The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is

launching a new local emphasis program in Nebraska focusing on highly hazardous chemicals.

These are chemicals like formaldehyde and methylene chloride, which are commonly used at

chemical and product manufacturing plants, printing facilities, funeral homes, and outpatient care

centers.

“This local emphasis program will allow OSHA to use its resources efficiently by focusing on

industries that are known to use these types of highly hazardous chemicals,” said Bonita

Winingham, area director for OSHA in Omaha. “Through this program, OSHA will improve

education for company management and strengthen worker protections.”

There are very strict exposure limits, monitoring requirements, and guidelines for storing,

transporting, and using these highly hazardous chemicals. The guidelines for such chemicals are

called expanded health standards and are chemical specific. This program was introduced after

an examination of violations of these expanded health standards in 2013.

If you are in Nebraska and work in any of these fields, or work with these highly hazardous

chemicals, it is important to ensure your safety and health standards are up to date and include

provisions based upon the updated requirements set forth in the expanded health standards. If

you have not recently reviewed your standards, it is time to do so. It is worth getting it taken care

of now, so that you do not have a problem after an inspection is performed and fines are

assessed.

If you have any questions about this new focus or about the requirements of the expanded health

standards, please contact us. If you have anything to add about this new focus on Nebraska

companies using hazardous chemicals, please leave a comment.