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Labor Needs in Safety Research.

Molovich J

NIOSH 1982 Feb:3-6

00170101

Labor views on past, present and future occupational safety related research were presented by a representative of the United Steel Workers of America. According to the author, early industrial safety programs failed because information available to plant safety and health departments was not given to supervisors and line foremen charged with the responsibility of insuring the safety of workers under their direction. Such problems were said to have instigated the passage of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970. One problem that labor has with this law today is that safety standards are set by organizations that are industry oriented. It was suggested that this has resulted in standards written more to protect industries from third party law suits and liabilities than to ensure worker safety. It was also suggested that standards were set only after serious injuries or deaths were incurred by workers. Instead, standards should be written and enforced from a preventive point of view. Statistical analyses of deaths and injuries incurred in the workplace were said to be of far less value than research into cause and recommendations for prevention. Examples of areas needing research were said to include machine guarding and the explosive potential of molten metal mixing with water. These areas continue to claim worker lives. General worker dissatisfaction with OSHA was also discussed. The author recommends that NIOSH certify all safety equipment.

Worker-health; Industrial-safety; Industrial-environment; Occupational-accidents; Occupational-hazards; Metalworking; Occupational-safety-programs

19820201

Conference/Symposia Proceedings

1982

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 82-103

DSR; DTMD

Symposium on Occupational Safety Research and Education, Division of Safety Research and Division of Training and Manpower Development, NIOSH, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 82-103