Document JJ31g1Z60xmqvbggRLKNke3dZ

Thomas G. Grumbles o-^ Lfy\ rOa\eo\ cr\ VISTA * Date ////4 fTXo'Weq Q SWi\ C-Oft-tlfto e.5 to 'poS_ S^rw\C.O.<\ t; ^\f>eb> <JoR- &eccKD\ce*pi'i om issiocns . VVV 000015625 4 Occupational Health & Safety Letter, November 8, 1986 Cary L. Cooper, Ph.D., Visiting Professor in the Colgate Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia, made the interesting point that stress could also be caused by an underload of work. Studies have shown that idleness is as stressful as too much work, he noted. ' v- It was a good meeting and we're not knocking it. But, like many such meetings, it was really a- case of preaching to the converted. Everyone in the audience knew what had to be done. It would have been even better if some people who controlled the purse strings -- legislators and company presidents -- had something to say. Dr. William Foege, former CDC director now working with Jijimy Carter's Founda tion, took the high road with an inspirational address on the importance of worker health in a social context. If it was more philosophical than pragmatic, so what? "It is you, ultimately, and not the politicians who will decide the social norms on worker protection and I cannot overemphasize this," he concluded. "You will answer the questions, not society as a whole, and that is the bottom line of all this. The politicians and the government will simply ratify what you as enlightened leaders decide is in the interest of society. "And if you do not believe that, it is because of your impatience. The things promoted 20 years'ago- in^wdrk'er^ protection'-are- now standard: :' So'"do'`your work'with- the long term in mind. But more than that, do it with the world in mind. - With the barriers of time and distance and greed in mind, society has not protected workers until it protects all workers, even the miners of South Africa. Until it succeeds at that, civilization is blighted everywhere."........ -t-------- ' ;* :"r - - CHRYSLER FACES $910,000 OSHA FINE; NO BAILOUT IN SIGHT: : _' When OSHA proposed a $1.4 million fine"on Union Carbide for alleged recordkeep ing violations, everyone thought it would be a showcase example and nothing more : would be heard from the agency. r But now it has proposed a $910,000 fine on Chrysler for what it terms the ' - company's "willful" failure to keep accurate records about employee injuries at its assembly plant in Belvedere, 111. ' ;.r : ^ y...;:... . . : All told, OSHA charged that 182 instances of work-related injuries were not recorded in the company's records, as required by the Occupational Safety & Health Act. Many of the injuries were serious enough to require medical care and in some cases surgery, OSHA said. One of those cases involved an employee who fractured his foot on the job. He was out of work for four months, underwent extensive medical treatment and was awarded more than $6,500 in workers compensation. In 17 injuries. Chrysler orosspd off recorded oasps flff.gr nriginally LiRtp>ri__in Its .records-.-OSHA alleged. -^That .included the employee, with the fractured .foot, The investigation of Chrysler's records began after an OSHA compliance officer reported a number of discrepancies in his investigation of the death of a worker at a plant welding press. The investigation revealed an unusually low number of injuries in relation to the total of employees at the plant. Karen Stewart, a spokesman for Chrysler, issued a company statement which declared; "Although we haven't had an opportunity to review the OSHA charges, we believe that the findings are based on interpretation of Government guidelines on the handling of paperwork. Chrysler has an outstanding health and safety program in all of its plants. Hie OSHA charges have to do with recordkeeping and not with in-plant practices which could cause an accident or injury." Note: OSHA added to its crackdown on recordkeeping by proposing a $18*1,000 fine on Fina Oil & Chemical Co., Port Arthur, Tex., for 46 alleged willful violations. The violations allegedly occurred between January 1985 through March 1986. The cases were discovered last April during an inspection of the refinery as part of OSHA's special emphasis program on the chemical manufacturing industry. The plant employs about 480 workers. The alleged violations included failure to VVV 000015626 Occupational Health & Safety Letter, November 8, 1986 5 record instances of work activity, medical treatment and illnesses. NEW LAW EXTENDS PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS: Legislation amending the Freedom of Information Act to give businesses greater protection for trade secrets and other confidential information submitted to the federal government has been signed into law by President Reagan. The new law establishes procedures for determining whether the federal govern ment can release business information designated as confidential. Essentially, it requires that companies be notified when an organization or individual files an FOIA request for their business records. It was favored strongly by industry and opposed by public interest groups, which claimed it would delay release of much information that should be public. But the Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association said the new law provides companies with "fair and certain protection" and corrects "serious procedural ambiguities" in the former law. Under the new procedures, when someone submits an FOIA request for information which has been designated as-confidential-by-the business which submitted^it, the ---- agency must notify the company to allow it to object to disclosure. An agency would be given five days to notify the submitting company that an FOIA request had been made, and the company would then be allowed up to 10 days to file an objection. The agency then has 10 days to decide whether to comply. ...... If an objection to disclosure has been made, the agency must wait 10 additional' days before releasing the information. Under specified circumstances, these time limits would be shortened if expedited consideration is requested. The agency would not be required to notify the submitter on an FOIA request which does not cover confidential information or if the agency first determines that the request should be denied. The submitting company need not be notified under these additional consider ations: if disclosure is required by law or regulation; if the information is already public; or if the agency determines that the information is not confidential despite its designation as such by the company. ................ The law also permits submitting companies to file "reverse" lawsuits under the FOIA which seek to prevent an agency from releasing submitted information. Under the old law, such suits could only be brought under the Administrative Procedures Act. If the submitter files suit, the bill gives preference to the requester in the choice of which district court the case will be argued. If the requester has a competing commercial interest, no special preference would be given. The new law also requires that the submitter pay the legal costs of a requester if the court finds that the submitterfs reasons for..seeking .to. withhold the.,infcr- .... mation were not justified. CONFERENCE TO CONSIDER ASBESTOS COSTS: In the wake of enactment of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986, a conference focusing on the economic and legal issues of buying, selling, insuring, managing and leasing buildings that contain asbestos will be held Jan. 28-30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. under sponsorship of Hall-Kimbrell Environmental Services. Dr. Alan Greenspan, noted economist and former economic adviser to President Ford as well as numerous presidential boards and commissions, will speak. Other speakers include executives of real estate firms, United Technologies, Georgia Tech. Further information from the Education Division, Hll-Kimbrell, 1-800-445-0682. The new law directs EPA to develop a regulatory framework to require schools to inspect their buildings for asbestos and take appropriate abatement actions using qualified, accredited persons. About 15 million students and 1.4 million employees are potentially exposed to friable asbestos-containing material in 35,000 schools. VVV 000015627 R. E. Lehmkuhl 11/12/86 RE: Consultants You recently sent me information regarding V, A. Bowman and Entrix. Regarding V. A. Bowman: Joe knows him personally. Feels hefs a good "talker" and aggressive, however he has concerns about his technical skills. He did not leave Mobil voluntarily. Columbia Pacific University, where he received his M.S. and doctorate is a "mail order" university. I doubt we would consider using his services. Regarding Entrix: It is a fairly new firm, but they have some good staff people. They appear to be a full service firm we may consider in the future. With the increasing need for specialized or project services, we may have the need for such consultants in the future. Please return the Entrix information for our files. T. G. Grumbles ajo/9 wv 000015628