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ADCI Industry Informational Update #2010-12
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June/2010
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TO: ADCI General Membership and Industry
Stakeholders
The following items of information are provided to
bring your attention to recent industry developments,
initiatives, or safety notices.
If you do not wish to receive future Industry
Updates, please use the unsubscribe option, located at the bottom
of this update.
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NACOSH
establishes oil spill response workgroup to advise OSHA
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The following is from the OSHA website:
The National Advisory Committee on Occupational
Safety and Health established an oil spill response workgroup at
its June 8 meeting, which will advise OSHA on a range of issues,
including necessary personal protective equipment for workers
involved in oil spill cleanup and conducting long-term
health evaluations of workers exposed to oil and other
chemicals during cleanup operations. Minutes from
the meeting, including resolutions passed by the oil spill
response workgroup, will be published on the NACOSH page. NACOSH
advises the secretaries of labor and health and human services on
worker safety issues such as hazard communication and overall
occupational safety and health programs and policies.
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Federal
Gulf Oil Response: OSHA maintains strong presence ensuring
safety of oil spill cleanup workers
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OSHA is deploying between 20 and 25 compliance
officers daily to affected areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
and Florida to monitor the safety and health of more than 13,000
oil spill cleanup workers, OSHA personnel have made more than 700
site visits throughout the area, including monitoring the safety of
workers on vessels that are performing cleanup operations.
Heat stress is a serious health concern for workers in
the area. There have been more than 100 incidents of heat
related illnesses. Many workers are putting
in 12-hour days, seven days a week, in full protective
gear--which has increased the risk to workers. OSHA has
worked with BP to institute a program that includes, among
other items, a matrix that sets out specific work/rest requirements
based on the heat and humidity, and guidelines for
determining if wearing protective clothing and equipment will
increase hazards to workers.
As part of its comprehensive oversight of worker
safety, a team of OSHA industrial hygienists is conducting
independent air monitoring on shore and on cleanup vessels.
OSHA is monitoring hazards from exposure to oil and any other toxic
chemicals that may threaten worker health. OSHA posted this
data on its web site and will continue to post this data.
On another note, OSHA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Coast Guard, the federal agency coordinating
the oil spill response, to establish specific procedures for
sharing information and ensuring that BP and its contractors are
complying with safety and health standards.
Visit OSHA's oil spill cleanup response web page,
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This Information was
sent to further the communication of all industry
stakeholders. Safety is the primary concern of the
ADCI. Remember: a real-time Job Safety Analysis is
important, but nothing can replace good common sense.
Phil Newsum
Association
of Diving Contractors International
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