OSHA Eyes Non-Certified Tools in Spray Booths

OSHA has opened inquiries regarding tools used inside spray booths, and an investigation at a non-compliant shop could result in $32,000 in fines, according to equipment maker Pro-Stat.
A company representative said the agency recently reached out to inquire about their product and that of their competitors.
OSHA reportedly said that it is going to start cracking down on paint shops, and this would result in fines.
If a shop uses a non-Class 1, Division 1 compliant spray booth tool, they’re breaking two separate OSHA rules at the same time, according to Eric Renken, Pro-Stat vice president of sales.
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North Carolina’s Department of Labor has slashed a $187,500 fine levied against a farm after a worker died in extreme heat, to just $3,750.
The September 2023 death of the Mexican migrant worker on a temporary agriculture visa, and the subsequent citation, became a hot topic in last year’s race for state labor commissioner.
Republican Luke Farley won the election against Braxton Winston, a workers’ rights activist.
The state and company, Barnes Farming,have now agreed to a settlement that wipes out the most significant violations and requires the company to pay roughly 2% of the initial fine.
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A new lawsuit filed by a worker injured in the September 2023 explosion at Archer Daniels Midland’s Decatur East plant in Illinois blames the company for his injuries.
The lawsuit alleges a series of willful safety violations caused by ADM that led to a dangerous build-up of hexane, a highly explosive gas used as a solvent for extracting oil from soybeans.
Among the allegations, the suit says ADM refused to install a “lower explosive limit hexane sensor” that would have helped guard against explosive risk.
It also claims ADM failed to follow a series of safety procedures when it placed the East Plant area into a “shut down mode” while alterations were being made to the facility.
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Pre-flight safety checks that have heretofore been unpaid work, are said to be at the center of the Air Canada flight attendants labor dispute.
The proposed agreement, now before flight attendants, would pay them at 50% of their rate. On a wide body aircraft, it’ll be 70 minutes of work at 50% of their rate, which could be under minimum wage.
More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants are participating in the ratification vote that closes Sept. 6.
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