The Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair (CCAR) has announced recognition for three facilities in November as GreenLink Shops.

 

The GreenLink Shop status, an extension of CCAR's CCAR-GreenLink Environmental Compliance Assistance Center and S/P2 Safety and Pollution Prevention E-learning Program, is designed to promote consumer confidence in local automotive repair facilities' environmental/safety awareness and stewardship.

 

The new GreenLink Shops are:

• Duston & Roberts Collision Center, Inc., Ocoee, Fla.
• Penske Toyota Collision Center, Downey, Calif.
• Precision Collision, Lynn Haven, Fla.

Repair facilities seeking the GreenLink Shop recognition must maintain high standards of excellence in environmental, health and safety (EHS) practices in four categories: business operations, employee training, safety compliance and environmental management. The CCAR initiative recognizes both auto service facilities and collision repair shops, with separate criteria established for each type of business.

 

For more information on the CCAR GreenLink Shopprogram, go to www.ccar-greenlink.org/gls or call toll-free to1-888-476-5465.

Is it mandatory to have ventilation in the paint mixing room of an autobody shop?

Thanks to Kevin Sikora of ERG for helping get the answer:

Yes, there is an OSHA regulation that requires ventilation in the mixing room. Specifically, OSHA's standard on Flammable and Combustible Liquids (29 CFR 1910.106) requires at paragraph (d)(4)(iv) that:

"Every inside storage room shall be provided with either a gravity or a mechanical exhaust ventilation system. Such system shall be designed to provide for a complete change of air within the room at least six times per hour. If a mechanical exhaust system is used, it shall be controlled by a switch located outside of the door. The ventilating equipment and any lighting fixtures shall be operated by the same switch. A pilot light shall be installed adjacent to the switch if Class I flammable liquids are dispensed within the room. Where gravity ventilation is provided, the fresh air intake, as well as the exhaust outlet from the room, shall be on the exterior of the building in which the room is located."

This standard is specifically intended to control fire and explosion hazards but also helps to address worker issues as well.

from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Distracted driving is a danger under any circumstances. Drivers are a risk to themselves and others when they take their eyes off the road, their hands off the wheel, or their mind off what they are doing. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 5,500 Americans were killed (16 percent of all traffic crash fatalities) and 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that reportedly involved distracted driving. When someone is behind the wheel while on the job, distracted driving becomes an occupational hazard.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related death. While it is not known with certainty how many of those incidents involve distracted driving, there is no reason to think that the role of distracted driving in fatal work-related crashes is any less than in fatal crashes in the general population.

Mobile workers routinely communicate with offices and dispatchers through cell phone calls and text messaging. The work environment may impose additional risks through in-vehicle telematics: systems that provide information on clients, schedules, and inventory. The desire to increase productivity and efficiency, as well as pressures created by tight schedules and unforeseen delays, can provide incentives for workers to make calls, send text messages, or access in-vehicle information systems while driving.

"While the basic distractions of cell phone calls or text messaging are similar whether one is driving on work time or on personal time, there are sources of distraction and incentives to engage in distracted driving behaviors that are unique to the workplace," noted John Howard, M.D., Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). "Someone driving on personal time has the leisure of waiting to return a friend's call or text message. In these situations, minimizing risk is a matter of changing personal behavior and habits," Dr. Howard said. "Workers, however, may be required or pressured by job demands to engage in distracted driving behaviors. Strong employer policies to curb the use of cell phones and in-vehicle technologies while driving are an important tool in creating a safe driving culture within an organization."

Dr. Howard added, "NIOSH applauds the efforts of the Departments of Transportation and Labor to highlight the important role public and private employers can play in reducing distracted driving. We join them in urging employers to set policies to prohibit text messaging while driving. In addition,
NIOSH will continue to work with our federal and other partners to support further efforts to reduce distracted driving in the workplace."

NIOSH resources for reducing risks of distracted driving and other factors associated with work-related motor vehicle injury and death include:

"Work-Related Roadway Crashes: Prevention Strategies for Employers"
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-136/default.html

"Work-related Roadway Crashes: Older Drivers in the Workplace"
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2005-159/

NIOSH Topic Page: Motor Vehicle Safety
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/motorvehicle/

Source of statistics:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [2010]. Distracted driving 2009
(Publication No. DOT HS 811379)
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811379.pdf

Used Oil and Absorbents: Starting January 1, 2011, oil absorbents and used oil filters will be banned from landfills in Wisconsin. The 2009 Wisconsin Act 86 was signed into law on December 1, 2009.

Read more...

Vehicle Maintenance and Auto-Body Repair Self Assessment: This self assessment checklist - developed by the UW-Extension's Solid & Hazardous Waste Education Center (SHWEC) - can help improve the environmental management of these businesses. The checklist can be used to see how you are doing with regulatory compliance, waste reduction, recycling and to start an environmental management system (EMS).

The checklist is designed primarily for small businesses with the typical air emissions associated with this industry, minimal waste water/storm water issues and for small and very small quantity generators of hazardous wastes. Larger shops may have significant additional regulatory requirements. The checklist focuses on three main common areas of environmental regulation.