NSC, NIOSH partner to eliminate preventable work deaths
The National Safety Council (NSC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are renewing their partnership and agreeing to leverage their organizations’ expertise, best practices, resources and strategies in order to engage employers in the quest to eliminate preventable workplace deaths. NSC and NIOSH will continue to jointly conduct research and evaluation, participate in occupational safety events and advance safety education, among other collaborative endeavors.
While workers are 10 times safer at work than they are at home, the U.S. still lost 4,398 workers to preventable incidents in 2016 — the third consecutive year that preventable deaths in the workplace increased.
For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh or www.nsc.org.
ASSP: Revised standard will help companies manage risk
Business leaders are always looking for the best ways to manage risks in their organizations, and the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) is helping to address that need.
ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31000-2018 Risk Management Guidelines was originally created a decade ago but was recently updated and adopted as a U.S. national standard.
The revised standard identifies eight principles to improve an organization’s risk management program while protecting the company’s value: 1. Integrate risk management into activities and decision-making, 2. Take a structured and comprehensive approach, 3. Customize the plan to fit needs and objectives, 4. Include stakeholder perspectives, 5. Be dynamic and responsive to organizational changes, 6. Use the best available information, 7. Consider human and culture factors, and 8. Learn and adapt for continual improvement.
For more information, visit www.assp.org or call (847) 699-2929.
NETL works to locate gathering lines, quantify methane emissions
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is working to locate and quantify methane leaks in natural gas infrastructure.
Well finding is important because many early wells drilled in the U.S. were not properly sealed when they were abandoned, creating pathways for liquids and gases to rise to the surface or flow underground. Poorly sealed wells can contaminate sources of drinking water, release harmful gases and threaten the success of subsurface energy-related activities, including hydraulic fracturing, enhanced oil recovery and carbon storage.
Data analyses have highlighted patterns in regions of the country prone to incidents that can lead to severe injury, explosions from excavation damage in regions experiencing rapid development, and corrosion in offshore environments such as the Gulf of Mexico.
For more information, visit www.netl.doe.gov or call (304) 285-4764.
OSHA provides resources to reduce trenching-related hazards
OSHA has developed a series of compliance assistance resources to help keep workers safe from trenching and excavation hazards. OSHA is working with industry stakeholders and providing new compliance assistance resources.
• U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta recorded audio public service announcements in English and Spanish that highlight effective ways to stay safe when working around trenches and excavations. A 45-second video, “5 Things You Should Know to Stay Safe,” also highlights well-known and proven safety measures that can eliminate hazards and prevent worker injuries.
• OSHA’s revised “Protect Workers in Trenches” poster provides a quick reminder of the three ways to prevent dangerous trench collapses: Slope or bench trench walls, shore trench walls with supports, or shield trench walls with trench boxes. The poster is available in English and Spanish.
For more information, visit www.osha.gov or call (800) 321-6742 [OSHA].
BSEE updates oil, gas production safety regulations
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) recently updated its Oil and Gas Production Safety Systems regulations. BSEE’s revisions reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while ensuring operations remain safe and environmentally responsible.
The Oil and Gas Production Safety Systems Rule, also known as Subpart H, addresses safety and pollution prevention equipment, subsea safety devices and safety device testing for the production of oil and gas resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. BSEE carefully analyzed all 484 provisions in the original 2016 Production Safety Systems Rule and determined 84 of those provisions — less than 18 percent of the original rule — were appropriate for revision or deletion. The final rule also added seven new provisions.
For more information and to view the final rule, visit www.bsee.gov or www.federalregister.gov.