Failure in a safety culture

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## NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING CHEMICAL HYGIENE IN LABORATORIES <!-- image --> ## Appendix A to §1910.1450 - National Research Council Recommendations Concerning Chemical Hygiene in Laboratories (Non-Mandatory) To assist employers in developing an appropriate laboratory Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP), the following non-mandatory recommendations were based on the National Research Council's (NRC) 2011 edition of "Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Management of Chemical Hazards." This reference, henceforth referred to as "Prudent Practices," is available from the National Academies Press, [redacted street address] NW., Washington DC [redacted postal code] ( www.nap.edu ). "Prudent Practices" is cited because of its wide distribution and acceptance and because of its preparation by recognized authorities in the laboratory community through the sponsorship of the NRC. However, these recommendations do not modify any requirements of the OSHA Laboratory standard. This appendix presents pertinent recommendations from "Prudent Practices," organized into a form convenient for quick reference during operation of a laboratory and during development and application of a CHP. For a detailed explanation and justification for each recommendation, consult "Prudent Practices." "Prudent Practices" deals with both general laboratory safety and many types of chemical hazards, while the Laboratory standard is concerned primarily with chemical health hazards as a result of chemical exposures. The recommendations from "Prudent Practices" have been paraphrased, combined, or otherwise reorganized in order to adapt them for this purpose. However, their sense has not been changed. Section F contains information from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's (CSB) Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Performance and Accountability report and Section F contains recommendations extracted from the CSB's 2011 case study, "Texas Tech University Laboratory Explosion," availabl…

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- correction of unsafe performance, and, if necessary, through a clearly defined and communicated disciplinary system. inspections so that new or previously missed - (3) Periodic inspections. The employer shall conduct periodic in-house safety and health hazards or failures in engineering, work practice, and administrative controls are identified. The in-house inspections will be conducted by individuals who are trained to recognize hazardous conditions, as members of the safety and health committee or a person designated and trained by the employer for the facility's safety and health program. - (4) Safety and health training. - (A) The employer shall develop and institute a safety and health-training program for all employees so they have an understanding of the hazards to which they may be exposed, and the procedures or practices needed to protect them from these hazards. - (B) In addition, supervisors and managers shall be trained in the elements of the employer's safety and health program and in the specific responsibilities assigned to them under the program. - (C) The employer shall ensure that the supervisors and managers understand their responsibilities under the safety and health program and their importance to the safety and health of the workplace. In particular, the training for managers and supervisors shall enable them to: - (i) Recognize potential hazards; (ii) Maintain safety and health protection in the work area; and - (iii) Reinforce employee training on the nature of the potential hazards and required protective measures.

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will be utilized in meeting this goal. - (iii) Provide for visible top management leadership in implementing the program and ensure that all workers at the site, including contract workers, are provided equally high quality safety and health protection, so that all will understand that management's commitment is serious. - (iv) Provide for and encourage employee involvement in the structure and operation of the program and in decisions that affect their safety and health, so that they will commit their insight and energy to achieving the safety and health program's goal and objectives. Involvement shall be accomplished through employee collective bargaining units, where appropriate. - (v) Assign and communicate responsibilities for all aspects of the safety and loss prevention program to managers, supervisors, and employees so that they all know and understand what is expected of them in the implementation of the program. - (vi) Provide a system to hold managers, supervisors, and employees accountable for their responsibilities under the safety (vii) and health program. - (viii) Provide a reliable system for employees to notify management personnel or safety and health committee members of conditions that appear hazardous or of noncompliance with the terms of

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) If the employer wants specific employees in the release area to control or stop the minor emergency or incidental release, these actions must be planned for in advance and procedures developed and implemented. Preplanning for handling incidental releases for minor emergencies in the process area needs to be done, appropriate equipment for the hazards must be provided, and training conducted for those employees who will perform the emergency work before they respond to handle an actual release. The employer's training program, including the Hazard Communication standard training is to address the training needs for employees who are expected to handle incidental or minor releases. Preplanning for releases that are more serious than incidental releases is another important line of defense to be used by the employer. When a serious release of a highly hazardous chemical occurs, the employer through preplanning will have determined in advance what actions employees are to take. The evacuation of the immediate release area and other areas as necessary would be accomplished under the emergency action plan. If the employer wishes to use plant personnel such as a fire brigade, spill control team, a hazardous materials team, or use employees to render aid to those in the immediate release area and control or mitigate the incident, these actions are covered by §1910.120, the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard. If outside assistance is necessary, such as through mutual aid agreements between employers or local government emergency response organizations, these emergency responders are also covered by HAZWOPER. The safety and health protections required for emergency responders are the responsibility of their employers and of the onscene incident commander. Responders may be working under very hazardous conditions and therefore the objective is to have them competently led by an on-scene incident commander and the comm…

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## VII. Repeated Violations ## A. Identical Standards - 1. An employer may be cited for a repeated violation for the same or substantially similar condition or hazard if that employer has been previously cited, by UOSH, for violating the same standards, code, rule or order, and the citation has become a final order of the Commission. A citation may become a final order by operation of law when an employer does not contest the citation, or pursuant to court decision or settlement. - Prior citations by federal OSHA and/or other OSHA State Plan States cannot be used as a basis for UOSH repeated violations. Only violations that have become final orders of the Commission may be considered. - 2. In certain circumstances, although the same standard was previously cited at a workplace, the hazardous conditions in each case may not be similar and a repeated violation would not be appropriate. - EXAMPLE 4-28: A citation was previously issued for a violation of 29 CFR 1910.132(a) for not requiring the use of flame-retardant clothing for employees. A recent inspection of the same establishment revealed a violation of 29 CFR 1910.132(a) for not requiring the use of chaps while operating a chainsaw to trim trees. Although the same standard was involved, the hazardous conditions in each case are not substantially similar and therefore a repeated violation would not be appropriate. ## B. Geographical Limitations For purposes of determining whether a violation is repeated, the following criteria shall apply: For purposes of considering whether a violation is repeated, citations issued to employers having fixed establishments (e.g., factories, terminals, stores) shall be normally limited to the cited establishment. In instances where there is more than one site and there is a communicated knowledge of conditions cited by UOSH between sites, to those with the authority to make corrections, a repeated citation may be issued. EXAMPLE 4-30: A company was cited at plant A for a…

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the safety and health program without fear of reprisal and provide a mechanism to ensure timely and appropriate responses to correct these conditions. - (ix) Provide a mechanism to investigate accidents and "near miss" incidents, so that the root cause and means for preventing a recurrence are identified. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "accident" means any unexpected happening that interrupts the work sequence or process and that may result in injury, illness, or property damage. - (x) Provide a means to review injury and illness trends over time, so that patterns with common causes can be identified and eliminated. - (xi) Establish a mechanism for the employer to conduct ongoing, periodic in-house safety and health inspections so that new or previously missed hazards or failures in controls are identified. Inspections shall be conducted with a frequency necessary to be effective but in no event with less frequency than that established in section [redacted postal code]-3. - (xii) Address the impact of emergency situations and develop written plans and procedures to insure employee safety during emergencies. For the purpose of this standard, the term "emergency situation" means an unforeseen single event or combination of events that calls for immediate action to prevent, control, or

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## 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA) - (6) At least every five (5) years after the completion of the initial process hazard analysis, the process hazard analysis shall be updated and revalidated by a team meeting the requirements in paragraph (e)(4) of this section, to assure that the process hazard analysis is consistent with the current process. - (7) Employers shall retain process hazards analyses and updates or revalidations for each process covered by this section, as well as the documented resolution of recommendations described in paragraph (e)(5) of this section for the life of the process. - (f) Operating procedures (1) The employer shall develop and implement written operating procedures that provide clear instructions for safely conducting activities involved in each covered process consistent with the process safety information and shall address at least the following elements. - (i) Steps for each operating phase: - (A) Initial startup; - (B) Normal operations; - (C) Temporary operations; - (D) Emergency shutdown including the conditions under which emergency shutdown is required, and the assignment of shutdown responsibility to qualified operators to ensure that emergency shutdown is executed in a safe and timely manner. - (E) Emergency Operations; - (F) Normal shutdown; and, - (G) Startup following a turnaround, or after an emergency shutdown. - (ii) Operating limits: - (A) Consequences of deviation; and - (B) Steps required to correct or avoid deviation. - (iii) Safety and health considerations: - (A) Properties of, and hazards presented by, the chemicals used in the process; - (B) Precautions necessary to prevent exposure, including engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment; - (C) Control measures to be taken if physical contact or airborne exposure occurs; - (D) Quality control for raw materials and control of hazardous chemical inventory levels; and, - (E) Any special or unique hazards.

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## 6. Personal Protective Equipment An effective PPE program should exist at the worksite. A detailed evaluation of the program shall be documented to determine compliance with specific standards, such as, 29 CFR 1910.95, 29 CFR 1910.132, and 29 CFR 1910.134. ## 7. Regulated Areas CSHOs shall determine compliance with the requirements for regulated areas as specified by certain standards. Regulated areas must be clearly identified and known to all appropriate employees. The regulated area designation must be maintained according to the prescribed criteria of the applicable standard. ## 8. Emergency Action Plan CSHOs shall evaluate the employer's emergency action plan when such a plan is required by a specific standard. When standards provide that specific emergency procedures be developed where certain hazardous substances are handled, CSHO's evaluation shall determine if: potential emergency conditions are included in the written plan, emergency conditions are explained to employees and there is a training program for the protection of affected employees, including use and maintenance of PPE. ## VI. Affirmative Defenses An affirmative defense is a claim which, if established by the employer and found to exist by the CSHO, will excuse the employer from a citation that has otherwise been documented by UOSH. ## A. Burden of Proof Although employers have the burden of proving any affirmative defenses at the time of the hearing, the CSHO must anticipate whenever the employer is likely to raise an argument supporting such a defense. The CSHO shall keep in mind all potential affirmative defenses and attempt to gather contrary evidence, particularly when an employer makes an assertion that would indicate raising a defense/excuse against the violation(s). CSHOs shall bring all documentation of hazards and facts related to possible affirmative defenses to the attention of the Director or designee. ## B. Explanations The following are explanations of co…