OSHA expands office in Lubbock, TX

Lubbock, TX – An expected population boom caused by an increase in oil and gas operations has prompted OSHA to expand its Lubbock district office to an area office.

The new office, which is Texas’ ninth, will serve more than 1.1 million people in an area that includes Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, Midland and Odessa. The area needed additional resources, OSHA said, as Lubbock’s population is expected to double by 2020 because of an increase in oil and gas exploration, drilling, and servicing; and the discovery of gas shale.

Twenty-two workers were killed in Texas in the oil and gas industry in 2013, according to OSHA, and seven of those workers came from the Lubbock office’s jurisdiction. In addition, the office said it will hire staff to address the safety and health of high-risk construction workers, with an emphasis on Hispanic construction workers.

To contact the Lubbock Area Office, call (806) 472-7681.