OSHA is considering changes to its process safety management (PSM) standard, the agency announced in September. Potential changes to the scope of the standard include resuming enforcement for oil and gas production facilities, expanding requirements for reactive chemical hazards, updating the standard’s list of highly hazardous chemicals, and expanding the scope of the standard to include oil- and gas-well drilling and servicing. Changes to provisions of the PSM standard could strengthen employee participation, require safer technology and alternatives analysis, and cover the mechanical integrity of critical equipment. OSHA is also considering revisions that would require root cause analysis and coordination of emergency planning with local emergency response authorities. Other changes under consideration would require the development of written procedures for all elements specified in the PSM standard. In the years before OSHA promulgated the PSM standard in 1992, several incidents of chemical releases around the world drew attention to the need for regulation of processes for highly hazardous chemicals. In December 1984, an accidental release of methyl isocyanate gas at the Union Carbide pesticide plant Bhopal, India, caused thousands of deaths in what is considered the world’s worst industrial disaster. Other fatal incidents occurred at chemical plants owned by Phillips 66 in 1989, Arco and BASF in 1990, and IMC Fertilizer in 1991. The PSM standard has not been updated since its adoption. OSHA cites the incident at a fertilizer storage facility in West, Texas, as motivation for potential changes. In April 2013, a massive explosion of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate, or FGAN, took the lives of 12 first responders and caused hundreds of injuries. A report on the explosion released by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) recommended that OSHA update its PSM standard to add FGAN to the standard’s list of highly hazardous chemicals and establish an appropriate threshold quantity. Following the West, Texas explosion, President Obama issued an executive order, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, that formed a working group of federal agencies charged with modernizing the policies, regulations, and standards governing chemical facilities. As required by the order, OSHA issued a request for information about potential changes to its PSM standard in December 2013. The next step in the regulatory process, convening a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel, was accomplished in June 2016. CSB has made several other recommendations for improving the PSM standard, some of which appear to be under consideration at OSHA. These include recommendations for requiring facilities to coordinate their emergency plans with local authorities and extending the rule’s coverage to the oil and gas sector. Other CSB recommendations include permitting third-party compliance audits and developing requirements for facility siting and human factors. In response to OSHA’s 2013 request for information, CSB identified several incidents at chemical plants where improper siting led to worker injuries and fatalities because of the proximity of administrative areas to hazardous operations. The other major process safety standard in the U.S. is EPA’s risk management program (RMP) rule, which was written to complement OSHA’s PSM standard. In August 2022, EPA proposed revisions to the RMP rule intended to reduce the frequency of chemical releases. More information about the proposed RMP rule is available on EPA's website. To learn more about OSHA’s PSM rulemaking, see the OSHA website, an agency news release, and the Federal Register.

A CDC toolkit provides information for both workers and employers on preventing monkeypox at work. Information for employers includes basics about monkeypox vaccination, isolation and prevention practices for people with monkeypox, monitoring and risk assessment for workers who have been exposed, and disinfection practices. For workers, the toolkit includes information on the signs and symptoms of monkeypox, how the disease spreads, and how workers can protect themselves and prevent spread to others. Additional resources in the toolkit include site-specific guidance for workers in healthcare facilities, those who perform autopsies and handle human remains, laboratory personnel, veterinarians, and schools. According to CDC, there is currently a low risk of monkeypox spreading in workplaces. Agency data indicate that as of Nov. 29 there were approximately 29,300 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United States and 15 deaths. Worldwide, the number of confirmed cases exceeded 81,200 with 56 deaths.

Following the deaths of two workers in September who were killed when the riding mowers they were operating rolled over, OSHA’s Region 7 issued an alert calling for employers to conduct worker training on the hazards they face on the job. According to OSHA, 35 workers in the United States have died in lawnmower rollover incidents since the autumn of 2019. The recent fatalities occurred four days apart in Missouri and Nebraska. Region 7 includes those states as well as Iowa and Kansas. In a statement, OSHA Regional Administrator Billie Kizer noted that OSHA’s investigations of the tragedies are ongoing. “Employers are responsible for training workers to recognize and avoid hazards, especially when it comes to mowing grass on slopes and in poor terrain,” Kizer said. OSHA guidance on riding mowers is available on the agency’s website.