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US Labor Dept's OSHA and Scaffold Industry Association form alliance to promote safety and health in construction industry
Enhanced workplace safety for construction workers in the states of Louisiana and Texas is the goal of an alliance signed today by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Scaffold Industry Association (SIA), South Central Regional Chapter in Houston.
"We welcome this opportunity to join with the SIA toward emphasizing employer awareness of hazardous working conditions in the construction industry," said Dean McDaniel, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas, Texas. "It is hopeful that this cooperative effort will help prevent injuries, illnesses and fatalities."
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Secretary Hilda L. Solis presents US Department of Labor budget request for fiscal year 2011
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today, through a national online discussion with stakeholder groups, the general public and the news media, outlined the president's fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget request for the U.S. Department of Labor, which is built around the vision of "good jobs for everyone." The budget launches innovative ways to prepare workers for 21st century jobs, and makes new investments in programs that protect workers' rights, safety and health in the new economy. It reaches out to diverse audiences to ensure that all people from all communities are included in the jobs of the future.
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Supreme Court Denies 3 High-Profile Environmental Cases
In its first set of orders since returning from a monthlong recess, the Supreme Court declined yesterday to consider three separate industry challenges to federal environmental regulations.
Environmentalists hailed the court's decision not to review a year-old ruling requiring farmers to secure Clean Water Act approval for the use of pesticides already permitted under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. U.S. EPA is now reviewing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System to devise a permitting system that complies with the ruling.
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New OSHA videos provide respirator and facemask safety guidance
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has developed two new videos for healthcare workers that feature training and guidance on respirator safety.
OSHA's "Respirator Safety" video demonstrates how to correctly put on and take off common types of respirators, such as N95s. "The Difference between Respirators and Surgical Masks" video explains how they prevent exposure to infectious diseases.
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DOL/OSHA schedules conference on Latino worker safety and health
Following a Labor Day announcement from Secretary Hilda Solis, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will convene a National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety, April 14-15 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. The conference is co-sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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DOL Doles Nearly $190 Million for Green Jobs
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced nearly $190 million in training grants for green jobs, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants are designed to teach workers the skills required in emerging industries, including energy efficiency and renewable energy. This set of green grants is the third awarded in as many weeks by DOL.
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Cornerstone Training Institute and Safety Council of Central and Western NY Join Forces to Provide Local Workers with Asbestos Training
The Safety Council of Central and Western New York has used some of its grant money to provide workers with asbestos removal training at Cornerstone Training Institute. The classes will be provided to the first 24 registrants of the Asbestos Handler Initial class to be held at Cornerstone from January 18th - January 21st, 2010.
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US Department of Labor's OSHA fines Huntington, W.Va., printing company nearly $160,000 for workplace safety and health hazards
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Chapman Printing Co. for workplace safety and health violations. Proposed penalties total $158,400.
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Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) Announces 2010 International Asbestos Awareness Conference
The Asbestos Diseases Awareness Organization (ADAO) has announced the dates for their sixth annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference, to be held in Chicago April 9-11, 2010. Every year, the ADAO conference brings together renowned doctors, scientists, researchers and most importantly, asbestos victims and their families in a united forum to promote asbestos awareness, education and collaboration.
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US Labor Department's OSHA issues Compliance Directive to Address Flu Prevention for Health Care Workers
For the protection of frontline health care and emergency medical workers at high risk of infection, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a compliance directive to ensure uniform procedures when conducting inspections to identify and minimize or eliminate high to very high risk occupational exposures to the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus.
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US Department of Labor Welcomes GAO's Report on Under-Reporting of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) welcomes the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report on the under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses and OSHA's audit process.
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Military Defense Contractor Faces Class Action Lawsuit
KBR, formerly Kellogg, Brown, and Root and previously a subsidiary of Halliburton, faces injury lawsuits filed by both military and civilian personnel for burning toxic waste, including asbestos, as a cost-saving means of avoiding proper toxic waste disposal. Since 2003, toxic waste was burned in open-air burn pits that produced thick palls of chemically fetid smoke that, according to the class action lawsuit, endangered or caused long-lasting health problems in a minimum of 100,000 people.
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State Worker-Safety Efforts Scrutinized
The Labor Department said Tuesday that it would step up oversight of all state workplace-safety programs, a signal of more-stringent enforcement following a report critical of Nevada's response to a string of workplace deaths.
The action follows calls from unions and senior congressional Democrats -- including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and U.S. Rep. George Miller of California -- for a tough response to 12 construction deaths that occurred on the Las Vegas Strip between December 2006 and June 2008 amid a building boom.
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OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety Course Now Compulsory in Seven States
It is now law on the books of the seven states that require construction workers to complete the OSHA 10-hour construction safety training course before they can work on certain construction projects. The states with an OSHA law already in effect are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, and most recently, Missouri. The state of Nevada OSHA training law becomes effective January 1st, 2010.
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