Breaking the Rules: What Regualtions Do Shops Mostly Break? Washington DC

Both the EPA and OSHA respond.

By Mark Clark
3/1/1998

It sometimes seems as if there's a government official waiting around every corner of your shop ... waiting to cite and fine you for something you haven't registered, posted or otherwise complied with. But, in reality, it's unlikely that your shop will come to the government's attention unless a serious accident occurs or a disgruntled employee or unhappy neighbor phones in a complaint. However, once an official is in your shop, he's often able to discover enough noncompliance to write you a hefty fine.

What are the most likely noncompliance issues? We asked that very question to both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The Top Five OSHA Violations

The OSHA Directorate of Compliance programs were able to quickly identify the top five OSHA violations in body shops.

1. The most common citation was for a violation of the 1910.1200 section of the OSHA standards - the well-known "Hazard Communication" section.

The goal of this section is to identify and evaluate the hazards present from any chemicals used in the workplace. Once the potential hazards are known, the employees must be informed of the risks and the necessary precautions to protect their health. This, of course, includes acquiring Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), keeping every container in the shop labeled correctly and having a written program that documents t...