Final answer:
1) OSHA requires conformance with OSHA part 1918 for marine operations involving material handling, which covers safety and health regulations for longshoring, including a range of protective measures and adherence to the General Duty Clause. Employers must prioritize work condition changes over personal protective equipment and provide necessary training and communication regarding workplace hazards.
Step-by-step explanation:
OSHA requires marine operations involving material handling to conform with applicable requirements of OSHA part 1918, which pertains to safety and health regulations for longshoring. This includes compliance with standards specifically designed to protect workers from a wide range of serious hazards.
Such standards include providing fall protection, preventing trenching cave-ins, limiting exposure to infectious diseases and harmful chemicals, ensuring the safety of workers in confined spaces, requiring that dangerous machinery be guarded, and providing necessary safety equipment and training for dangerous jobs. Employers are also required to adhere to the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, which mandates workplaces to be free of serious recognized hazards, especially when no specific OSHA standard applies.
When addressing hazards, employers are directed to implement feasible changes in working conditions before relying on personal protective equipment. Other requirements include informing workers about chemical hazards, providing safety training in a language and vocabulary workers can understand, maintaining accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses, and notifying OSHA promptly in case of severe incidents such as fatalities or hospitalizations.
Enforcement of these standards is done through inspections by trained compliance officers and assessments of fines for regulatory violations. OSHA's mission is not only to set and enforce standards but also to provide training, outreach, and assistance to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for men and women in the workforce.