OSHA and Industrial Minerals Association-North America (IMA-NA) Alliance Close-Out Report

On April 26, 2007, OSHA and Industrial Minerals Association-North America (IMA-NA) signed an Alliance to provide IMA-NA members, and others in the industrial minerals industry with information, guidance and access to training resources to help protect employees' health and safety, particularly on reducing and preventing exposure to rail and truck hazards common to industrial facilities (e.g., ingress and egress of rail cars and trucks at the workplace, movement of rails cars and trucks between holding and loading/unloading sites, opening/closing gates and bin closures, loading/unloading practices, securing loads, etc.)

Based on discussions regarding the future of the Alliance, OSHA and IMA-NA agreed to conclude the Alliance as of September 12, 2008. A number of successes resulted from the organizations working together to meet the Alliance's goals, including:

• On April 26, 2007, Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary, USDOL-OSHA, presented "The Power of Prevention, Making the Business Case for Workplace Safety and Health" to 100 attendees during the IMA-NA Spring Meeting in Washington D.C.
   
• On September 14, 2007, Robert Stegall, Rio Tinto Minerals, gave an update on the OSHA and IMA-NA Alliance during the IMA-NA Annual Meeting, September 11-14, 2007 in Moran, Wyoming.
   
• IMA-NA, and more than 50 other Alliance Program participants and OSHA, helped support the 2008 North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, "Safety is Good Business," May 4-10, 2008. Sponsored annually by the American Society of Safety Engineers, an Alliance Program participant, and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, the Week focuses on the importance of preventing injuries and illnesses in the workplace.

Report Prepared by: Tony Mapes, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, August 18, 2008.