Fertilizer fire reveals regulatory loopholes, spurs questions about safety

Nearly 600 tons of ammonium nitrate caught fire at a North Carolina fertilizer plant on January 31 and burned for four days. The lack of transparency about ammonium nitrate, which is is used to make fertilizers and explosives, and the facilities that make, store, and sell it, is a national problem. NC Policy Watch

California: Governor Newsom to allow California’s indoor mask mandate to expire

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday announced he will allow California’s indoor mask mandate to expire next week but the measure will still be in effect for schools and those who are unvaccinated. Additional updates to COVID policies are expected this week. Just the News

Nevada OSHA targets hospitality industry

Nevada OSHA is performing targeted inspections of Nevada’s hospitality establishments, particularly hotels and casino-hotels. The inspections so far generally have been focused on ensuring that establishments have instituted compliant safety policies and trained all employees on: written safety program; written bloodborne pathogen exposure control plan (ECP); written hazard communication program; complete chemical inventory for an establishment’s location, including an inventory list and corresponding safety data sheets; emergency action plan; and COVID-19 ECP. SHRM

Employer fined where foreman allowed violation

In a Texas case where a foreman employee of a construction company allowed a member of his crew to continue working in the wake of a workplace safety rules violation that had not been fixed, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a $35,000 penalty against the employer. A safety manager had clearly told the foreman to fix the violation; the company contended that the foreman’s failure to fix the problem while allowing his crew to continue working constituted “unpreventable employee misconduct.” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

Robot safety guidance updates for manufacturers

A 2021 Industrial Robots report estimated more than 310,000 industrial robots now operate in U.S. factories. The continuing rise of robotics increases the risks associated with robotic systems’ hazards such as an employee being struck-by, caught-between, crushed, and/or trapped. Fed-OSHA increasing efforts around safety and robots as they become more frequently used on manufacturing shop floors. CBIA