OSHA ISSUES NEW NATIONAL EMPHASIS PROGRAM FOR CHEMICAL FACILITIES

For clients and friends of Jackson Kelly PLLC
Volume 7, Number 25
©2011 Jackson Kelly PLLC

 

        On November 30, 2011, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued a new National Emphasis Program (“NEP”) for chemical facilities to protect workers from catastrophic releases of highly hazardous chemicals.  According to Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels, the program will enable OSHA inspectors to cover chemical facilities nationwide to ensure that all required measures are taken to protect workers.

  

        The new NEP replaces OSHA’s 2009 pilot Chemical Facility National Emphasis Program which covered only a few OSHA regions around the country.  The new NEP establishes policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that are covered by OSHA’s process safety management (“PSM”) standard.  OSHA promulgated the PSM standard in 1992 in response to a number of catastrophic incidents that occurred worldwide (see Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals; 29 C.F.R. § 1910.119).  These incidents brought into focus that handling highly hazardous chemicals could lead to incidents that may occur relatively infrequently but, due to their catastrophic nature, often result in multiple injuries and fatalities. 

 

        Under the July 2009 NEP, OSHA targeted worksites in limited regions by using the following information:  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions, Program 3 Risk Management Plans (“RMP”), explosives manufacturing NAICS codes, OSHA’s IMIS database, and OSHA Area Office knowledge of local facilities.  However, OSHA is expanding the new NEP to a national level by targeting worksites nationwide to increase awareness of these dangers so that employers will more effectively prevent the release of highly hazardous chemicals.  The intent of the NEP is to conduct focused inspections at facilities randomly selected from a list of worksites likely to have highly hazardous chemicals in quantities covered by the standard. 

 

        The new NEP inspection process includes detailed questions designed to gather facts related to PSM requirements and verification that an employer’s written and implemented PSM programs are consistent.  Potential issues with PSM requirements related to this new NEP are significant.  Citations for violations should be issued consistent with OSHA’s Field Operations Manual.  And, according to the July 2009 NEP, any violation of the PSM standard is a condition that could kill or seriously harm employees and PSM violations shall not normally be classified as “other‑than‑serious.” 

 

        OSHA’s Safety and Health Topics Web page on Process Safety Management contains information on PSM for general industry and construction, guidance on how to develop a process hazard analysis, and OSHA requirements for preventing the release of hazardous chemicals.  Furthermore, Jackson Kelly attorneys are experienced in handling focused OSHA inspections and are available to assist your company in the event of any OSHA inspection activity. 

 

        This article was authored by Christopher G. Peterson, Jackson Kelly PLLC.  For more information on the author, click here.

 

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PRACTICE GROUP
Denver, Colorado

 

Responsible Attorney
Karen L. Johnston
(303) 390-0003
kjohnston@jacksonkelly.com

 

For more information, contact:

 

Laura E. Beverage (303) 390-0003	Karen L. Johnston (303) 390-0003
R. Henry Moore (412) 434-8801	Michael T. Cimino (304) 340-1000

 

The Jackson Kelly PLLC Occupational Safety and Health News Alert is for informational purposes only and not for the purposes of offering legal advice or a legal opinion on any matter. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any statement in the Jackson Kelly PLLC Occupational Safety and Health News Alert without seeking advice from qualified legal counsel on the particular facts and circumstances involved.

 

If you would like to receive future copies of the Jackson Kelly PLLC Occupational Safety and Health News Alert, please provide your name, your job title, your company name, and your e-mail address to Janet Kosman at (303) 390-0038 or jlkosman@jacksonkelly.com.  You may also provide the same information of other people in your company who wish to receive these alerts.

 

If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE to this legal news alert list, please reply to this e-mail and type the word ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ in the subject line.

 

The Rules of the Kentucky Supreme Court require the following: THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT.

 

KAREN L. JOHNSTON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENTS OF THIS ALERT.