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According to the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) director of enforcement programs, in fiscal year 2004, the agency continued to pick up the pace on inspections and issuing citations. OSHA reports that 86,708 violations of OSHA standards and regulations were cited during 2004, an increase of 3.8 percent over the previous year and nearly 10 percent over the last five years. Of particular significance, according to OSHA, was the increase in serious and willful violations issued - three and 14 percent, respectively, over the previous year.

While the number of violations has increased from previous years, little has changed in the cited regulations. Reports do not indicate OSHA’s intent or record in determining whether or not these actions are actually improving safety for workers on the job. The top administrator from OSHA said recently, "We exceeded our inspection goals; we strengthened our compliance assistance through our new enhanced enforcement program; and we found more violations and issued more serious and willful citations indicating a more accurate targeting system for workplaces and industries with a high proportion of injuries and illnesses."

The following list covers the number and type of violations recorded during fiscal year 2004, which ran from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004:
RANKING	SUBJECT	NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS
1	1926.451—Scaffolding	8,682
2	1910.1200—Hazard Communication	7,318
3	1926.501 –Fall protection	5,680
4	1910.147 –Lock/Tagout	4,304
5	1910.134 –Respiratory Protection	4,302
6	1910.305 –Electrical –Wiring	3,337
7	1910.212 –Machine Guarding	3,245
8	1910.178 –Powered Industrial Trucks	3,130
9	1910.303 –Electrical Systems	2,399
10	1910.219 –Mechanical Power	2,321

The following list covers the number of willful violations recorded during fiscal year 2004, which ran from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004:
RANKING	SUBJECT	NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS
1	1926.652—Protection Systems, Excavation	69
2	1926.451—Scaffolding	59
3	1926.501—Fall protection	48
4	1910.147—Lockout/Tagout	25
5	1910.146—Permit Required Confined Spaces	22
6	1926.760—Fall Protection, Steel Erection	21
7	1910.95—Noise Exposure	20
8	1926.651—Excavation
	1926.1101—Asbestos	19
9	1910.134—Respiratory Protection
	1910.212—Machine Guarding
	1910.217—Mechanical Power Press	16
10	1910.1200—Hazard Communication	14

SOURCE: National Safety council publication "Safety + Health." December 2004

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