High-hazard industry workplaces in Kansas are the focus of a "local emphasis program" being conducted by the Wichita area office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Inspectors will focus on establishments with 10 or more employees that have not had a comprehensive OSHA inspection since 1995.
"In an effort to prevent accidents and illnesses before they happen, the local emphasis program will involve both safety and health OSHA compliance inspections of high-hazard industry establishments in Kansas," said Charles E. Adkins, CIH, OSHA regional administrator in Kansas City.
Adkins explained that the local emphasis program supplements a national effort by OSHA, called the "Site Specific Targeting" (SST) program that annually identifies workplaces throughout the United States with high rates of injuries and illnesses.
The Kansas program is intended to increase the probability that workplaces in high hazard industries in the state will undergo an inspection. Establishments identified on the high hazard safety list will receive a comprehensive safety inspection. Establishments identified on the high hazard health list will receive a comprehensive health inspection. Any business named on both the high hazard safety and health lists can expect to have both a comprehensive safety and health inspection.
The local emphasis program expires one year from the May 10, 2006, effective date and may be renewed based upon OSHA's evaluation of the program.
About the Author
