The construction of underground tunnels, shafts, chambers, and passageways are essential yet dangerous activities. Working under reduced light conditions, difficult or limited access and egress, with the potential for exposure to air contaminants and the hazards of fire and explosion, underground construction workers face many dangers. To help employers protect the safety and health of underground construction workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has prepared a number of guidance documents, including the underground construction regulations, found in Part 1926,...

Unexpected releases of toxic, reactive, or flammable liquids and gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals have been reported for many years. Incidents continue to occur in various industries that use highly hazardous chemicals which may be toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive, or may exhibit a combination of these properties. Regardless of the industry that uses these highly hazardous chemicals, there is a potential for an accidental release any time they are not properly controlled. This, in turn, creates the possibility of disaster. Although these major disasters...

The major objective of process safety management (PSM) of highly hazardous chemicals is to prevent unwanted releases of hazardous chemicals especially into locations that could expose employees and others to serious hazards. An effective process safety management program requires a systematic approach to evaluating the whole chemical process. Using this approach, the process design, process technology, process changes, operational and maintenance activities and procedures, nonroutine activities and procedures, emergency preparedness plans and procedures, training programs, and other elements...

Machines used in woodworking are dangerous, particularly when used improperly or without proper safeguards. Workers operating woodworking equipment suffer the following common injuries: laceration, amputation, severed fingers, and blindness. Wood dust and the chemicals used in finishing are health hazards, and workers in this industry can suffer from skin and respiratory diseases. The purpose of this guide is to help employers provide a safe and healthful workplace. The guide describes the principal hazards of woodworking and the methods for controlling these hazards. If you employ one or...

More than 145,000 people work in over 7,000 warehouses. The fatal injury rate for the warehousing industry is higher than the national average for all industries. Potential hazards for workers in warehousing: Unsafe use of forklifts; Improper stacking of products; Failure to use proper personal protective equipment; Failure to follow proper lockout/tagout procedures; Inadequate fire safety provisions; or Repetitive motion injuries. Warehouse operations can present a wide variety of potential hazards for the worker. For warehousing establishments, the 10 OSHA standards most frequently included...

A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which there is little or no immunity in the human population, begins to cause serious illness and then spreads easily person-to-person worldwide. A worldwide influenza pandemic could have a major effect on the global economy, including travel, trade, tourism, food, consumption and eventually, investment and financial markets. Planning for pandemic influenza by business and industry is essential to minimize a pandemic's impact. Companies that provide critical infrastructure services,...

This Instruction cancels and replaces OSHA Instruction OSHA CSP 03-01-002. The purpose of the manual is to provide guidance concerning implementation of the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), including revised policies and procedures a) published as Federal Register Notice 68 FR 68475, December 8, 2003; b) affecting VPP participants covered under the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard; and c) enabling OSHA to employ an alternative reapproval process, the Compressed Reapproval Process to Recognize Sustained Excellence (CRP), for qualifying VPP Star participants.

This directive (manual) provides guidance to OSHA personnel concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) policy, procedures, and technical interpretations regarding the enforcement of the Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) standard, 29 CFR, and other related standards. This directive (manual) establishes OSHA's enforcement policy for its standards addressing the control of hazardous energy. It instructs OSHA enforcement personnel on both the agency's interpretations of those standards, and on the procedures for enforcing them. The application of this...