On June 7, while driving through Madison, Wis., Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO) Chad Greenwood of OSHA’s Madison area office observed work being performed at an excavation site. The CSHO saw a potentially unsafe trench and stopped to initiate an inspection. When the trench conditions were closely examined, the trench was found to be unsupported and unstable. The CSHO warned the foreman that no one should enter the trench. The contractor had been preparing to place an inlet box for a storm sewer. During the opening conference with the employer, a portion of the trench wall collapsed. Luckily, no one was hurt because of the CSHO’s quick actions. OSHA’s Working Safely in Trenches QuickCard^® (English/Spanish) offers tips to employers and employees on improving workplace safety and health while working in trenches.

    OSHA recently issued its explanation of “on site in one location” in the “Application” section of the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard. This interpretation simply means that the standard applies when a threshold quantity of a highly hazardous chemical (HHC) exists within an area under the control of an employer or group of affiliated employers. It also applies to any group of vessels that are interconnected, or in separate vessels that are close enough in proximity that the HHC could be involved in a potential catastrophic release. Details are available in the June 7 Federal Register.

    OSHA recently published a new directive on implementing a National Emphasis Program to help reduce or eliminate workplace hazards associated with the release of highly hazardous chemicals at petroleum refineries. The instruction provides guidance to OSHA national, regional and area offices, and to those state programs which choose to implement a similar program. OSHA’s Process Safety Management Safety and Health Topics page offers resources for improving workplace safety and health in the refining and chemical industries.