My name is David Newman. I am an industrial hygienist with the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. I am presenting the testimony of Joel Shufro, executive director of NYCOSH. NYCOSH is a non-profit coalition of more than 200 local unions and 400 legal and health and safety professionals and rank-and-file activists. For the last 23 years we have provided quality safety and health training and technical assistance on workplace hazards to workers, union representatives, community organizations, employers and government agencies.

The Kaltech explosion in Chelsea was not an isolated event. Nationwide each year, companies report more than 25,000 toxic fires, spills or explosions to the National Response Center. At least 1,000 of these events involve deaths, injuries or evacuations. The density of New York City's population, the mixed-use character of the buildings and neighborhoods makes the widespread use of toxic substances in a serious threat.

Several laws fit together to protect NYC residents and workers from chemical fires and explosions. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard is designed to ensure that employers and workers know about work hazards (including flammability and chemical reactivity). The New York City Right to Know Law, administered by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), requires some employers to report the storage of certain chemical substances. Finally, the New York City Fire Code also regulates chemical storage and handling.

All three of these laws overlap, but each is individually enforced by agencies that, to our knowledge, rarely cooperate. With stronger cooperative efforts by responsible agencies, these laws could be powerful tools with which to protect our workers and our communities.

Hazard Communication Standard

OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard was instituted with the explicit assumption that the knowledge workers gain under Haz Com will help reduce the incidence of chemical-source injuries and illnesses. Unfortunately, employers frequently shirk the provisions of this standard, which requires a written program, training of employees about the health hazards of the chemicals substances to which they may be exposed, training conducted in language that is "comprehensible" to workers, labeling of chemical containers, and the ready availability of material safety data sheets.

Kaltech has a largely immigrant workforce. According to OSHA, Kaltech conducted no health and safety training, and provided no material safety data sheets. We believe this situation to be typical of many employers. It is compounded by lack of government oversight and enforcement.

The Hazard Communication Standard provides the foundation for chemical safety and health programs. It is the second most frequently cited OSHA standard, but two factors make the standard and its enforcement less than effective. First, the fines levied for non-compliance are but a pittance. The average fine for violating Haz Com in OSHA Region 2 (New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico) is $76, significantly less than the cost of New York City parking ticket. Surely workers' safety should be worth more than parking on the wrong side of the street. Second, OSHA is woefully understaffed, meaning that most workplaces are rarely inspected.

Even with stepped up enforcement, HazCom is still problematic. The Standard does not require training on the hazards of accidental combinations of chemicals that are designated "non-reactive." A combination of these same "non-reactive" chemicals caused the explosion at the Kaltech building. The Chemical Safety Board has noted this contradiction in another OSHA standard. It should be addressed within the provisions of the HazCom Standard.

New York City Right to Know Law

The Right to Know Law is the second part of New York City's chemical safety program. "RTK" requires employers that store certain amounts of hazardous substances to file facility reporting forms with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. This local law goes beyond the requirements of state and federal statutes. Even so, a law is only as good as its enforcement, and there is substantial evidence that portions of RTK are not being enforced. The agencies own staff estimate that 50% of facilities that are required to report actually do so. Limited resources are in part to blame.

The law also requires facilities storing extremely hazardous chemicals to file risk management plans, which include estimations of the total damage that could be incurred given the amounts and types of chemicals stored. Facilities that must file these plans are also required to file toxic use reduction plans, and to carry out these plans.

Toxic use reduction is a strategy that must be receive top priority in order to protect communities and workers from chemical accidents and from terrorist attacks on our chemical plants. Increasing news coverage of these threats has resulted in legislation at the state and federal levels requiring chemical plants to implement security procedures. Reduction of use of toxic or hazardous chemicals must be an important part of homeland security.

A major component of RTK is to provide critical information about workplace hazards to individuals, non-profit or community-based organizations, or researchers. Since September 11th, many agencies have chosen to impose information black outs. We understand that the Department of Environmental Protection will no longer honor requests for information about chemical inventories or releases in order to protect the public from terrorist attacks. We believe that limiting the public's right to know is dangerous and short-sighted. DEP's attempt to limit information will only create an additional wall behind which irresponsible employers, such as those at Kaltech, will hide.

New York City Fire Code

The final law to complete the City's chemical safety program is the Fire Code. In accordance with the Fire Code, facilities handling chemical substances must have a "certification of fitness." The certification supposes that the employer is complying with other applicable laws, including that workers are adequately trained. It was intended to prevent chemical fires and explosions, but has degenerated into merely a revenue source for the City. Certification should require compliance, at a minimum, with the HazCom standard and with the NYC RTK law, and with OSHA's Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standard, as appropriate.

To be effective, the certification should include provisions to certify that workers have been trained under OSHA's HazCom standard, in a language that is "comprehensible to employees."

Coordination of Enforcement

New York City already has in place the legal and administrative framework to making chemical safety a reality. However, this goal remains elusive. Instead, under-funded agencies work in isolation. Given the weaknesses inherent to each law and the lack of funding for adequate enforcement, it is crucial that responsible agencies cooperate in cross-reporting, inspections, and prosecution of violators.

We believe much can be done to improve the safety of workers and residents in regards to chemical threats. It is essential that all workers receive training in proper handling of chemicals and toxic substances, and that responsible agencies ensure that these trainings are held in languages accessible to workers. Increased inter-agency cooperation and enforcement of existing laws would go a long way in preventing needless tragedies like that at Kaltech.