COVID-19
‘OSHA is AWOL’: Critics Say Federal Agency is Where Workplace Covid-19 Complaints Go to Die
Tampa Bay Times
by Meghan Bowbrowsky
Miami, FL – The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, charged with enforcing health and safety in the American workplace, has received more than 6,000 complaints nationwide about unsafe work conditions related to COVID-19. And yet, on June 9, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia told lawmakers that OSHA, which his department oversees, had issued just one citation. The complaints go to OSHA, which dutifully maintains a list of the alleged infractions. But it’s unclear how much action is being taken.
EPA Provides Consumers Consumers Additional Options for Covid-19 Disinfections
National – EPA added 32 new surface disinfectants to List N, the agency’s list of over 460 products expected to kill SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. These products have already been approved as tuberculocidal. While they have not yet been tested against SARS-CoV-2, they are approved for killing the pathogen that causes tuberculosis and are expected to kill SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) when used according to the label.
EPA ANNOUNCES TERMINATION OF COVID-19 ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION
EPA
Washington, DC – Businesses and others that suspended environmental monitoring and reporting during the Coronavirus pandemic should plan to resume those activities as of September 1, 2020. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced recently that its temporary policy regarding the exercise of enforcement discretion during the COVID?19 public health emergency will end on August 31, 2020.
OSHA: Surgical Masks Not a Replacement for Respirators in Non-Covid-19 Respiratory Hazards
EHS Daily Advisor
by Guy Burdick
National – Exceptions from respiratory protection regulations allowing the use of surgical masks only apply to healthcare facilities and emergency medical services, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminded employers. Other employers must provide respirators, the agency explained in guidance discussing the differences among cloth face coverings, surgical masks, and respirators.
Covid-19 Catapults Indoor Air Quality to the Top of the List
Forbes
by Sasha Wedekind
National – While people spend 90% of their time inside, indoor air quality has not been a large focus of attention for facilities management and tenants until recently. The coronavirus outbreak is bringing indoor air quality into the spotlight as hospitals work to mitigate the spread of disease and offices, retail, and education facilities are considering strategies to reopen safely and minimize infection.
OSHA Construction Safety Inspections Plunge 84% During Pandemic
Safety and Health Magazine
National – OSHA in-person checks of construction sites have fallen to about 16% of pre-coronavirus inspection levels, as the agency focuses on virus hazards in the health-care industry, agency data shows. In the first week of March, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted about 395 construction inspections. During the week of April 26, there were about 65 inspections. Construction work has continued across the nation, despite stay-at-home orders, because the federal government considers it an essential industry. While 975,000 construction workers became unemployed in April, there were still 6.6 million people employed by builders, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Senators to Scalia: Emergency OSHA Standard Needed as Economy Reopens
Safety and Health Magazine
National – Washington — More than two dozen lawmakers are calling on OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on infectious disease, among other steps, before reopening the economy, in an April 29 letter sent to Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia. Along with the temporary standard, the senators are calling on OSHA to issue “additional interpretations regarding existing standards to increase enforceable protections” and “comprehensive” guidance on what employers must do to protect workers.
OSHA Issues Enforcement Guidance on Decontamination of Filtering Facepiece Respirators in Healthcare During the Coronavirus Pandemic
National -The response to the pandemic has created an increased demand for FFRs, limiting their availability for use in protecting workers in healthcare and emergency response from exposure to the virus. As a result, the President directed the Secretary of Labor to “consider all appropriate and necessary steps to increase the availability of respirators.” In some circumstances, employers may find it necessary to decontaminate FFRs to facilitate their reuse. However, because of the potential for decontamination methods to affect respirator fit and/or performance, there are no NIOSH-approved methods for such processes.