OSHA Teams Up with American Chemistry Council

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has teamed up with the American Chemistry Council to create a new alliance to protect workers who handle grains and isocyanates in the workplace.

Dubbed the Alliance Program, OSHA will work closely with unions, trade experts and other professionals to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities associated in workplaces that involve grains and isocyanates. OSHA says it will form two specific appliances: one for grains and another for isocyanates. Throughout the two-year program, OSHA and the ACC will educate workers and employers about the dangers of diisocyantes exposure and how to protect against injury and illness.

When you think of common hazards in the workplace, grains probably doesn't come to mind. However, there are two major hazards associated with grains. First, there's the hazard of suffocation, as workers may become trapped under grains, preventing them from breathing. Secondly, grains are a serious fire hazard when stored improperly, as the slightest spark can cause major explosions and subsequent worker injuries and fatalities.

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) will also work closely with OSHA to develop this alliance. However, the NFGA will provide expertise on grain-related injuries and illnesses. The NGFA was founded in the late 1800s as a nonprofit organization. It represents companies that supply grain for food and other commercial applications. According to various reports, the NFGA now operates with input from more than 1,000 companies, which collectively manage around 70% of all U.S. grains used for domestic and export trade.

Isocyanates are also problematic, as exposure to this plastic-like chemical can cause respiratory issues like shortness of breath, trouble breathing, and irritation of the mucus membranes.

OSHA's Alliance Program will develop a web-based portal where employers can learn more about the use of chemicals and how to mitigate hazards associated with those chemicals. Additionally, it will feature a training program that employers can use to help workers better understand these chemicals.

"OSHA’s new alliance with ACC will help ensure that employers and employees who work with the identified chemicals better understand the health hazards associated with these potentially hazardous chemicals, and the methods to control employee exposures,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt.

The alliance is expected to last for two years, with the respective organizations placing an emphasis on chemical exposure in the workplace and the health hazards it poses.