ISRI allies with OSHA

Photo: Dreamstime

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have formed an alliance to promote health and safety in workplaces throughout the recycling industry. Through the alliance, ISRI says it will team with OSHA to provide ISRI’s members and others with information, guidance, training and other resources to protect the health and safety of workers within the scrap recycling industry.

“ISRI’s alliance with OSHA underscores the recycling industry’s commitment to worker safety and the fact that it is truly a core value for the association and its members,” says Doug Kramer, chairman of ISRI. “Through ISRI’s safety outreach programs and initiatives such as the Circle of Safety Excellence™, we have made great strides in improving worker safety throughout the industry but know that further efforts are still needed. Now with the support of OSHA behind us, ISRI will be able to provide even greater resources for our members to ensure their workers return home safely to their families every night.”

One of the goals of the new alliance is to promote a culture of safety within the scrap recycling industry that works to reduce workplace incidents and prevent workers’ exposure to hazards. This includes those associated with powered industrial trucks and other machinery, insufficient hazard communication, lead, improper electrical wiring methods, control of hazardous energy and others. Injury, illness and hazard exposure data will be used to prioritize areas of emphasis for alliance activities, ISRI says.

“These hazards can result in serious injuries and death for workers in the scrap recycling industry,” says Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “We are pleased to partner with ISRI in developing effective tools to control or eliminate safety and health hazards in this industry.”

ISRI says it anticipates that alliance activities will focus in the following three areas:

• raising Awareness of OSHA’s rulemaking and enforcement initiatives;
• training and education, including improving existing resources to promote greater use and improved safety outcomes, as well as the development and dissemination of new tools, in different languages as appropriate; and
• communications and outreach.

As part of the alliance, ISRI and OSHA will collaborate on events such as ISRI Safety and Environmental Council (ISEC) meetings, ISRI’s Safety Stand-Down Day and ISRI’s annual convention to provide compliance assistance for attendees and to promote and distribute OSHA, ISRI and other available safety resources. Both sides also will include information within current publications regarding cooperative programs in which ISRI members could benefit, the association says. In addition, ISRI will help OSHA in promoting initiatives such as its Fall Prevention Stand-Down Day, the use of workplace safety and health management systems and Heat Illness Prevention Campaign.

ISRI says it will encourage its members to take advantage of the additional resources and training this alliance with OSHA provides, adding that they can do so at no additional cost nor added requirements.