AMA Wants ICD-10 Deferred by Two Years, Texas Docs Want ICD-10 Junked

Nope, make it a two-year delay "at a minimum"—so urged the American Medical Association (AMA) the federal government on its plan to move the compliance date of ICD-10 by one year, to Oct. 1, 2013.

The urging came hot on the heels of the statement of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) in a letter sent to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) secretary Kathleen Sebelius, saying HHS’s proposed one-year deferment of the ICD-10 compliance date was the perfect “middle ground.” The transition to the new coding system of ICD-10 impacts medical facilities and practices, even providers of medical coding online training and medical coding online courses, in a number of ways. One of them is the potential for healthcare delivery to be considerably improved, but there are many doubters.

"A two-year delay of the compliance deadline for ICD-10 is a necessary first step," AMA officials said in a May 10 letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) acting administrator, Marilyn B. Tavenner. Significantly, AMA proposed in its letter that CMS put into play a process involving all stakeholders (including doctors, regulators, healthcare information technology professionals, medical coders, and administrators) to arrive at an alternative code set that is more appropriate and easier to implement than ICD-10. If no alternative is found, AMA wants ICD-10 postponed indefinitely.

AMA contended that doctors will fail to cope with the comprehensive financial and administrative burdens of a transition to ICD-10 even as they contend with “a number of inadequately aligned” federal programs and a proposed 31-percent Medicare reimbursement cut tentatively set for Jan. 1, 2013.

The Texas Medical Association, meanwhile, has joined AMA in calling on the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for an alternative to ICD-10—or for its scrapping altogether. Its contention is based on its central fear that the new diagnostic code set "will introduce great cost ... without a corresponding benefit."

The Texas group, for instance, has proposed that HHS either hold off until ICD-11 is ready (under development and will not be completed till 2015) or adopt a ready alternative, such as the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms, or Snomed CT, clinical coding system.

Like AMA, the group requested the HHS to push the compliance deadline by "a period of greater than one year" if it is to implement ICD-10 at all.

"The United States did not adopt the ICD-10 coding system 20 years ago when the standard was state-of-the-art," pointed out Dr. C. Bruce Malone, the Texas Medical Association president. "Now, it's nearing obsolescence."

Malone also said, HHS "should recognize that the costs of going to ICD-11 directly are less than incurring the remaining costs of implementing ICD-10 in 2014 and then implementing ICD-11 sometime soon thereafter."

Meditec.com, like other providers of online medical coding training—as well as medical transcription training and medical office assistant training—provides the medical coding community the training it needs to transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. 

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OSHA Cites Cleveland Contractor for Parking Garage Collapse, Cites Cabinetry Company for Serious Violations

Despite OSHA training such as OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30 training now being required by contractors, many workers are still exposed to unnecessary worksite hazards because of employer negligence, ignorance, or plain disregard of basic safety protocols. Such was the case of some workers in Cleveland, Ohio and in St. Hedwig, Texas.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that Cleveland Cement Contractors Inc. had committed six serious safety violations, including noncompliance with design and construction standards, after the worksite-safety watchdog’s investigation of the partial collapse of a second-floor parking garage during concrete-placement operation in December last year. The collapse, fortunately, only caused sprains and strains in several workers. OSHA has proposed fines totaling $38,000.

Cleveland Cement Contractors Inc. specializes in parking garages and other cast-in-place concrete structures.

"Contractors are responsible for knowing and following recognized construction standards, and ensuring that all proper precautions are taken on job sites to prevent workers from being injured," pointed out Howard Ebertsthe, the OSHA area director in Cleveland. "OSHA is committed to protecting workers on the job."

Among the violations that OSHA found were: failure to properly design, construct, and maintain concrete forming and shoring; failure to prevent eccentric loading of shoring stringers; failure to secure shoring stringers to shoring heads; failure to sufficiently inspect forming and shoring before and through concrete placement; failure to guard all protruding reinforcing steel; and failure to ensure that workers use face protection while operating a pneumatic hose.

Meanwhile OSHA has proposed penalties totaling $45,000 for Zamco Inc., a cabinetry company in St. Hedwig, Texas, for 14 safety and health violations involving electrical, respiratory, and other work hazards. OSHA's San Antonio Area office sent in an inspection team this February as part of the agency's Site-Specific Targeting Program for enterprises deemed prone to have high injury and illness rates.

"This is not the first time that this employer has jeopardized the safety of its workers by exposing them to preventable hazards," lamented Jeff Funke, OSHA's area director in San Antonio. "It is the employer's responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace."

OSHA reported that Zamco committed a number of serious violations, including: failure to properly protect electrical wiring in the spray booth area; failure to provide machine guarding around equipment, for instance, an automated clamp carrier; failure to carry out an effective respiratory protection program; failure to give lockout/tagout procedures for power sources and to train workers on those procedures; and failure to make sure that work areas are free from saw-dust accumulation, which is combustible.

In addition, OSHA discovered a repeat violation: Zamco’s failure to ensure that the disconnect panel boxes are accessible. The company was cited for a similar violation in 2010.

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Legislating Against Carcinogenic Indoor Tanning

Hold that tan!

Amidst recent findings by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of the health hazards of tanning and the public backlash from the child-endangerment case of a New Jersey mother who allegedly took her 5-year-old daughter to a tanning booth, indoor tanning has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

According to the CDC, the incidence rates of melanoma (a particularly dangerous form of malignant skin tumor) are rising and are particularly high among young white women. The CDC has warned the public that indoor tanning before age 35 causes the risk for melanoma to spike by an alarming 75 percent, a figure first arrived at by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009. In the same year, WHO determined that indoor tanning beds are carcinogenic (cancer-causing).

Professional cosmetologists—such as those who have, for instance, a cosmetology license—are apprised of the health issues associated with certain substances, tools, and procedures, including tanning, in cosmetology class. Unfortunately, tanning warnings are being ignored and legislation might be necessary to ensure compliance.

The health risks notwithstanding, tanning salons are very popular in the United States. Based on data from IBISWorld, an industry research organization, nearly 22,000 tanning salons now serve an estimated 28 million customers.
Minors are especially vulnerable to the dangers of indoor tanning, a fact that fueled the public indignation over the tanning case involving the mother and her young child.

According to Dr. Kara Shah, the medical director for the Division of Pediatric Dermatology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, tanning beds produce UVA and UVB rays that can easily affect any exposed skin and mucous membranes, including the eyes. In fact, some tanning beds deliver 10 to 15 times more intense UV rays than the sun does between its peak hours, said Dr. Melissa King, a pediatrician at Dayton Children’s Medical Center.

Legislation has now been introduced in Ohio that would prohibit minors who are below age 18 and who lack a doctor’s prescription from using a tanning bed.
Indoor tanning among minors has raised legal concerns, too.

At present, said Aim at Melanoma, a cancer research nonprofit organization, there are 33 states with tanning restrictions for minors. Ohio and Pennsylvania are already considering introducing legislation that bars minors below 18 years old from using tanning booths.

The restrictions are a problem for many salons, considering that for some the 18-and-below group constitutes a big percentage of their clientele. Lisa Ferguson, an Ohio salon owner, said about 40 percent of her clients are below 18.
Some salons, however, are jumping the gun to be on the safe side.

Jes Bruen, a Pennsylvania tanning-and-nail salon owner, said in an interview for republicanherald.com: "Here at Sun Seekers, if they're under 18, we personally have a parent sign to get permission. They won’t be able to tan if we don't have that permission slip."

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CHIME, AHIMA Clash on ICD-10 Compliance Delay

Since the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) officially proposed a one-year push-back of the compliance date of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), various stakeholders have filed their comments at the invitation of the HHS. Among the most significant opinions lodged had come from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

CHIME, in a letter sent to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) secretary Kathleen Sebelius, reiterated its support of HHS’s proposed one-year delay of the ICD-10 compliance date, calling it an appropriate “middle ground” for all stakeholders.

In the letter, CHIME president and CEO Richard Correll and board chairman Drex DeFord also advocated a "consistent compliance date across the provider community," explaining that separating the two would be a "serious mistake" and that "all segments of the provider community need to be in lockstep."

For many medical facilities and practices, as well as for providers of medical coding online training and medical coding online courses like Meditec.com, the proposed one-year delay in the implementation of ICD-10 gives additional time to transition to the new code set. Correll and DeFord advised that any call for skipping ICD-10 in favor of ICD-11 should be dismissed. "While the maturity of ICD-11 may hold great benefits in the future, we believe such claims are speculative, at best, because so much is yet to be developed."  AHIMA, which is against the proposed one-year delay, in its own letter to Sebelius said that the delay should not be extended, arguing that the healthcare industry has been aware for 15 years that ICD-10 needed to replace ICD-9 eventually. Delaying any longer, it said, would only result in deterioration of health data.

"The industry has had three years to prepare for the transition since the publication of the final rule ... yet significant numbers of healthcare entities have not made adequate progress," the AHINA letter contended. "Therefore, it does not seem as though provision of more time, by itself, is likely to be sufficient to ensure those lagging in ... preparation are ready by a new compliance date."

AHIMA, meanwhile, is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and HHS to avoid further delaying the ICD-10 compliance because of the possible damage it would have on health-information integrity.

AHIMA contended in its letter to HHS that U.S. health data will continue to deteriorate in the midst of an increasing number of data-dependent healthcare initiatives. AHIMA said the value of these initiatives will be degraded if the data is coded in an “antiquated code set” like ICD-9, the current system in use.

AHIMA also said “the success of meaningful use will not be achieved until ICD-10-CM/PCS is an integral part of the advancement in EHRs and exchange.”

Supporters of AHIMA’s position maintain that the American healthcare industry will come into difficulties helping patients efficiently if they are not on the same page as far as ICD-10 implementation is concerned.  Said AHIMA: “HHS has the leadership position to assist the industry in this full conversion, and must take the lead, along with the healthcare industry, in ensuring a coordinated transformation that recognizes the cost of conversion if all segments of the industry are not moving forward in a coordinated fashion.”

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Tanning Warnings Being Ignored, but Some Salons Joining Cancer-Awareness Campaign

Warnings that indoor tanning significantly elevates the risk of skin cancer—particularly, melanoma—are being ignored, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recently released the findings of a survey on the use of tanning beds, booths or sun lamps.

Professional cosmetologists—such as those who have, for instance, a Kentucky Cosme CE—are apprised of the health issues associated with certain substances, tools, and procedures, including tanning, in cosmetology class. Unfortunately, tanning warnings are being ignored.

The survey found that among young (ages 18 to 21) white women, some 32 percent said they had tanned indoors in the previous year. The figure is much higher than the national average for adults of all ages of 6 percent. The survey also said women in their 20s reported tanning indoors at least 20 times in the previous year, on average.

In a landmark decision in 2009, the World Health Organization classified tanning devices as carcinogenic in the strength of studies that found a 75-percent increase in the risk of melanoma in people who began indoor tanning before they were 30.

"It's not a question of whether tanning beds cause cancer anymore. We've been able to prove that," emphasized Dr. Jerry Brewer, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist and researcher, in an Associated Press interview.

Indoor tanning became popular about 30 years ago. Today, close to 22,000 tanning salons across the country cater to 28 million customers, according to industry research firm IBISWorld. Meanwhile, this Mother’s Day, beauty salons in some parts of the U.S. are joining the fight to stamp out breast cancer.

In the Chicago area, for instance, a "Mammograms for Mother's Day" initiative will have nurses from Loyola University Medical Center and Loretto Hospital joining Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford and the senator’s 4th District Gentlemen's Committee visit 16 beauty salons. Two teams will drop by beauty salons in Austin, Bellwood, Berwyn, Broadview, Forest Park, Oak Park, Westchester and other communities in Lightford's 4th District.

Nurse educators and some members of the 4th District Gentlemen's Committee will talk on the importance of regular breast exams and mammograms to cancer detection and prevention and will distribute educational materials to promote breast-cancer awareness among salon workers in hopes that they will help spread the word to their clients.

A study appearing in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved reported that hair salons "are a potentially important venue for promotion of health behaviors related to breast cancer detection."

"Beauty salons are great places to get the word out about breast-cancer prevention and the critical need for early detection," stressed Sen. Lightford, adding that in helping propagate messages that can save lives, men (referring to 4th District Gentlemen's Committee) are "showing their love and concern for the women of our community."

In return, according to Sen. Lightford’s office, on the day before Father's Day, women from the 4th District will visit barbershops to talk on and promote prostate-cancer screenings and early detection. Loretto and Loyola nurses will likewise accompany the visiting team.

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Chlorine Downs Restaurant Workers in W.Va., Workers Overexposed to Lead in Ohio Plant

Nine workers were sickened recently after being exposed to chlorine gas, which resulted from the inadvertent mixture of certain chemicals in a restaurant in South Charleston, W.Va. The workers had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

Although OSHA training qualifications such as OSHACampus.com 10 training and OSHA 30 training now required for employment in many places, a lot of workers are still exposed to unnecessary worksite hazards because of employer negligence, ignorance, or simple disregard of basic safety protocols. The federal government’s worksite-safety watchdog Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited IHOP Restaurants for five alleged serious safety and health violations with proposed penalties totaling $25,000.

The OSHA investigation revealed that the restaurant failed to carry out the so-called personal-protective-equipment hazard assessment, failed to develop and implement a hazard-communication program, and failed to provide mandated training, eye protection, eye-wash facilities, and material safety data sheets for chemicals used in the restaurant.

"Because chemicals have the ability to react when exposed to other chemicals or certain physical conditions, it is vital that employers take the appropriate steps to protect workers from all related hazards," stressed Prentice Cline, director of the OSHA Charleston Area office.

OSHA has revised its Hazard Communication Standard to accord with the United Nations' global chemical labeling system and to prevent dangerous incidents, such as the one in South Charleston. Once in place, it is expected that the new standard will prevent an estimated 43 deaths and result in some $475.2 million in enhanced productivity for U.S. businesses annually. Meanwhile, OSHA has found Johnson Controls Battery Group Inc. to have committed 11 health violations, including one willful and two repeat infractions, after its inspection of the company’s battery plant in Holland, Ohio. OSHA has proposed a total penalty of $188,600.

"Johnson Controls Battery Group has a responsibility to protect the health of its employees by assuring they operate in a manner to eliminate or minimize lead hazards and other hazardous substances used in the work environment," emphasized Denise Keller, assistant area director of the OSHA Toledo Area office. "Employers who are cited for repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to employee safety and health."

Following a complaint, OSHA inspectors verified that workers were overexposed to lead, a toxic metal known to cause neurological damage and to elevate cancer risk if ingested in sufficient amounts, at the company's Holland plant. OSHA determined that the absence of engineering controls and poor housekeeping practices lead to the overexposure.  The investigation found that workers instead of being required to vacuum lead particles were allowed to sweep them with brooms and brushes, a method that increased lead exposure. The infraction constituted a willful violation.

The other violations included lack of adequate personal protective equipment, improperly worn respirators, lead-contaminated work boots stored in locker rooms, and failure to ensure that workers washed their hands before meals to rid them of contaminants.

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Computer-Assisted Coding Tools Make ICD-10 Easier

Facing an avalanche of new diagnostic codes in the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10, the medical-coding community is increasingly looking to computer-assisted coding (CAC) tools to automatically generate medical codes for billing from clinical documentation in EHRs and transcription systems.

For medical facilities and practices, as well as for providers of online medical coding training courses, the delay in the implementation of ICD-10 gives additional time to transition to the new code set and to acquire tools such as CACs. Research firm KLAS reported recently that almost 50 percent of healthcare providers surveyed anticipated buying an inpatient CAC product in the next two years.

The current interest in CAC largely stems from worries over ICD-10 impacting staff productivity and efficiency. The transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 equals a daunting leap from 13,000 to 68,000 diagnostic code, and from 11,000 to 87,000 inpatient procedure codes. The new codes enable coders to describe diagnoses in greater clinical detail and cover modern medical treatments and technologies, which is not possible with ICD-9’s limited and outmoded code set.

CAC tools allow medical professionals to easily review and quickly find codes and complicated code-related processes involved with billing and financial systems. The tools accommodate both structured text and unstructured text from EHRs, and if need be employs natural language processing with transcription systems to assemble the codes for billing and reporting purposes.

CAC significantly shortens and simplifies the process of assigning codes, said Graham Triggs, a senior research manager at KLAS.  Another tool addresses the financial and operational impacts of transitioning to ICD-10.

Jvion, a consultancy specializing in healthcare compliance technologies and services, has developed and recently launched a tool called RevCorea to enable administrators to better understand and deal with the revenue impacts of ICD-10.

Shantanu Nigam, the Jvion CEO, explained in a statement that RevCore, his company’s latest ICD-10-centric solution, takes advantage of Jvions’ existing icdcomplete software suite to extract ICD-10’s exact percentage impact on revenues. “The solution helps us quickly identify the highest risk DRG, MDC, and procedure codes. So, organizations can continue to give equal attention to every aspect within their testing, training, documentation, and IT efforts; or, they can choose to prioritize their attention on specific areas within these activities that pose the highest risk to their revenues. With RevCore, providers can focus their efforts to mitigate their financial risk with fewer resources and in a shorter timeline."

Jvion said that RevCore has already been successfully used in inpatient and outpatient settings. Besides insights into revenue impacts, the solution also provides a predictive modeler that identifies steps that can be taken while using ICD-9 to maximize existing revenues and, at the same time, address ICD-10 risks. Significantly, Shantanu claimed that RevCore can analyze 1,224 months of historical claims data in just a few weeks and can produce a full financial assessment in about 30 days.

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OSHA Penalizes N.E. Company for Facility Fire, and S.D. Company for Worker Death

OSHA has levied a total proposed penalty of $147,000 on New England Wood Pellet LLC for workplace violations that endangered the safety and lives of its workers, following a fire at its plant last year.

Although OSHACampus 10 hr training and OSHACampus 30 hr training (both online training) are now pre-employment requirements, many workers are still exposed to unnecessary worksite hazards because of employer negligence, ignorance, or plain disregard of applicable safety protocols.

An investigation by OSHA discovered many fire and explosion hazards caused by missing protective devices in the transport system, the dust-collection duct, and the conveyor systems that could have prevented fires, embers, and sparks from propagating across the system. OSHA also noted the accumulation of combustible wood dust throughout the plant, as well as the use of unsafe equipment to vacuum combustible dust.

"While it is fortunate that no one was killed in this conflagration, there is no excuse for the employer's failure to effectively minimize and address clearly recognized hazards that could kill or disable workers in a catastrophic incident," stressed Rosemarie Ohar, the OSHA area director for New Hampshire.

OSHA consequently issued two repeat citations against Wood Pellet LLC with $140,000 in fines for its failure to maintain a workplace without fire and explosion hazards, and for using unapproved electrical equipments to vacuum combustible dust. In addition, a serious citation carrying a $7,000 fine was also issued for the company in allowing the accumulation of combustible dust on equipment and surfaces all over its facility. Meanwhile, following an accident in November last year that resulted in a worker’s death, OSHA filed three citations against Adams Thermal Systems Inc., an engine-cooling-systems manufacturing facility in Canton, S.D., for willful safety violations that gravely compromised the safety of some of its workers.

"Despite having full awareness of the hazardous conditions and potential for employees to be injured by machinery used in the workplace, the employer failed to take suitable action to ensure employee safety," lamented Tom Deutscher, the OSHA area director in Bismarck, N.D. "OSHA is committed to protecting workers on the job, especially when employers fail to do so."

According to OSHA, the company failed to do the following: develop energy-control procedures, provide machine guarding, and effectively educate employees to recognize hazardous energy and to exercise adequate safety precautions. The violations were considered willful, compelling OSHA to place Adams Thermal Systems in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which requires targeted follow-up inspections to ensure the violator is complying with the law. OSHA revealed that Adams Thermal Systems had been inspected four times previously by OSHA due to violations resulting in severe injuries, including an accidental amputation of fingers, of employees in separate incidents.

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U.S. Legislation on Cosmetic Safety Introduced, EU Proposals for Salon Workers Met with Incredulity

An important step has been made toward a modern, more transparent regulatory oversight of cosmetics and personal-care products with the Cosmetic Safety Amendments Act of 2012 (H.R. 4395) introduced in Congress by Representative Leonard Lance. “Everyone agrees that we need to update the regulation of personal-care products,” noted Representative Lance. “This bill will continue to advance consumer safety and provide a regulatory framework that furthers growth and innovation for American cosmetics manufacturers and small businesses.”

The development, close on the heels of news of toxic chemicals in beauty products, validates the safety training that professional cosmetologists such as those who have a CosmetologyCampus KY Cosmetology CE or a CosmetologyCampus WI Cosmetology CE, for instance, receive before they can get their licenses.

The legislation endeavors to develop means for the FDA to review all results arrived at by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel, set safety levels for impurities or toxins, review basic ingredients for safety, establish national uniformity for cosmetics regulations, and institutionalize industry-wide good manufacturing practices. Significantly, the new legislation makes the voluntary registration program for facilities and products, and the reporting of unexpected adverse events mandatory. The cosmetics industry believes that H.R. 4395 is more realistic and fair in its approach than previously introduced legislation.

“The Cosmetics Safety Amendments Act of 2012 provides the needed improvements to the current laws regarding cosmetics and personal care products, without placing an undue burden on business or compromising safety,” declared Professional Beauty Association’s (PBA’s) director of government affairs, Myra Irizarry. “Consumers, manufacturers, distributors and government can in fact work together and PBA, along with our industry partners, are supportive of H.R. 4395.”

Allying with PBA in support of H.R. 4395 are Direct Selling Association (DSA), Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMAD), the International Fragrance Association North America (IFRA), and Personal Care Products Council (PCPC). The impact on professional practitioners of H.R. 4395 now pending in the U.S. Congress pales in comparison to European Union proposals that would have hairdressers gloved up to their elbows and banned from wearing high heels.

Charlie Taylor, one of United Kingdom’s top hairdressers and operator of four successful salons in the East of Scotland declared that “These proposals are utterly unbelievable!”

“I honestly cannot understand why a bunch of bureaucrats sitting in Brussels think it’s appropriate to dictate the footwear and jewellery choices of hairdressing professionals, whose very business is about style and fashion. What next? No high heels for models on catwalks? They need their heads examined!”

Among the proposals being considered for hairdressers include flat nonslip shoes, elbow-length rubber gloves, accouterment-less wardrobe at work, “suitable” clothing, and periodic chat breaks with fellow hairdressers to prevent “emotional collapse.” The proposals have been received by salon professionals like Taylor with incredulity. “These proposed rules have little or no bearing on day-to-day reality,” protested Taylor. “Health and safety [are] important in any industry, but so is common sense and it’s about high time some of these bureaucrats employed some – before they put thousands of jobs and livelihoods at risk.”

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Ordinance to License Salons in Brookfield, Connecticut; Phthalates Found in Cosmetics

Health officials in Brookfield, Connecticut have stirred up some controversy in their cosmetology community with a proposal to license all beauty-care establishments (hair, nail, massage, and other salons) to ensure compliance with health and safety protocols.

On May 2, the town officials will conduct a public hearing to take the business pulse of salon owners—as well as the views of local salon clients—regarding the impact of local regulation. The officials clarified that though these businesses have no state oversight, they have a significant impact on the health and safety of residents—a familiar, continuing theme for professional cosmetologists, such as those who have, say, a Kentucky Cosmetology CE or a Wisconsin Cosmetology CE.

Although the state Department of Health licenses individual practitioners, the agency neither inspects nor licenses the salons themselves. The proposed ordinance would require all local salons to be licensed and inspected each year.

"This is for the public good of Brookfield. That's the sole reason for it,'' stated town official Bill Davidson. The proposed salon ordinance has been sought for years by the Brookfield health director Ray Sullivan, a legislation that has long been a part of the cosmetology communities of other towns across the state. If enacted, however, the Brookfield ordinance would be the first of its kind in western Connecticut. Davidson pointed out that the ordinance would require the same, yearly inspections that restaurants go through.

Meanwhile, phthalates have been discovered where they shouldn’t be at all. This class of chemicals not only is hard on the tongue (pronounced th-a-lates) but, it turns out, is hard on the liver and the kidneys as well. And according to a recent study by researchers from Uppsala University, phthalates can jack up the risk of diabetes.

Phthalates are usually found in plastics such as PVCs, mixed in to make the plastics pliable. Now, the Uppsala study has detected phthalates in everyday cosmetics such as face creams, makeup, and perfumes. The Swedish scientists warned that the presence of phthalates significantly ups the risk of type 2 diabetes for users.

In a press release, study author Monica Lind stated that “Although our results need to be confirmed in more studies, they do support the hypothesis that certain environmental chemicals can contribute to the development of diabetes. Anyone is exposed to them in many different ways. People can inhale them if they are used in hairspray or air fresheners and food can also be contaminated because of phthalates in the packaging.”

The study involved 1,000 people aged 65; the researchers noted their ‘fasting’ blood sugar levels. The blood-test results revealed (after factoring out the contributions of smoking, cholesterol level, and blood pressure) that individuals with higher levels of phthalates in their bloodstream were twice more likely to develop diabetes than those with lower levels of the plasticizer.

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Should you consider online environmental training?

You have a lot of options on how you can get the environmental awareness training that you require. You have to take the time to check out all of the different training programs available and you can easily become overwhelmed with all of the options. It will be much easier for you to get the right training, no matter what you need, if you take a step back and look through the programs and see which one best suit your needs. You can consider online courses, which is one of the fastest growing trends in professional career training, if you are looking for a faster and more flexible way to learn.

These classes online are not only effective, but they provide people with the education and resources that they need in so many ways. One factor is that online classes are more affordable. You wouldn’t have to pay extra for the venue or location of the training compared to traditional training programs wherein you have to pay a lot of extra such as use of conference room or computer room. If the employers pay for training, the money savings is even more beneficial because it helps the company out. Also, online classes are accessible. That means that you can take them whenever you want, from wherever you are, and do it on your own time and schedule.

It is a big deal to be able to take environmental training programs that you need without having to change your lifestyle or your schedules. Online programs are very helpful to professional and busy people but there is still so much more to enjoy with these classes. Learners can train at their own pace in most cases as most of the programs are self study courses. People can get the education that they need even if they are a fast or slow learner without compromising or missing any lesson as they can go on their own pace.

There are a lot more advantages and reasons why you should consider online training courses for environmental training and even for other professional continuing education requirements. As long as you aren’t trying to learn practical applications in a non-practical environment, you can get a top-rate education by taking online courses when you need them. There are some instances where people will benefit from the traditional classroom setting, but most people can find a variety of advantages to online classes that they can enjoy. Your reasons for choosing online courses are yours alone, but these are some top things to consider.

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OSHA Cites 2 Contractor Companies for Different Work Safety Violations

OSHA has cited American Building LLC, a steel-erection contractor, for work-safety violations that resulted in the accidental fall and death of one of its workers at a construction site in Stamford, Cincinnati.

The fatal accident happened last Oct. 25, 2011 during the installation of metal roofing onto a prefab building. The victim fell 35 feet to the ground.

OSHA courses, such as OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30 course (both online OSHA training), are now required by many employers; they provide excellent orientation on the essential protocols to follow to steer workers out of harm’s way.

OSHA’s investigation revealed that workers not only were not properly trained to identify and avoid fall dangers but also did not have fall protection. The work-safety watchdog discovered that the victim’s safety harness—as were those of two other workers—was not tied to anchorage points, which would have broken the fall.

"Inadequate and ineffective fall protection can be as dangerous and deadly as no fall protection at all," observed Robert Kowalski, OSHA area director in Bridgeport, Cinn. "This employer was well aware that these workers were exposed to falls but did not take steps to eliminate a significant hazard. A combination of proper fall protection and effective training could have prevented this needless loss of life."

Following the investigation, American Building received one serious violation for the lack of training and one willful violation for the lack of fall protection, with total proposed penalties totaling $51,700.

OSHA has also cited Massachusetts-based American Biltrite Inc. for work-safety and health violations that have resulted in the death of one of its employees. The victim, according to a subsequent OSHA investigation, was crushed in a coating machine while trying to fix a jammed equipment. OSHA pointed to the company’s failure to use "lockout/tagout" procedures before letting the worker work within the machine's danger area as the violation that led to the victim’s death. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $51,300.

The company actually committed several serious violations and one repeat violation. The serious violations included: failure to put in place a lockout/tagout program for the equipment power sources; failure to provide adequate working area around electrical equipment; and failure to ensure that equipment guards were in place to prevent workers from coming into contact with moving parts.

The repeat violation involved allowing Class I flammable liquids to be decanted into containers without electrical continuity between the container and the nozzle, which elevates the risk of ignition. American Biltrite was cited for the same violation in 2010.

"This company continues to compromise the safety of its workers by disregarding OSHA's safety and health standards," lamented Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of the OSHA Marlton Area office. "Employers are responsible for ensuring safe and healthful workplaces, and will be held legally accountable when they fail to do so."

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OSHA Cites American Biltrite for Worker Fatality

OSHA has cited Massachusetts-based American Biltrite Inc. for work-safety and health violations that have resulted in the death of one of its employees. The victim, according to a subsequent OSHA investigation, was crushed in a coating machine while trying to fix a jammed equipment. OSHA pointed to the company’s failure to use "lockout/tagout" procedures before letting the worker work within the machine's danger area as the violation that led to the victim’s death. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $51,300.

Although OSHA 10 hour training and OSHA 30 course (both online OSHA training) are now pre-employment requirements, many workers are still exposed to unnecessary worksite hazards because of employer negligence, ignorance, or plain disregard of applicable safety protocols.

The company actually committed several serious violations and one repeat violation. The serious violations included: failure to put in place a lockout/tagout program for the equipment power sources; failure to provide adequate working area around electrical equipment; and failure to ensure that equipment guards were in place to prevent workers from coming into contact with moving parts.

The repeat violation involved allowing Class I flammable liquids to be decanted into containers without electrical continuity between the container and the nozzle, which elevates the risk of ignition. American Biltrite was cited for the same violation in 2010. 

"This company continues to compromise the safety of its workers by disregarding OSHA's safety and health standards," lamented Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of the OSHA Marlton Area office. "Employers are responsible for ensuring safe and healthful workplaces, and will be held legally accountable when they fail to do so."

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Online Wastewater/Stormwater Training

When you’re looking for stormwater management training or wastewater treatment certification to advance your career, on the job training is the most logical choice. For years, people working in water treatment facilities have relied on job training to help them make advancement moves in their career, and for good reason. This is a very hands-on career that requires an extensive technical knowledge of the industry, and you need to be sure that you’re doing whatever it takes to get your hands dirty and learn the ropes. However, when it comes to professional career training, there are other options that can speed up the training process and help you get the education that you need.

Online training programs have been created in areas like this, and they have proven to be quite successful in most cases. There are a variety of elements in stormwater management training that don’t require a hands-on approach, such as codes, regulations, operational procedures and other rules and things that need to be learned in a mental capacity. Knowing how to run equipment and perform operations is one thing. Understanding the codes and rules behind the principles of operation is another, and is where online training can be beneficial.

In job training experiences, some wastewater treatment and stormwater management training and can take years to complete, simply because of how the programs are laid out. If people take the time to check out online courses that can teach them what they need to know about the rules and knowledge of the career, they can often shorten their job training extensively. Sometimes, the training period can even be completely cut in half, which is quite impressive for something as simple as online training courses. Finding the right classes isn’t difficult, either, because any qualified training program will give you a list of specific courses required for your career and by your state law or regulating authority.

When you want to advance your career with stormwater management training but you don’t want to spend the next year or two doing job training to make a move, you can count on online programs to help you get the education that you need to keep your career moving forward. Make sure that you check out the available programs and determine exactly what you need for your training goals, because all online classes are not the same, and you need to find the best ones available to make the most of your career success.

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