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Greetings!
The New Year brings with it new rules and resources for the automotive repair industry in regard to environmental and safety issues.
CCAR works diligently to keep you up-to-date on all this information, whether here in our e-newsletter, on the pages of the CCAR-GreenLink web site, or in the courses that make up the S/P2 e-learning program.
Of course, keeping track of the "new" isn't just a January activity for CCAR, but a year-round pursuit. We always welcome your comments and suggestions.
Regards,
ROBERT G. STEWART
CCAR President
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 Final EPA "Paint Rule"
is Published in Federal Register
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published the final version of its new automobile refinish regulation in the January 9, 2008, Federal Register. The new rule includes emissions standards for auto body refinish operations, along with other area sources of hazardous air pollutants.
Click here for a fact sheet on the new rule.
Click here to see the complete document as published in the Federal Register. |
 OSHA Announces Final Rule on Employer-Paid Personal Protective Equipment
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a final rule on employer-paid personal protective equipment (PPE). Under the rule, all PPE, with a few exceptions, will be provided at no cost to the employee. OSHA anticipates that this rule will have substantial safety benefits that will result in more than 21,000 fewer occupational injuries per year. The rule was published in the Federal Register on November 15, 2007.
"Employees exposed to safety and health hazards may need to wear personal protective equipment to be protected from injury, illness and death caused by exposure to those hazards," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "This final rule will clarify who is responsible for paying for PPE, which OSHA anticipates will lead to greater compliance and potential avoidance of thousands of workplace injuries each year."
The final rule contains a few exceptions for ordinary safety-toed footwear, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, logging boots, and ordinary clothing and weather-related gear. The final rule also clarifies OSHA's requirements regarding payment for employee-owned PPE and replacement PPE. While these clarifications have added several paragraphs to the regulatory text, the final rule provides employees no less protection than they would have received under the 1999 proposed standard.
The rule also provides an enforcement deadline of six months from the date of publication to allow employers time to change their existing PPE payment policies to accommodate the final rule.
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 the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov. |
 EPA Introduces New Checklist of
Best Practices for Auto Refinish Shops and Schools
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) Program has introduced a new tool for the auto refinish industry. The "Self-Evaluation Checklist of Best Practices for Auto Refinish Shops and Schools" is intended to help collision repair businesses and career/technical schools evaluate current practices and technologies and identify areas where improvements can be made to protect workers and students from exposure to isocyanates and other hazardous air pollutants during refinish operations.
"The checklist should be popular since the publication complements the new EPA regulation for auto body/auto refinish operations that includes several DfE recommended best practices," said Mary Cushmac, Senior Project Manager for DfE. "The checklist goes 'beyond compliance' but should be very helpful to shops and businesses that would like to identify ways to reduce worker (and student) exposures to toxic chemicals during auto refinishing operations."
DfE publications and links are featured in the "Virtual Auto Body Shops" on the CCAR-GreenLink web site.
The DfE Program has been working with the automotive refinishing industry since 1997 to increase awareness of the health and environmental concerns associated with refinishing activities and to identify and promote safer, cleaner, and more efficient practices and technologies. Visit the DfE web site to learn more.
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Tire Safety - First-Hand!
by Jay Blake, Follow A Dream, Marston Mills, Massachusetts
Tires, tires, tires; they're everywhere and on everything. Technicians work with them and around them all day every day - and very rarely think much about them. Working around tires requires attention and respect.It is imperative to follow safety precautions on both the tires and the manuals.
Please allow me to introduce myself and convey my story.My name is Jay Blake.May 22, 1997 was like any other Thursday. I woke up, got out of bed, drove to work, and began my workday as a head mechanic for a transportation company. At 5:30 p.m., something happened that would change my life forever. A tire and wheel assembly exploded, sending the metal wheel into my face. I was med-flighted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where surgeons worked for 10 hours to reconstruct my face. Because I was left completely blind, I eventually had two prosthetic eyes implanted. My world had changed in an instant: the way I viewed it; the way I interpreted it; the way I was to live it from that point forward.
Refusing to give up on life, I aggressively participated in rehabilitation. After being released from the hospital, I enrolled in an intensive program at The Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts. With renewed determination, I began to follow my dream: owning a professional auto-racing team. I soon learned that even without sight, I was still able to do what I loved most - working on racing engines. Turning my dream into a reality, I combined my renewed participation in drag racing with my desire to spread my true-life success by inspiring others to accomplish their goals.
Established in 1999, Follow A Dream is a non-profit organization with the mission of demonstrating how the power of positive thinking, self-determination, and teamwork can overcome adversity. The organization's message is uniquely delivered through NHRA drag racing as its medium. As racing's only totally-blind race crew chief, I draw upon my personal experience of overcoming adversity and achieving my dream of auto racing, and sharing my inspiration with others.
Safety is always first. Accidents are just that, accidents. They can not be undone, no amount of hindsight can change what happened to me, but I'm counting on your intelligence to learn from my story and to think safety above all else. Read more about Follow A Dream
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 S/P2 Monthly Meeting Topic:
Tire Safety
by Rodney K. Enlow, CCAR Director of Industry Relations
Tires! How could we
function without them? They are the rubber "donuts" that we simply
take for granted on every piece of rolling stock we own, from family sedans to
off-road ATVs, and they serve us well until something comes along and brings
our wheeled wonders to a halt.
When our tires require
attention or repair, they are usually dismounted from the wheel assembly using
pneumatically-powered, efficient tire changers. It is very easy to become
complacent around this equipment, and that is when injury or even death can
occur.
Tires are inflated
after repair to reseat the bead of the tire against the inside
"stepped" area of the wheel. The wheel is usually made of
stamped and welded mild steel or a cast aluminum alloy. Most wheels are made up
of the outer ring and the inner "spoke and hub". Most tire
accidents occur during the inflation cycle, and over-inflation can cause the
tire to explode or the wheel to come apart in a catastrophic event. Heavy-duty
tires and wheels - such as are found on semi-trailers, RVs and big rigs - are
even more dangerous due to the higher pressures used in the tires.
For these reasons,
safety glasses, gloves and due care and caution should be exercised around tire
inflation procedures. Never stand directly in front of a tire being inflated
but instead stand or kneel just to the side of the tire/wheel assembly so that
in the event of a tire/wheel failure, the "shrapnel" will not hit
you.
Underinflated
tires are also a serious concern as they can cause poor handling and bad fuel
mileage. But most importantly, an underinflated tire can badly overheat,
causing "devulcanization", a destructive process whereby the tire
gets so hot that the layers of fabric, cord, steel and rubber simply come apart
with disastrous outcome. The resultant "blowout" can cause complete
loss of steering control or even a vehicle roll over. Proper inflation
pressures are the best way to avoid this problem from ever happening.
With common sense
and proper protective equipment while servicing vehicle tire/wheel assemblies,
technicians should be able to safely attend to their customer's tire needs.
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State Spotlight:
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) was created on October 23, 1972, with the goal of "protecting the environment and public health by ensuring compliance with environmental laws."
OEPA updated its "Environmental Compliance Guide for Auto Repair Shops" in March 2007 to educate facilities about their environmental responsibilities, in addition to summarizing some of the major environmental requirements that could apply to your auto repair shop in Ohio.
For more information available from OEPA for the auto industry click on the links below:
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EPA Reworks Laws & Regulations Page
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added new features to one of its most popular web site on the Laws and Regulations page. The site - titled "Laws, Regulations, Guidance and Dockets" - is one to which individuals and businesses are often referred, including when comments are regulations are sought.
The site has been enhanced with easily-accessible ways to search and comment on EPA regulations and significant guidance documents, and to learn how environmental regulations are written. New sections for finding regulations and related documents are also included, along with regulatory history, statutory authority, supporting analyses, compliance information, and guidance for implementation. Searches for regulatory information can be also be conducted now by environmental topics (water, air, etc.) or by business sector.
The new site is also easily accessible from the EPA's home page by choosing "Laws, Regulations, Guidance & Dockets" from the left-hand navigation bar.
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