OSHA Law Blog : Occupational Safety Lawyer & Attorney : Jackson Lewis Law Firm : Health, OSHA Compliance

Over the last several months, OSHA has continued – and expanded – its practice of publicizing “Industry/Hazard Alerts” on its web site. These Alerts are designed to notify employers in certain industries of hazards that are of particular concern to the Agency. In part, OSHA is using this technique to ensure industry recognition and knowledge of hazards, which OSHA may attempt to utilize in the context of enforcement proceedings. Employers in the industries targeted must take note of these Alerts and ensure that they are fully compliant with OSHA standards.

The following Industry/Hazard Alerts are listed on OSHA’s web site:

• Incorrectly Refurbished Circuit Breakers
• Student Worker Killed While Filming Football Practice from a Scissor Lift
• Dangers of Engulfment and Suffocation in Grain Bins
• Grain Storage Bins
• Clearing Piping Systems with Natural Gas
• Hair Smoothing Products that Could Release Formaldehyde
• Work Precautions for Handling Hazardous Drugs

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OSHA has just released a hazard alert to hair salon owners warning of potential formaldehyde exposure from working with some hair smoothing and straightening products. In a press release announcing the hazard alert, OSHA states:

Federal OSHA has found formaldehyde in the air when stylists used hair smoothing products, some of which do not have formaldehyde listed on their labels or in material safety data sheets as required by law. During one investigation, the agency's air tests showed formaldehyde at levels greater than OSHA's limits for a salon, even though the product tested was labeled as formaldehyde-free.

OSHA has a health standard that regulates formaldehyde exposure in the workplace. OSHA recommends that hair salons first use products that do not contain formaldehyde. But, OSHA states that “if a salon owner decides to continue using a formaldehyde-containing hair smoothing product, then he or she must follow OSHA's formaldehyde standard,” including requirements for air monitoring, installing ventilation, and providing PPE, depending upon the extent of formaldehyde exposure.

This is not the first alert issued by OSHA to a specific industry. In recent months, OSHA has publicly put grain handling and retail shopping employers on notice of potential safety and health hazards in those industries. Targeting industries through hazard alert letters, letters of interpretation, Federal Register notices, or other means, may make it easier for OSHA to enforce standards against employers in the industries targeted, as they help to establish employer notice of hazards and feasible means of abatement. Employers in targeted industries need to be particularly aware of safety and health hazards and take steps to ensure they are fully compliant with OSHA rules. In the case of hair salons, OSHA gives an even clearer warning, stating that it currently has a number of ongoing investigations at salons and some citations “have been issued.”

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