Labor Dept. Wants Public Input On Developing General Safety, Health Programs

Jan. 15, 2002
No. 02-01

Regs being developed include ergonomics, indoor air quality, workplace violence

The Alaska Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development is scheduling meetings statewide to solicit public input on regulations being developed for general safety and health programs, including ergonomics, indoor air quality, and workplace violence for Alaska's workplaces.

"We're holding public meetings before we even start the formal rule-making process because one of the areas we hope to address is ergonomics, which generated a lot of controversy at the federal level last year," said Labor Commissioner Ed Flanagan.

"We hope to work cooperatively with Alaska employers, unions, health professionals, and other interested persons to develop an Alaska solution to a problem which costs employers and workers millions of dollars per year in compensation, lost wages, and lost productivity," Flanagan said, "not to mention the toll it takes on workers and their families."

Other areas, which the department plans to address in the regulations, include re-establishing a requirement for written safety and health programs, indoor air quality in workplaces, and workplace violence.

"Our proposed approach to these issues is to require an assessment of workplaces to identify job hazards and risk assessments, and establishing guidelines for dealing with identified hazards," said Labor Standards and Safety Division Director Rich Mastriano.

The department will evaluate and incorporate public input from these meetings into draft regulations, which will be proposed in a formal rule-making process later this year. Further public notice and opportunity for public comment will occur in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act at that time. The proposed regulations can be downloaded or viewed online. 

The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 16, in Anchorage, 5-7 PM at the State Lab Conference Room, 4500 Boniface Parkway.

Subsequent meetings are scheduled for January 23 in Fairbanks, at the Borough Chambers, 809 Pioneer Road from 5-7 PM, and January 31 at Centennial Hall in Juneau from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. A teleconference has been scheduled on Monday, February 4, 2-4 PM for those who cannot attend any of the meetings in person but would like to comment.

For more information about the meetings, or if you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Becky Oliva, Occupational Safety and Health Section, at (907) 269-4939. To participate in the teleconference, contact Becky Oliva at (907) 269-4939 for the bridge number.

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