The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is considering tougher rules for the U.S. drilling industry
Since last August, OSHA has been trying to identify 20 of the leading causes of workplace injury, illness, and death.
It said oil and gas well drilling is one of the areas it may regulate more tightly. Also on the potential hit list are asphalt fumes, commercial diving, welding hazards, diesel exhaust, and crane safety
OSHA will issue action plans by Oct. 1 for six of the priority areas. They will include some rules but mostly will seek to mobilize industry and labor to prevent the hazards.
GREATER COOPERATION
OSHA's initiative is part of a 15 point program the Clinton administration has launched to shift the agency from "command and control" to greater cooperation with industry.
Business has long complained about OSHA's red tape and overzealous inspectors. The agency said it has adopted a more common sense approach, but its 2,000 inspectors cannot protect 95 million workers in 6 million American workplaces.
OSHA's new approach will be based on a pilot project with 198 Maine businesses. OSHA offered them the regulation as usual or minimal regulation if they developed comprehensive safety and health programs.
The companies and their employees identified 95,000 hazards at 1,300 worksites and eliminated 55,000 of them.
By Jan. 1, OSHA will have similar programs in nine other states, using injury/illness rates to identify the most hazardous workplaces. The program will be national in 1996.
Another initiative will seek to eliminate the most serious workplace hazards in industries. Companies that participate will get shorter inspections.
Effective Sept. 1, OSHA will allow inspectors to waive as much as 100% of penalties if employers have approved safety and health programs, the violations are not serious, and they are corrected immediately.
OSHA also plans a "quick fix" policy If an inspector finds a problem, and the employer corrects it quickly, the issue will be dropped. Otherwise, the employer could fight the citation for months while the hazard goes unabated.
The agency is reviewing all of its 695 rules to identify those that need to be revoked or revised because they are obsolete, confusing, inconsistent, or duplicative. It is reviewing its "right to know" rules that give workers data about toxic substances they may be exposed to.
The agency is revamping its 67 field offices and will evaluate them on injury/illness rates in their regions, not on the number of inspections.
REICH'S COMPLAINTS
Meanwhile, Labor Sec. Robert Reich complained that congressional budget cuts would decimate the OSHA enforcement program.
The Senate wants to slash the agency's $312 million/year budget by 50%, while the House aims for a 20% cut.
Reich also said a proposal to require risk assessments before rules are issued is "regulatory sclerosis-60 steps at which any party, particularly any business party, can go to court, get a review, and slow if not stop the entire process."
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