Resources for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

GAO Recommends Timeframes for OSHA's Communication Products

www.ohsonline.com

A Government Accountability Office report posted Wednesday compares the way OSHA and EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) developed communications to alert auto repair workers about exposures to asbestos in automotive brakes. Both agencies took years to complete their products -- no suprise to OSHA watchers -- but the time lags differed. OSHA took 5.5 years to publish its asbestos Safety and Health Information Bulletin, while OPPTS took 3.5 years to publish its final asbestos brochure.

OSHA officials "cited the need to address uncertainties regarding the prevalence of asbestos in brake products," according to the report, which was prepared for members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Both agencies said useful information about the hazard was available on their Web sies while they worked on their asbestos products, it states.

View the Resource

Share or bookmarklet this web page at: