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OSHA targets 4,000 high-hazard work sites for unannounced inspections in 2004

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that its site-specific targeting (SST) plan for 2004 will focus on approximately 4,000 high-hazard work sites for unannounced comprehensive safety and health inspections over the coming year.

Over the past six years, OSHA has used a site-specific targeting program based on injury and illness data. This year's program stems from the agency's Data Initiative for 2003, which surveyed approximately 80,000 employers to attain their injury and illness numbers for 2002.

The 2004 program went into effect April 19 and initially covers 4,000 individual work sites on the primary list that reported 15 or more injuries or illnesses resulting in days away from work, restricted work activity, or job transfer for every 100 full-time workers (known as the DART rate). The primary list also will include sites based on a "Days Away From Work Injury and Illness" (DAFWII) rate of 10 or higher (10 or more cases that involve days away from work per 100 full-time employees). Employers not on the primary list who reported DART rates of between 8.0 and 15.0 or DAFWII rates of between 4.0 and 10.0 will be placed on a secondary list for possible inspection. The average DART rate in 2002 for private industry was 2.8, and the national average DAFWII rate was 1.6.