OSHA announces safety stand-down at Oklahoma oil and gas exploration sites June 22-July 20

OKLAHOMA CITY – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, along with other members of the Mid-Continent Exploration & Production Safety Network, will sponsor a safety stand-down from June 22 to July 20 to promote safety and health practices at oil and gas exploration and production sites throughout Oklahoma.

"This alliance will demonstrate initiative and leadership industrywide throughout the state of Oklahoma in emphasizing the importance of oil and gas work-site safety," said John Hermanson, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas. "It is hoped that the stand-down will not only heighten awareness for workers in the oil and gas industry, but also identify and eliminate work-related hazards."

MCEPS is a cooperative alliance made up of OSHA's Oklahoma City Area Office and oil and gas industry representatives. Alliance members will encourage employers to voluntarily stop work at job sites to conduct site inspections as well as safety and health training for employees regarding the leading causes of work-related incidents and deaths in the industry.

At a June 21 MCEPS meeting, OSHA Oklahoma City Area Director David Bates emphasized that members should – and encourage subcontractors to – participate in the stand-down event. OSHA provided training materials to those in attendance to aid in training their employees during the job site inspections. Some employers already have committed to conducting site inspections, documenting and eliminating hazards, and training workers at oil and gas sites during the stand-down.

Through the Alliance Program, OSHA works with unions, consulates, trade and professional organizations, faith- and community-based organizations, and businesses and educational institutions to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources, and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities. Alliance program participants do not receive exemptions from OSHA programmed inspections. For more information on this and other cooperative programs, visit http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/index_programs.html.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Oklahoma City office at 405-278-9560.