As OSHA turns 40 EHS Today spoke to several occupational safety stakeholders about the agency's past, present and future.
When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was founded April 28, 1971, following the December 1970 signing of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the landscape of workplace safety in the United States was forever changed.
According to OSHA, an estimated 14,000 workers likely were killed on the job in 1970, compared to 4,340 workers in 2009. The OSH Act and the creation of OSHA also contributed to a dramatic reduction in serious workplace injuries and illnesses from 11 per 100 workers in 1972 to 3.6 per 100 employees in 2009.
