OSHA

OSHA cited BP with 10 serious violations, saying the gas production plant lacked adequate training and process controls for leaks. The explosion killed two workers in September.

OSHA issued citations to oil and gas waste-management company Production Waste Solutions for failing to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide after an employee died.

KLX Energy Services was cited for exposing workers to explosion hazards.

A pair of new guidance documents from OSHA outline measures employers should take to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the risk of heat-related illness among workers wearing cloth facial coverings in hot and humid conditions or performing strenuous tasks.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a COVID-19 control and prevention guidance for oil and gas industry workers and employers. The guidance supplements OSHA’s interim guidance for the general workforce.

OSHA requires construction and manufacturing businesses, among others, to complete and regularly update paperwork related to workplace safety. Do you know your company’s OSHA recordkeeping obligations?

Although OSHA does not have a specific standard that covers working in hot environments, the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires places of employment that are "free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm." This includes heat-related hazards.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the State of North Dakota, and the Bakken Basin Safety Consortium have signed an alliance to protect employees and promote safety and health in the oil and gas industry.

OSHA’s efforts to require employers to report occupational fatalities and certain injuries in a timely manner lack “sufficient guidance on how to detect and prevent underreporting,” the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General states in its semiannual report to Congress.

To better protect workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica, OSHA has issued two new standards: one for construction and another for general industry and maritime. OSHA will begin enforcing most provisions of the standard for general industry and maritime on 23 June.