NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | April 17, 2015 | PAGE 11
Clearinghouse for state safety and health regs launched
Oregon and Washington are among just
four states responsible for vast majority
of all state occupational safety and health
standards
A clearinghouse for all state oc-
cupational safety and health reg-
ulations and laws was launched
on the Internet April 1.
The database is designed for
workers, unions, employers, oc-
cupational safety and health re-
searchers and advocates, and
state and federal regulatory offi-
cials, as a tool to compare and
contrast regulations and laws
across different states and with
existing federal Occupational
Safety and Health Administra-
tion (OSHA) rules.
As of now, 25 states (includ-
ing Oregon and Washington)
and two U.S. territories have
federally approved state OSHA
plans. The database includes all
state OSHA-enforced standards
that have not been adopted iden-
ONLINE EXTRA
To view the complete data base, go
online to: http://www.citizen.org/
hrg2251
tically from federal OSHA, and
that protect workers from spe-
cific workplace safety and health
hazards.
Every year, millions of work-
related injuries and illnesses are
reported, thousands of workers
are killed on the job, and tens of
thousands more die from occu-
pational diseases. Safety and
health regulations and laws can
help prevent many of these
deaths and injuries.
The 1970 federal Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Act es-
tablished OSHA to protect
workers from occupational
safety and health hazards. The
act also permitted states to sub-
stitute their own rulemaking and
enforcement agencies for federal
OSHA, as long as the state pro-
grams, also known as state
OSHA plans, are “at least as ef-
fective” as the federal agency.
This was intended as a way to al-
low states to address local needs
and unique industries.
The database reveals that
most of the 25 states have
amended or supplemented one
or more federal regulations, and
several states have issued regu-
lations or laws protecting work-
ers from hazards — such as heat
stress, workplace violence, com-
bustible dust and musculoskele-
tal injuries — that have not yet
been addressed in a federal
OSHA regulation.
Some key findings:
The number of state standards
issued by each of the 25 state
OSHA plans varies widely.
Oregon and Washington are
among just four states (Califor-
nia, and Michigan are the other
two) responsible for the vast ma-
jority of all state occupational
safety and health standards.
These four states have devel-
oped at least one chemical expo-
sure limit that has never been
adopted by federal OSHA.
Oregon and Michigan were
noted for having especially in-
formative websites, which com-
pare their state standards with
federal OSHA regulations, mak-
ing it clear where they differ
from the federal rules.
Washington is among three
states that have developed stan-
dards protecting workers from
heat stress. (California and Min-
nesota are the other two.)
Washington also is one of
only a few states with standards
to help prevent death and injury
from workplace violence. (New
Mexico and New York are the
other two.)
California and Utah are the
only states that have developed
standards to prevent explosions
from combustible dust.
California and Minnesota are
the only states to enforce stan-
dards addressing safe patient
handling requirements to mini-
mize musculoskeletal injuries in
health care workers. California
also has a rule addressing er-
gonomics injuries more gener-
ally.
“This database shows that
some state OSHA plans have
been proactive and issued nu-
merous regulations and laws that
are a model for what is possible
in other states and at federal
OSHA,” said Dr. Sammy Al-
mashat, researcher with Public
Citizen’s Health Research
Group.
Public Citizen and the Public
Health Law Research program
of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation provided a $50,000
grant to produce the database. It
is published on the program’s
LawAtlas website.
“We hope the database will be
a useful resource ... to more eas-
ily identify states with certain
standards and compare them
with existing federal OSHA
rules,” said Keith Wrightson of
the Public Citizen’s Congress
Watch division. Wrightson
compiled the database with Al-
mashat.
OSHA’s 2014
TOP TEN
Most Frequently
Cited Violations
1. Fall protection
2. Hazard communication
3. Scaffolding
4. Respiratory protection
5. Powered industrial trucks
6.Lockout/tagout
7. Ladders
8. Electrical: wiring
9. Machine guarding
10. Electrical: systems design
Together , we can make
Oregon the safest
place to
work .
Today and every day, it’s up to all of us.
Worker Memorial Day | April 28, 2015