EPA Warning About Refrigerant Substitute Risks

EPA has issued a warning to homeowners, propane manufacturers and sellers, home improvement contractors and air conditioning technicians about fire and explosion risks associated with the use of propane or other unapproved refrigerants in home air conditioning systems.

An EPA investigation is addressing instances in which propane has been marketed and used as a substitute for HCFC-22 (R-22) in home air conditioning systems. Propane use poses a potential fire or explosion hazard when used in home air conditioning systems, which are not designed to handle propane and other flammable refrigerants.

According to EPA, injuries have occurred as a result of the use of propane and other unapproved refrigerants in air conditioning systems. The agency has not approved the use of propane or other hydrocarbon refrigerants in any type of air conditioner, and is urging homeowners and technicians to limit use of those refrigerants to appliances that were specifically designed for such substances.

Find more information on EPA’s website. 

OSHA, US Postal Service Agree on Terms of Settlement

OSHA, the U.S. Postal Service, and the American Postal Workers Union reached a settlement that organizations believe will improve safety in all postal facilities across the country. The settlement follows negotiations stemming from inspections at 42 Postal Service sites from 2009 and 2010 that found violations of OSHA standards on electrical work practices. After USPS contested the citations, OSHA sought USPS-wide relief before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

“As a large employer, with a substantial number of affected employees throughout many different types of facilities, the U.S. Postal Service faced many challenges in improving their electrical safe-work program,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “In entering this agreement, OSHA recognizes the Postal Service’s commitment and dedication to worker safety.”

As part of the settlement, USPS has revised its written policies and procedures on electrical work, prohibiting workers from working on electrically energized equipment except for a defined set of tasks that can only be performed while equipment is energized, such as troubleshooting and testing. USPA has agreed to assign a trained electrical work plan coordinator at each facility, to ensure compliance with the new policies, and promised to provide and require the use of electrically protective gloves and full body arc flash protection for energized work. 

“Employee safety has always been a top priority for the Postal Service,” said Jeffrey Williamson, USPS chief human resources officer and executive vice president. “We are happy to have resolved this issue amicably and in the best interests of the safety of our employees.”

Moving forward, USPS plans to retrain employees on the OSHA requirements and will audit the implementation of the electrical safe-work program at all maintenance-capable facilities and report results in detail to OSHA every quarter during the two-year term of the agreement. 

OSHA will monitor the Postal Service’s progress toward abatement and evaluate their progress against negotiated milestones. 

Avoiding Boardroom Blunders

During his Safety 2013 session, ASSE Fellow and past president Mark Hansen, P.E., CSP, CPE, offered up a collection of business lessons that EHS professionals can use to survive in today’s corporate workplace. He also highlights five classic boardroom blunders to avoid in his proceedings paper:

1. Think it's "no big deal." Suppose the CEO walks into your office and nonchalantly says, "You have 20 minutes to pitch your business unit's plan at tomorrow's board meeting." Your near-panic is visible, so he adds, "Don't sweat it; it's no big deal." Just because he says or acts as if it's no big deal doesn't mean it's no big deal. "Prepare. Know your material cold and be ready for a healthy amount of Q&A," Hansen counsels.
2. Walk in with a half-baked plan. “Boards are typically comprised of smart, opinionated people who are also former or current executives,” Hansen says. “If you pitch a half-baked plan, it may get twisted, debated and mutated to the point where you end up getting a green light to do something that bears little or no resemblance to your original plan. And if it fails, it's still your plan . . . and your fault.”
3. Try to outmaneuver a founder. Don't underestimate the loyalty, power, and sway even a dysfunctional founder may still have with a board that owes its existence to that individual. “Even if you're the CEO, you can do irreparable damage to your standing or even get fired. Exercise extreme caution,” Hansen cautions.
4. Expect the board to actually do something. It's the job of company executives to manage, plan, strategize, make decisions and execute. The board's job is to provide oversight, advice, and sometimes, connections. “If you need something from the board be clear and upfront about it,” Hansen advises, but don’t “expect much more than feedback.”
5. Pitch a controversial plan without support. “Rally some support before the meeting for hot or controversial ideas.”

If you weren't able to attend this session while at PDC, be sure to look for Mark's paper on your proceedings CD or look in the July 2013 issue of Professional Safety for information on ordering recorded sessions.

Case Study: Pfizer’s Global Driver Safety Program

In 2010, Pfizer Inc. launched a global fleet safety program, which has been implemented in three phases. The latest issue of the Transportation Practice Specialty’s online technical publication, TransActions, includes a case study of how this program was developed and launched and also identifies how Pfizer:

• worked to develop and communicate the business case and benefits of improved fleet safety
• benchmarked and analyzed opportunities to improve driver safety performance
• evaluates the program’s success in terms of process, compliance, safety performance, costs, company reputation and corporate social responsibility

While rollout of these three phases will continue this year, many of Pfizer’s markets have already seen reduced collision rates. Click here to read more about the success of Pfizer’s driver safety program.

Developing a Positively Responsible Culture

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and its partners in the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2012-13 recently met to benchmark efforts and exchange good practices in working together for risk prevention. Topics during the event included learning from incidents, leadership training, safety and health culture. According to attendees, one of the biggest keys is moving toward a no-blame culture--or as Tom Schalenbourg of Toyota Material Handling Europe says, "The challenge is to turn blame culture into a positively responsible culture."

Learn more about the campaign here.