August 28, 2019

Equipment Recall

Honeywell Industrial Safety has issued an immediate mandatory stop use notice and product recall for certain models of its Miller MightEvac and MightyLite Self-Retracting Lifelines (SRLs) manufactured within a specific timeframe. Honeywell has determined that there are potentially non-conforming brake components in these specific SRLs, and while there have been no reported incidents due to this nonconformity, continued use of the product could result in serious injury or death. 

To determine whether your MightEvac and/or MightyLite Self Retracting Lifeline SRL is affected, please review this notice and follow the instructions provided. Units included in this notice must be removed from use immediately and should be returned to Honeywell for repair. Additional information is available at https://industrialsafety.honeywell.com/content/his/us/en/stopuse.html. 

California Emergency Regulation

California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) recently enacted an emergency regulation to protect outdoor workers from potentially dangerous wildfire smoke. 

Effective through January 28, 2019, with two potential 90-day extensions, this regulation requires employers to:

• Identify the Air Quality Index (AQI) before and during each shift where outdoor workers are located. 
• Relocate work, if possible, to an area with a safer AQI level. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, an AQI above 150 is considered unhealthy. 
• Provide N95 respirators, along with the appropriate training, to workers when the AQI is 151 or higher.

Additionally, employers must educate workers on this new emergency regulation and the health effects of wildfire smoke inhalation. They must also provide the necessary training on the safe use and maintenance of the N95 respirators provided when AQI is 151 or higher and work cannot be relocated to a safer area. 

Employers with outdoor workers in California should refer to this notice in Safety and Health Magazine for more information.