OSHA Announces Meeting of Construction Advisory Committee

WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) will meet Dec. 9-10, 2010, in Washington, D.C. In conjunction with the ACCSH, committee work groups, including the newly-established Injury and Illness Prevention Program work group, will meet Dec. 7-8.

The agenda for the ACCSH meeting includes remarks from Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels and the Directorate of Construction, updates on Injury and Illness Prevention Program rulemaking and the Severe Violator Enforcement Program, and ACCSH work group reports.

The Injury and Illness Prevention Program work group will hold its first meeting at 1-3 p.m., Dec. 7. The other ACCSH work groups that will meet are Silica and Other Construction Health Hazards, Green Jobs, Diversity – Women in Construction, Multilingual Issues, Nailguns, Training and Education and Prevention by Design.

Established as a continuing advisory committee under the Construction Safety Act of 1969, ACCSH and the Assistant Secretary have consulted for nearly 40 years on construction safety issues such as women in construction, recordkeeping, crane safety, and safety and health resources for Latino construction workers.

ACCSH and its work group meetings are open to the public and will be held in Room N-3437, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. The full committee will meet from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9, and 8 a.m. to noon, Friday, Dec. 10. ACCSH meetings are open to the public. See the Federal Register notice for further details and a list ACCSH work group meeting times.

Written comments, requests to address the committee, and speaker presentations must be submitted electronically at www.regulations.gov, via mail, or facsimile by November 30. For general information, contact Mr. Francis Dougherty, OSHA Directorate of Construction, 202-693-2020. Press inquiries should be directed to MaryAnn Garrahan, OSHA Office of Communications, 202-693-1999.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.