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        Happy 30th OSHA!  
        By: Captain James Benjamin, MS, CSHM, CFEI   
        OSHA has now been around for thirty years, but strangely enough, not many people have a true understand of what the Occupation Safety and Health Administration actually does.  Despite popular opinion, OSHA is not a four-letter word!  They are on our side (the workers) and their goal is to keep all workers safe and healthy.  Hopefully, this article will put a new light on OSHA, how they came to be, and their future.
        As you all have heard, the late 1960s was a turbulent time in America’s history. The nation faced serious concerns both abroad and at home. Civil rights, women's rights, Vietnam, and the environment all demanded the country's attention.  At the same time, occupational injuries and illnesses were increasing in both number and severity.  According to OSHA, disabling injuries increased 20 percent during the decade, and 14,000 workers were dying on the job each year.  

        In an effort to help curb this trend, House Representative William A. Steiger worked for the passage of a bill, pointing out that “In the last 25 years, more than 400,000 Americans were killed by work related accidents and disease, and close to 50 million more suffered disabling injuries on the job.”  Something needed to be done.  

        On December 29, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, also known as the Williams-Steiger Act.  This Act established three (3) permanent agencies: 

        • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within the Labor Department to set and enforce workplace safety and health standards; 
        • The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), an independent agency to adjudicate enforcement actions challenged by employers; and 
        • The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in what was then the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to conduct research on occupational safety and health; and Known initially as "the safety bill of rights," the OSH Act charged OSHA with assuring safe and healthful conditions for working men and women.  From the beginning, OSHA was a small agency that was entrusted with a big mission.  When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened for business in April 1971, it has responsibility to ensure a safety and health workplace for over 56 million workers at some 3.5 million different work sites. Today, the number has grown to well over 105 million public and private sector workers and employers at 6.9 million work sites. 
        In the beginning, OSHA was created because of public outcry against rising injury and death rates on the job.  One OSHA’s first goals was to adopt federal standards based on the widely accepted standards form agencies such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the National Fire Protection Administration (NFPA), and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).  Within two short years, the first set of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs) were born.  

        Over the past three decades, OSHA’s strategies have evolved to keep up with the events and needs of the times.  In response to tragedies (which as we all know, often spurs regulations), OSHA established a standards to prevent grain elevator explosions, published a process safety management standard to forestall chemical catastrophes caused by inadequate planning and safety systems, as well as, focused on emerging health issues such as bloodborne pathogens and musculoskeletal disorders (Ergonomics).  

        In its third decade, OSHA re-examined its goals once again, as part of the overall government reinvention process, OSHA began looking for ways to leverage its resources and increase its impact in reducing workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths.  In order to help fight the perception that OSHA was a monster, they increased funding in the areas of training and education in an effort to extend a helping hand the communities and corporations it serves, in order to provide a even mix of enforcement, education, standard-setting, and consultation services.  

        They also convinced Congress to change the penalties for violations from $1,000 to $7,000 for serious violations and from $10,000 to $70,000 for willful and repeat violations.  This change made many companies and public service providers take note that safety is an area that cannot be taken lightly and that they are there to help America’s workforce.  

        So has OSHA accomplished its goal of providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees?  Well, the U.S. occupational injury rate is 40 percent lower than when OSHA opened for business in 1971.  Deaths from occupational injuries are at an all-time low -- 60 percent lower than 30 years ago. The agency has made great progress, but its work is far from done.  

        As OSHA looks to its fourth decade, it must continue its focus on reducing injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in traditional industries. At the same time, it must look ahead to the challenges of the future -- new chemicals and other hazards in the workplace, growing service sector industries, and changing workforce needs.  With this in mind, it is just as important that we (the end user) look at OSHA in a different light.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is there for us, which is apparent with them having compliance specialists slated to joint most area offices to provide safety seminars, training, and guidance to employer and employees.  This is an extremely important gap to bridge, especially with many communities and corporations that are making cuts to staffing and personnel.  OSHA should be viewed as a friend and not an enemy, after all OSHA is still a small agency with a big mission.  

        About the author: Captain James Benjamin is a career Safety Professional for a global chemical company in Cincinnati and a Part-time Captain on the Glendale Fire Department, which is a historic residential community just North of Cincinnati, Ohio. He serves as the contributing editor of the newly developed Safety Section of the With the Command website.