제  목 : NPS AND OSHA SIGN AGREEMENT THAT WILL IMPROVE
  일  자 : 1998년 10월
  제공처 : Internet

  NPS AND OSHA SIGN AGREEMENT THAT WILL IMPROVE
  EMPLOYEE SAFETY AND HEALTH IN NATIONAL PARKS
  =============================================

  National Park Service (NPS) employees will enjoy greater safety and health
  on the job as a result of an agreement signed today between the park service
  and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

  National Park Service Director Robert Stanton and Assistant Secretary of
  Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Charles N. Jeffress signed the
  agreement today at the historic Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington,
  D.C.

  Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said, "One of our top goals at the
  Department of Labor is to provide quality workplaces for America's workers.
  The National Park Service is committed to developing quality workplaces for
  the public servants who staff our nation's parks, recreation areas and
  seashores.

  The agreement stresses the importance of providing a safe and healthful
  working environment for park service employees." Deputy Secretary of Labor
  Kathryn Higgins represented Herman at the signing.

  In an unprecedented move, the National Park Service approached OSHA for
  assistance in improving safety and health programs for its employees at10
  selected park sites. These sites will later serve as models for the entire
  park service.

  "We are confident that this agreement will result in a far safer working
  environment for our employees, better employee training and a more focused
  safety and health program," Stanton said. "The National Park Service has a
  serious problem. Our employees are getting hurt on the job in record numbers.
  I am determined to turn this terrible trend around. It is taking a tremendous
  toll in terms of human suffering, workers' compensation costs and lost
  productivity."

  Deputy Secretary Higgins said, "The safety and health of federal workers is
  just as important as the safety and health of their counterparts in the
  private sector. The best way to protect them is an effective safety and
  health program to find and fix hazards."

  Jeffress added, "Central to our agreement with the NPS is the commitment to
  establish or improve the health and safety program at each site. The
  benefits of this agreement will accrue to all Park Service employees."

  In recent years, the NPS has experienced the highest employee accident rates
  of all Interior Department bureaus. To address this problem, the NPS is
  exploring several new approaches to managing worksite safety and health.
  Some key strategies include: complying with OSHA standards;
  addressing unsafe work practices, which accounts for approximately 90
  percent of all employee accidents; using consultants to provide assistance
  to selected parks to help them develop and manage an effective and
  comprehensive safety program; managing workers' compensation cases and
  helping employees who are temporarily disabled to return to work when they
  are physically capable; investigating suspected cases of fraud and abuse of
  workers' compensation benefits; and providing safety and health training
  for managers, supervisors and employees.

  "It is also our intent that every NPS office and site eventually qualifies
  for OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program," said Stanton. "The criteria for
  this program is a prescription for safety excellence. We have already
  adopted that criteria as the basis of our servicewide safety effort in our
  risk management program."

  The 10 parks named in the agreement are: Cape Cod National Seashore, Mass.;
  Fire Island National Seashore, N.Y.; National Capital Parks-Central, D.C.;
  Rock Creek Park, D.C.; Cape Hatteras National Seashore, N.C.; Isle Royale
  National Park, Mich.; Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Mich.;
  Padre Island National Park, Texas; Golden Gate National Recreation Area,
  Calif., and Yosemite National Park, Calif. These parks were selected on the
  basis of the high number of lost-time accidents,