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Tennessee OSHA (TOSHA)
Emphasis programs

Tennessee’s emphasis programs address a variety of hazards:
  • Excavations and trenches: All compliance officers are trained to identify cave-in hazards and are authorized to conduct inspections and interventions when they see such hazards. Tennessee has not had a fatal injury from a cave-in since 2005.

  • Noise: In 2008, noise exposures were reduced for 399 employees. All compliance officers are trained to identify and evaluate employees’ exposure to workplace noise.

  • Carbon monoxide: Tennessee OSHA’s special emphasis program on carbon monoxide exposure resulted in the reduction or elimination of Carbon monoxide exposure to 1,098 employees in 2008.

  • Fall protection: The average number of fatalities from falls fell by 17.4 percent over the five-year period ending Sept. 30, 2008.

  • Amputations: Tennessee OSHA’s special emphasis program on amputations has resulted in a downward trend in these injuries – a decrease of 60 percent over the five-year period ending Sept. 30, 2008.

  • Needle sticks: Though not a special emphasis program, Tennessee OSHA’s initiative to decrease needle stick and medical sharps injuries in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers reduced them 6 percent in hospitals and 10 percent in ambulatory surgery centers.
Enforcement

Inspections: Tennessee OSHA conducted 2,623 inspections during the 2008 calendar year, including 357 complaint inspections and 38 fatality investigations. There were 10,886 violations cited during the year, including 7,107 serious violations. The average penalty for a serious violation was $1,440. Fewer than 2 percent of the violations were vacated or reclassified.

Confined space: On July 28, 2008, in Moshiem, a small town in east Tennessee, an employee entered a sewage pump station through a manhole to repair a pump. He was overcome and unable to exit the manhole and a second employee attempted a rescue, resulting in a double fatality. A third employee at the scene, who did not participate in the rescue, notified emergency personnel. Although eligible to be in the Tennessee public sector program, this small city with nine employees chose not to participate so the compliance section performed the fatality investigation. This double fatality was clearly preventable and probably would not have occurred had the town participated in the public sector program. Tennessee OSHA issued citations for 49 serious violations and two non-serious violations with penalties totaling $42,200. The penalty was paid in full and the citations were abated.

Tennessee OSHA had 26 VPP participants and 14 SHARP participants in 2008
Tennessee OSHA had 26 VPP participants and 14 SHARP participants in 2008

 
Outreach

VPP and SHARP: Tennessee OSHA continues to have active participation in its Voluntary Protection Program and Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program. At the end of 2008, VPP had 26 participants and SHARP had 14 participants.

Training: During 2008, Tennessee OSHA trained more than 12,500 employees and employers on a wide range of safety and health topics. Most of this training was done in partnership with the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the University of Tennessee.