Since propane gas is a colorless, odorless substance, it has an odorant added to it for safety reasons.  The odorant is most often described as having a rotten egg smell.  If you smell gas and are sure all pilot lights are lit, follow these procedures:

1. Extinguish any open flames or cigarettes. 

2. Do not operate any switches, appliances, or thermostats.

3. Evacuate everyone out and away from the building.

4. If there is an outdoor tank, shut off the gas with the valve on the tank.

5. Use a neighbor's phone or one at another location to call for assistance.

6. Stay outside until the leak has been found and fixed.

Keep in mind that there are certain circumstances that could impair your sense of smell such as tobacco smoke, cooking odors, or colds and allergies.  Also, some people have a better sense of smell than others.

 

OSHA Compliance

Final ergonomics rule published

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its final ergonomics standard last week (Nov. 14) in the Federal Register.  The standard is scheduled to take effect Jan. 16, 2001.  Several lawsuits have already been filed by business groups to alter or halt the ergonomics rule, and NPGA is considering legal action on behalf of the propane industry.  Moreover, Congress continues to debate a Labor Department appropriations bill for fiscal year 2001, and some provision extending relief from the ergonomics rule may be included in that bill.

The final rule takes up more than 600 pages in the Federal Register, and NPGA's Washington office is studying it closely in order to provide NPGA members with information about how they will be affected and what they will need to do in order to comply.  OSHA says the standard will affect approximately 6.1 million employers and 102 million employees in "general industry" workplaces.  Annual compliance costs would be $4.5 billion, OSHA says, or about $700 per establishment.  Industry sources have estimated annual costs to be much higher - from $18 billion to as mush as $125.6 billion per year.

Business concerns unresolved

Among other business concerns are the standard's definition of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's) is too broad - the new standard redefines lower back pain as a compensated injury rather than a medical symptom, for example - and that the qualifications are too general for the health care providers that OSHA would allow to diagnose such injuries.

Opponents also worry that the standard provides financial incentives for fraudulent claims or extended recoveries by requiring companies to maintain workers at up to 100 percent of their take-home pay, plus benefits, for 90 days or the length of treatment.  OSHA contends, however, that only two percent of all workers would make fraudulent claims of debilitating pain that could not be medically verified by X-rays or other medical tests.

The final standard does not recognize the lower risk of MSDs in seasonal industries, either, a major point NPGA argued in comments on the proposed rule earlier this year.  On the other hand, workers in agriculture and construction are not covered by the standard, in part, OSHA says, because their jobs are of short duration and are at "non-fixed" workstations or work sites.

Included in the final rule published in the Federal Register is a set of detailed specifications that employers in covered industries must use to determine if employees are performing hazardous tasks.

More information about the OSHA ergonomics standard will be coming from NPGA's Washington office.

As published in the NPGA Fax Report - 11/20/00