The workplace safety act, known as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, was put into law in 1970 and oversees the health and safety of the workplace for both the private and public sectors. The basic goal of the act is to create safe working environments in which hazardous materials, toxic chemicals, unsanitary conditions, mechanical and structural dangers and excessive noise that can lead to hearing damage are removed. This act came to be as the facts about chemicals and toxins in the workplace came to light. The health risks associated with the working environment had claimed 14,000 lives and injured 2 million people the year before the passage of the bill. When the act was signed into law, the government also created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to oversee and enforce workplace safety standards.