By Heather Hunt

OSHA performs a "balancing act" between serving as a resource to help companies create safe workplaces and acting against companies who refuse to provide such a safe environment, said OSHA chief Edwin G. Foulke, in a meeting with members of the press after addressing the 2006 American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Professional Development Conference & Exposition in Seattle.

Foulke described the balancing act in response to a question about whether OSHA would move away from its recent emphasis on alliances and partnerships toward the "aggressive enforcement" of standards he cited in his speech at the conference.

He also noted there are no new standards being considered, saying that there are enough on the table already waiting to get done. He said he agrees with former OSHA head John Henshaw about cutting down the number of standards. He said he is still assessing the number of standards currently being considered and will determine a timeline for working on them soon. In his speech, however, he did talk about new work on pandemic flu and nanotechnology standards.

Foulke declined to say whether he would support legislature to increase penalties for workplace fatalities, because penalties are established by Congress. He acknowledged that some fines for fatalities may seem low, but that they are assessed on a case by case basis.

Foulke also acknowledged that the recent move to require employers to pay for personal protective equipment (PPE) has been controversial with a wide gulf between unions and employers. This standard requires further investigation to cover employers with high turnover, for example.

When pressed on a date for the standard on cranes and derricks, Foulke would only say "soon." He stated in both speech and press conference that he is a firm believer in "making a decision and moving on it quickly."

Regarding OSHA's budget, he stated that OSHA will continue to use VPP volunteers as special government employees to help do inspections and will use trade association alliances to help identify what problems and needs specific industries have.

In answer to a question about a high number of fatalities among Hispanic employees, Foulke cited OSHA's work in developing more materials in Spanish as well as more materials with symbols and pictures for workers with limited English skills. He stated that a portion of OSHA's budget is allocated for Hispanic worker safety.