The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an alert to employers and workers using the CSE Corporation’s SR-100 Self-Contained Self-Rescuer (SCR SR). Some of these devices have a critical defect that may cause the release of insufficient oxygen during start-up, a potentially life-threatening situation for workers using the respirator.

Employers must remove the CSR SR-100s from service no later than May 31, 2012 and replace them with a different self-rescuer approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), or other respirator suitable for emergency escape protection.

When workers need to escape from a dangerous situation, effective and reliable respiratory protection is essential, says OSHA.

NIOSH recently issued a technical report (Loss of Start-Up Oxygen in CSE SR-100 Self-Contained Self-Rescuers [DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2012-139] that found the CSE SR-100 units had an unacceptable defect rate and field-deployed units no longer conform to the minimum requirements for certification under 42 CFR Part 84.

OSHA’s underground construction standard (29 CFR 800(g)(2)) requires the use of self-rescuer respirators and OSHA’s permit-required confined space standard (29 CFR 1910.146 Appendix E) also identified these respirators as one approach to emergency escape respiratory protection for sewer workers.



Under OSHA’s respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134), employers also must provide training to ensure that workers know what to do should their SCSR fail to activate.

Learn more about workplace safety at CBIA’s Annual Health & Safety Conference, May 16 in Farmington.  Details >>

OSHA has cited a Connecticut steel erection contractor for alleged violations—one willful and one serious—in connection with a fatal fall at a Stamford construction site. Employees were installing metal roofing onto a prefabricated steel building when one of the workers fell 35 feet to the ground and sustained fatal injuries.

OSHA investigators found that employees lacked proper fall protection and were not adequately trained to recognize and avoid fall hazards. The safety harnesses of three of the four employees working on the roof, including the victim, were not tied off to anchorage points to prevent falls, and the fourth employee’s safety lanyard was too long to protect him against a fall.



Inadequate and ineffective fall protection can be as dangerous and deadly as no fall protection at all, said investigators.

As a result of the investigation, OSHA has issued citations for one willful violation for the lack of fall protection and for one serious violation for the lack of training.  A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.


The contractor also faces a total of $51,700 in proposed fines.

Learn more about Slips, Trips, and Falls: The New ANSI Standards at CBIA’s Annual Health & Safety Conference, May 16 in Farmington. Details >>

A new OSHA directive instructs agency representatives in communicating with family members following a workplace fatality. The guidance ensures that OSHA representatives speak to the victim’s family early in the inspection process, establish a point of contact, and maintain a working relationship with the family.

The agency is committed to working with families to explain the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones, says OSHA. It’s important that we receive the necessary information from the family to assist in the investigation, and keep the family informed throughout the investigation and settlement processes.

Under the new directive, OSHA representatives will contact the victim’s family to explain the investigation process and timeline, and provide the family with updates. Once the investigation is closed, OSHA will explain findings to the family and address any questions. If an employer has been issued citations, OSHA will provide a copy of the citation(s) to the family.

Employers must notify OSHA within eight hours of a workplace fatality, including fatal heart attacks that occur at work. These reports may be made by telephone or in person to the nearest area office or by calling OSHA’s toll-free number, 1-800-321-OSHA [6742].



More information about the new directive is available on OSHA’s directive page.

Several employees asked you about setting up a basketball hoop in an unused corner of your company’s parking lot. Should you be concerned about potential liability?

Employers should be aware of the risks but remain open to the arrangement, which may be of sufficient health and morale benefit to justify accommodating your employees’ request. Connecticut workers’ compensation law specifically excludes injuries resulting from an employee’s “voluntary participation in any social or recreational activities, including, but not limited to, athletic events, parties, and picnics, whether or not the employer pays some or all of the cost of such activity.”

The outcomes of legal disputes in this context, however, have been highly fact-dependent, hinging on the purpose of the employee’s participation in the activity rather than on whether the employer approved or acquiesced to it.

For example, it may be more likely that workers’ comp insurance would cover an injury where the employee’s participation in the activity takes place on the clock, is promoted as an element of a company wellness program, or is in response to supervisory coercion to “play ball” with an implied benefit to be delivered on the job.

So it is unlikely that an employee injury would be covered under workers’ comp if it results from an activity that the employee pursues simply for personal relaxation or enjoyment. But keep in mind that an injury might still lead to a personal injury negligence claim.

In any event, if you decide to accommodate your employees’ request, consider taking the following steps:

• Initially and periodically inspect the area where the basketball hoop will be located and remove any hazards.
• Require that any equipment obtained is of sufficient quality so as not to create a hazard.
• Consider asking participants to sign a waiver as a condition of participation. It won’t protect you against an injury deemed to be covered under workers’ compensation, but it may be of some value in the event of a negligence claim.
• Review the matter with your insurance and legal advisors for more guidance.

With Memorial Day only weeks away, the official start of summer is just around the corner.  But hot, sticky weather often raises questions for employers concerned about workplace safety when the temperature rises. For example, if your facility gets quite hot, is there a maximum temperature at which employees must be sent home?

Neither state law nor federal OSHA regulations set a specific maximum temperature that should be considered injurious to employees’ health. However, a temperature that gets high enough to cause heat-related illness or physical injury would run afoul of an employer’s general duty to provide employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards.

If you anticipate that your worksite might get unusually warm, consider implementing the following practices suggested by OSHA:

• Allow workers to get used to hot environments by gradually increasing exposure. Begin with 50% of the workload and time spent in the hot environment and gradually build up to 100%.
• Provide workers with plenty of cool water in convenient, visible locations near the work area.
• Remind workers to drink small amounts of water frequently to stay hydrated.
• Reduce the physical demands of the job through the use of mechanical devices or by assigning extra workers.
• Monitor weather reports daily and reschedule jobs with high heat exposure to cooler times of the day.
• Schedule frequent rest periods in shaded or air-conditioned areas.
• Monitor workers who wear personal protective equipment, which can trap heat close to the body.
• Train employees and supervisors to recognize and prevent hazards leading to heat stress.

Engineering controls that can reduce indoor temperatures include providing reflective shields to redirect radiant heat, insulating hot surfaces, and decreasing water vapor pressure by sealing steam leaks and keeping floors dry. The use of fans to increase air speed over workers will improve heat exchange between the skin surface and the air, unless the air temperature is higher than skin temperature.

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related health problem. Signs include confusion, loss of consciousness, and seizures. Workers experiencing heat stroke typically have a body temperature above 104 degrees and may stop sweating. Heat stroke is a medical emergency that can result in death; call 911 and get help immediately.

Heat exhaustion is the next most serious heat-related health problem. Symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness, irritability, confusion, thirst, heavy sweating, and a body temperature above 100 degrees. Workers with symptoms of heat exhaustion should be taken to a clinic or emergency room.

For more information, consult the OSHA technical manual on preventing heat stress.

A new report from the Lumina Foundation shows modest gains in higher education attainment here at home, even as college completion rates continue to climb in other parts of the world.

According to the report, 38.3% of working-age Americans (ages 25 – 64) held a two- or four-year college degree in 2010. That rate is up modestly from 2009, when the rate was 38.1%, and from 2008, when the rate was 37.9%. The report measures progress toward Goal 2025, which is a national movement to increase the percentage of Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by the year 2025.

If the U.S. continues on its current rate of production, only 79.8 million working-age Americans (46.5%) will hold degrees by 2025, leaving us more than 23 million degrees short of the national 60% goal.

More people are graduating from college, but the current pace is not sufficient, says Lumina. America is grappling with how to grow jobs, skills, and opportunity, and the report highlights the economic imperative of getting a post-secondary degree.

Heeding the call, a growing number of states have established goals for college completion, and numerous cities, business groups and higher education institutions have also set attainment goals.

The report also shows that 39.3% of young adults (ages 25 – 34) held a two- or four-year college degree in 2010, one of the few bright spots among the findings. That is a full percentage point higher than for all adults. In 2008, young adults ranked below the adult population as a whole.

The top five states for college degree attainment as of 2010 are: Massachusetts (50.4%), Colorado (45.98%), New Hampshire (45.85%), Connecticut (45.84%), and Minnesota (45.79%).

The job of Software Engineer ranks tops in CareerCast’s annual report on the nation’s best and worst jobs, followed by Actuary and Human Resources Manager.

Again this year CareerCast researchers ranked more than 200 jobs in five key areas: work environment, physical demands, job outlook, income levels, and stress levels. Jobs receive a score in each individual category, and when these are added together, the career with the best overall score is ranked 1st, while the one with the worst overall score is ranked 200th.

Rounding out the top ten for 2012:

• Dental Hygienist
• Financial Planner
• Audiologist
• Occupational Therapist
• Online Advertising Manager
• Computer Systems Analyst
• Mathematician

Several professions made their inaugural appearance on the list: HR Manager, Financial Planner Occupational Therapist and Online Advertising Manager.

If your employees think it’s clever to use “password” as their password, it’s time for them to make a change. Switching the “o” to a zero to make it “passw0rd”? Not much better, according to SplashData, a provider of password management applications. Both are on the list of the 25 most common passwords used on the Internet this year.

Hackers can easily break into many accounts just by repeatedly trying common passwords, says SplashData. Even though people are encouraged to select secure, strong passwords, many people continue to choose weak, easy-to-guess ones, placing themselves at risk from fraud and identity theft.

Other common passwords include simple numerical choices like “123456,” common names like “ashley” and “michael,” and patterns based on the layout of the keyboard like “qwerty” and “qazwsx.” There are also some minor mysteries on the list, like the unusual popularity of “monkey” and “shadow.” With an increasing number of sites requiring more complex passwords, some letter and number combinations like “abc123″ and “trustno1″ are being used more often.

SplashData says it compiled the list from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers. The full list:

•  password
• 123456
• 12345678
• qwerty
• abc123
•  monkey
• 1234567
• letmein
• trustno1
• dragon
• baseball
• 111111
• iloveyou
• master
• sunshine
• ashley
• bailey
• passw0rd
• shadow
• 123123
• 654321
• superman
• qazwsx
• michael
• football

Even though thieves have more sophisticated hacking tools at their disposal today than ever before, they still tend to prefer easy targets, says SplashData. Just a little bit more sophistication in choosing passwords will go a long way toward making you safer online.

The company offers these tips for making passwords more secure:

• Use passwords of eight characters or more with mixed types of characters. One way to create longer, more secure passwords that are easy to remember is to use short words with spaces or other characters separating them. For example, “eat cake at 8!” or “car_park_city?”
• Avoid using the same username/password combination for multiple websites. Especially risky is using the same password for entertainment sites that you do for online email, social networking, and financial services. Use different passwords for each new website or service you sign up for.
•  Having trouble remembering all those different passwords? Try using a password manager application that organizes and protects passwords and can automatically log you into websites. There are numerous applications available, but choose one with a strong track record of reliability and security.

More information >>