Canada Blocks Asbestos's Placement on UN's List of Hazardous Substances

Kathleen Ruff wrote an excellent piece in the June Newsletter of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) regarding "Canada's Refused to Allow Asbestos to be Put on United Nations List of Hazardous Substances."  Ms. Ruff's article discusses what occurred at the UN Conference in Geneva June 20 to 24, where more than a hundred countries present were on the point of achieving consensus to add chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention's list of hazardous substances.  Countries can still export substances on the list, but they must first obtain Prior Informed Consent.

The asbestos lobby has used its political power over the past several years to prevent chrysotile asbestos from being put on the list of hazardous substances, as they deny that chrysotile asbestos is hazardous.  So at the meeting in Geneva, Canada again intervened and would not agree to letting chrysotile asbestos be put on the Convention's list of hazardous substances.  Canada, single-handedly, destroyed consensus and prevented action on chrysotile asbestos.  According to Ms. Ruff, Canada refused to give any reason for its immoral and destructive conduct in sabotaging the Convention.  As a consequence, the asbestos industry can continue selling asbestos to developing countries, without giving any information of its hazards.

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Happy 4th of July Weekend

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We wish all of you a Happy and Safe 4th of July weekend.  May it be loaded with good friends and family, exploding with happiness and joy, and the bright lights of sunny days and sparkling nights.  We also salute our troops this weekend, who are responsible for the freedom and liberty we enjoy this weekend.  Hail to the Troops!

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OSHA New Heat Illness Web Page

Though the weather hasn't been too hot this year, so far, and the first official day of summer was Jun 21, OSHA's new Heat Illness Campaign Web page was designed to assist employers and their employees.  The Heat Illness Web page provides educational materials in English and Spanish, as well as a curriculum to be used for workplace training.  Multiple copies of publications can be ordered from OSHA's Web site.  OSHA is also partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on weather service alerts to incorporate worker safety precautions when heat alerts are issued across the United States. NOAA is also including pertinent worker safety information on its Heat Watch Web page.

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OSHA Updates Indoor Air Quality Guide

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a new "Indoor Air Quality in Commercial and Institutional Buildings" guide.  The 25 page guide is a useful and basic guide that covers Sources of Indoor Air Pollutants, Common Pollutant Categories, Prevention or Control IAQ Problems, and Applicable Standards and Regulations.  The appendices are very useful especially Appendix A: Common Indoor Air Contaminants, which covers carbon monoxide, damp indoor environments, and volatile organic compounds, to name a few, and Appendix C: HVAC System Maintenance Checklist.  The guide is a simple document, very easy to understand, and will be very helpful to a facility director in resolving indoor air quality issues.

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Bookmark Explaining Young Workers' Rights Available for Ordering

A bookmark explaining young workers' rights is now available for order from the OSHA Publications Web Page. The bookmark has information about workers' rights, work hour restrictions and prohibited jobs, as well as work hazards related to common summer jobs.  Additional information on these topics is available on OSHA's Young Workers Web page.

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OSHA Announces Three-month Enforcement Phase-in for Residential Construction Fall Protection

OSHA announced June 9 a three-month enforcement phase-in period to allow residential construction employers to come into compliance with the agency's new directive to provide residential construction workers with fall protection.  During the phase-in period June 16-September 15, if an employer is in full compliance with the old directive (STD 03-00-001), OSHA will not issue citations, but will instead issue a hazard alert letter informing the employer of the feasible methods that can be used to comply with OSHA's fall protection standard or implement a written fall protection plan.  If the employer's practices do not meet the requirements set in the old directive, OSHA will issue appropriate citations.  If an employer fails to implement the fall protection measures outlined in a hazard alert letter, and OSHA finds violations involving the same hazards during a subsequent inspection of one of the employer's workplaces, the Area Office will issue appropriate citations.

OSHA's Residential Fall Protection Web page has many guidance products, including a fall protection slide show*, to help employers comply with the new directive. See the news release for more information.

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Ventilation Blues from Indoor Air 2011

This video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQvioz3VENE is from the Indoor Air 2011 Conference in Austin Texas where Rosie Flores plays a song written for the conference by Rosie Flores and Bud Offermann called the "VENTILATION BLUES."  An excellent song and very entertaining.  Hope you enjoy it.

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