Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/727416
Associations file suit over silica rule WASHINGTON, D.C.—A coalition of construction industry associations taking issue with the new OSHA silica rule are taking their concerns to a fed- eral appeals court. Eight groups, includ- ing affiliates of the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., the National As- sociation of Home Builders, and the As- sociated General Contractors of Amer- ica, have filed a petition in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The or- ganizations argue that the federal agency did not fully address their con- cerns about the rule's impact on the construction industry. The "Occupational Exposure to Res- pirable Crystalline Silica" rule, amend- ing silica exposure regulations for the first time since 1971, was made final March 25. The rule represents the fruition of decades of research and a lengthy stakeholder engagement process, including the consideration of thousands of public comments. In terms of permissible exposure limits, the up- dated rule reduces the permissible expo- sure limit for crystalline silica from 250 micrograms per cubic meter of air, aver- aged over an 8-hour shift, to 50 micro- grams. The regulation also has other provisions aimed at protecting workers, such as requirements for exposure assess- ment, methods of controlling exposure, recordkeeping, hazard communication, respiratory protection, and medical sur- veillance. The final rule is written as two standards, one for construction and one for general industry and maritime. The groups worry that rule compliance is beyond the capabilities of current technology. In seeking the court's re- view, the industry partners say they are deeply committed to providing a safe construction environment; however, they have significant concerns about whether this new rule is technically fea- sible, given that the agency's final per- missible exposure limit is beyond the ca- pacity of existing dust filtration and re- moval technology. OSHA estimates that when the final rule becomes fully effective, it will save more than 600 lives annually and prevent more than 900 new cases of silicosis each year. Industry groups previously estimated the rule will cost the industry nearly $5 billion per year, about $4.5 billion per year more than OSHA's estimate. The petition starts what is likely to be a lengthy legal challenge to the measure. Dow settles class action suit MIDLAND, Mich.—The Dow Chem- ical Co. has announced that it is settling the 11-year-old, $1.06 billion urethanes price-fixing lawsuit it has contested since a federal jury awarded damages in Febru- ary 2013. Sources are indicating that the death of Justice Antonin Scalia figured heavily in the company's decision. "Growing political uncertainties due to recent events within the Supreme Court and increased likelihood for un- favorable outcomes for business in- volved in class action suits have changed Dow's risk assessment of the situation," the company stated. "Dow believes this settlement is the right decision for the company and our shareholders." In the settlement agreement, Dow has agreed to pay the plaintiff class $835 million to resolve the $1.06 billion judgment. This amount includes post-judgment interest and an anticipated award of at- torney's fees. This settlement agreement is conditional upon approval of the Courts. The federal lawsuit, which dates back to 2005, alleged that Dow and its com- petitors (BASF SE, Bayer AG, Hunts- man International LLC, and Lyondell Chemical Co.) began fixing prices for urethane by 1999, in violation of federal law. The conspiracy was said to have lasted into 2003. Dow was the only re- maining defendant; all of the other companies had settled out of court long ago, in agreements that topped $100 million in all. Dow continues to strongly believe it was not part of any conspiracy and the judgment was fun- damentally flawed as a matter of class action law. MetoKote relocates performance test lab LIMA, Ohio—MetoKote Corp. has re- located its Performance Test Labora- tory to a larger space within its Lima, Ohio, facility. MetoKote has offered customers the convenience of an in- house American Association for Labo- ratory Accreditation (A2LA) certified laboratory since 1995. The new 1,900- square-foot location provides an im- proved controlled environment, and of- fers more space and the ability to per- form hundreds of different test meth- ods for customers. MetoKote offers a full range of custom coating services, in- cluding e-coating, powder coating, liq- uid paint, and other custom coatings. Behr Iron & Steel pleads guilty to OSHA violation ROCKFORD, Ill.—Behr Iron & Steel Inc., a high-volume ferrous and nonfer- rous scrap processor, has pled guilty to willfully violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, resulting in the death of an employee at the company's facility in South Beloit, Ill. Behr's South Beloit facility recycles metals contained in such things as auto- mobiles and refrigerators. On March 10, 2014, an employee was cleaning the discharge pit when the employee's arm was caught by the unguarded conveyor belt. The employee was pulled into the machinery and killed. The company admitted in a plea agreement that it failed to provide lockout/tagout protec- tion and confined space protection as required under OSHA regulations for employees who were cleaning a shred- der discharge pit. The company admit- ted that those violations caused the death of an employee who got caught in a moving, unguarded conveyor belt. It faces a maximum sentence of 5 years' p r o b a t i o n , a m a x i m u m f i n e o f $500,000, and restitution to the victim employee in an amount determined by the Court. Camfil APC releases new dust collector filter JONESBORO, Ark.—Air filtration product manufacturer Camfil APC has announced the release of a new dust col- lector filter. The HemiPleat FR Carbon dust collector filter is the first to com- bine flame retardant and conductive properties in a single filter that also of- fers high efficiency, long service life, and energy-efficient performance. 4 POWDER COATING, September 2016 UPDATE:Industry