proposed to make enforcement of the hearing conser- vation standard consistent with enforcement of other OSHA standards by clarifying the term “feasible administrative or engineering controls” as used in OSHA’s general industry and construction occupational noise exposure standards.
OSHA’s current enforcement policy for noise exposures less than 100 decibels has not accurately reflected the noise standard’s requirements that feasible engineering and administrative controls be used as the primary means of reducing noise expo- sure. Instead, OSHA has allowed many employers to rely upon a hearing conserva- tion program, including the use of hearing protectors such as ear plugs.
Comments may be submitted online at http://www.regulations.gov.
NIOSH Releases Final HHE Deepwater Horizon Response NIOSH released the ninth, and final, interim report highlighting the findings and recommendations from the health hazard evaluation of Deepwater Horizon response workers. All of the interim reports and sampling and health symptom survey data are available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/gulfspillhhe.html?source=govdeliv- ery
NIOSH is accepting public comments on the New Respiratory Device Standards Public comments will be accepted through February 12 on a proposal to develop a performance standard for a combination respirator unit that employs the technolo- gies of two or more different types of respiratory protective devices. The notice is part of NIOSH’s ongoing program for developing appropriate standards and test pro- cedures for the various types of respiratory protective devices used to provide pro- tection to workers in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear environments. http://www.cdc.gov /niosh/docket/review/docket082A/
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Personal Protective Technology (PPT) Program and National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) will hold their fourth stakeholder meeting on March 29, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
This meeting will provide an opportunity to communicate directly with NIOSH employees and NIOSH grant recipients about their current research projects and other workplace safety and health topics that are affecting your industry. The meet- ing will emphasize personal protective equipment (PPE) in Healthcare, Mining, Agriculture, and Public Safety. While this meeting will highlight the PPT related to the four industries identified, the information and technology is relevant and can be transferred to other industries and we encourage all stakeholders to attend. In addition to breakout sessions, poster and equipment displays of protective ensem- bles and respirators will be present and related demonstrations will be given for each industry sector.
Mr. Gordon Graham will be the luncheon Keynote Speaker, he will speak on the topic of Personal Protective Technology and Risk Management.
You can keep informed of meeting updates by checking the NPPTL website ( http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl), You may register electronically http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/resources/certpgmspt/meetings/03292011/default.ht ml
Report Recommends NIOSH Expand Leadership in Personal Protective Technologies A report released November 11, by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), recommends that the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory continue and
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expand its leadership role in the development and implementation of conformity assess- ment (certification) processes related to nonrespirator personal protective technologies (PPT). The new report ( http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12962) is a result of a 2009 request by NIOSH for IOM to assess the certification mechanisms needed to ensure the effectiveness of nonrespirator PPT.
New head of the Construction Directorate is appointed by OSHA Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, has appointed Jim Maddux as the new director of the agency’s Directorate of Construction on Dec. 20, 2010. Maddux most recently served in OSHA’s Directorate of Standards and Guidance as the Director of the Office of Physical Hazards and Acting Director of the Office of Engineering Safety. Maddux has held several leadership positions at OSHA, including Director of the Office of Maritime and Acting Duty Director of the Directorate of Standards and Guidance.
He began his career with OSHA in 1990 as statistician in the Office of Statistics, and joined the Directorate of Standards and Guidance in 1998. Maddux has been a project director, author and contributor to numerous OSHA standards and guiadance projects, including the payment for personal protective equipment standard, injury and illness reco- dardkeeping regulations, ergonomics guidelinee, several maritime standard, injury and ill- ness recordkeeping regulations, ergonomics from the University of Maryland, University College, an associate’s degree incomputer information systems from Laramie County Community College, and an associate’s degree in chemistry from Northern wyoming Community College.
