Daily Roundup, Friday, Jan. 29

• Fewer Late-Night Retail Worker Deaths Still ‘Not Good Enough,’ OSHA Says

Nearly half of the 167 retail trade workers that were killed in 2007 were employed in late-night establishments such as gasoline stations, liquor stores and convenience stores.

• Investigators target maintenance at plant

A team of federal investigators is focusing on the maintenance procedures at DuPont’s Belle plant in Charleston, W. Va., the site of three recent chemical leaks, including a fatal incident.

• Worker seriously injured at east side construction site

A construction worker with J.H. Findorff & Son was seriously injured Thursday morning at a job site on the city’s Southeast Side, Madison police said.

• Contractor Cited for Treacherous Trenching

Trenching safety hazards at two Massachusetts worksites have led to $166,950 in proposed fines for L. Perrina Construction Co. Inc. OSHA cited the Methuen, Mass.-based contractor for a total of 23 alleged willful, serious, and other-than-serious violations of safety standards following inspections at worksites in Quincy and Lynnfield, where the company was installing water mains.

• Driver hits bucket truck on King Street

A North Carolina Department of Transportation worker suffered minor injuries while working on a traffic light in Kinston Thursday morning.

• Another Day, Another Promise to Improve Metro Safety

Metro is rewriting the book on employee safety procedures, in the wake of an accident that killed two workers on the Red Line tracks on Tuesday.

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Daily Roundup, Thursday, Jan. 28

• OSHA cites Broan-NuTone

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Broan-NuTone Storage Solutions on Wednesday with one alleged willful violation and four alleged serious violations after a woman’s hand was amputated by a metal pressing machine in July.

• Lowell Firefighter Leaps On Worker As Bricks Rain Down

A 42-year-old Manchester, Mass., man was been struck by falling bricks and was rescued by a public-safety worker as the remaining section of an archway was about to let go.

• Federal prisoners in Atwater exposed to toxins

Inmates at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater, Calif., were exposed to hazardous elements while breaking glass at the prison’s electronics recycling center from 2002-03 because authorities failed to safeguard them properly.

• Metro: Changes To Improve Safety Under Way

WMATA says it’s improving worker safety through new rules, training and consequences for those who violate safety procedures.

• Recent incident stresses need for social worker safety

It was a scary moment for some social workers in Henderson, Ky., when a woman with a gun chased them.

• OSHA fine linked to Q-Mart worker’s death

The Quakertown Farmers Market was fined $4,650 for workplace safety violations discovered during an investigation into the death of Earl Yerkes, a longtime employee who was electrocuted in June while working on a heating and air conditioning unit on the roof.

• The unintended impact of New Jersey’s new medical marijuana law on the workplace

Employers who perform drug testing on job applicants and/or employees should take the time to revisit their policies on drug use and drug testing to clearly state their position on medical use of marijuana so as to navigate the various liabilities that may arise as a result of this change in the law.

• Lawsuit settled over deadly Miss. paper mill blast

The Clark brothers were injured when a 12-story recovery boiler blew up as workers tried to restart it after annual maintenance at the Redwood plant on May 3, 2008. One man was killed and nearly two dozen others were hurt.

• Update Expected Thursday After Several Leaks at DuPont

DuPont plant officials and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board are expected to update the media on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 about the industrial accident that left a Kanawha County, W. Va., man dead over the weekend.

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Daily Roundup, Wednesday, Jan. 27

• Worst Work Uniforms: Disney

Despite the family-friendly image the brand exhibits, Disney’s (DIS) working conditions for its costumed characters — or “Cast Members” as the company refers to them — remain downright Dickensian, largely due to the strict guidelines to which each employees must adhere.

• OSHA releases workplace injury and illness data

For the first time, the agency has made the data from 1996 to 2007 available in a searchable online database, allowing the public to look at establishment or industry-specific injury and illness data.

• OSHA schedules meetings on combustible dust hazards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has scheduled two informal stakeholder meetings to solicit comments and suggestions on combustible dust hazards in the workplace.

• On-the-job deaths have taken a dive

Fewer people died on the job last year in North Carolina, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Labor.

• Tribe, Foxwoods dealers reach tentative agreement on historic contract

The contract creates what the union calls “an industry model” for job safety, including programs to reduce repetitive stress injuries, a major extension of medical leave time for workers out with serious illnesses for more than six months, and a unique 24-table “smoke-free pit” to help workers vulnerable to second-hand smoke and provide customers with a smoke-free haven.

• Schweizer Aircraft Corp. facing fines from OSHA

Schweizer Aircraft Corporation faces thousands of dollars in fines for alleged safety and health violations at its helicopter manufacturing plant in Horseheads, N.Y., after its employees were exposed to electrocution hazards.

• Fibrelite plant cited for OSHA violations

Pawcatuck, Conn., manufacturing plant Fibrelite has been cited for 21 violations of workplace-safety rules and faces $90,500 in fines for exposing employees to explosion and fire hazards.

• Birmingham business faces $217,500 in OSHA fines

A fire log manufacturer is facing $217,500 in proposed penalties from the U.S. Department of Labor for safety violations at its Birmingham facility.

• Alaskan welder knocked in the head by 3,000-pound bucket

A 29-year-old welder was killed after a bucket on a front-end loader crushed him on Thursday, Jan. 21, while he was working on the rig in Anchor Point.

• Bridgeport firm faces OSHA fines

The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing a Bridgeport, Conn., construction company pay $47,700 in fines for violating safety standards while working a job in Stamford.

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Daily Roundup, Tuesday, Jan. 26

• Louisiana: Insurer says WC claims decreased 4 percent in 2009

A workers’ compensation insurer in Louisiana credited a stronger focus on workplace safety for the estimated 4 percent reduction in claims from its policyholders in 2009.

• Mueller Industries cited for 128 OSHA violations

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on January 25 issued three Mueller Industries Inc. subsidiaries in Fulton, Miss., 128 citations for allegedly exposing workers to safety and health hazards.

• DuPont plant faces inquiries

A spokeswoman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the workplace safety watchdog initiated an investigation Monday following three chemical leaks in quick succession at the DuPont site in Belle, W.Va.

• Industrial Accident at BP Oil Refinery Results in $1.72M Verdict

A worker at BP’s Texas City oil refinery has been awarded $1.72 million by a Galveston jury in an industrial accident lawsuit.

• Austin may spend $525,000 more to dismantle water plant

The City of Austin is poised to spend an additional $525,000 on dismantling the downtown Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant to pay for more inspections and other work officials say became necessary after the city found serious workplace safety violations at the site.

• Needlestick Injuries Remain a Problem for Hospitals

There is a lot of focus on patient safety, emergency management, and other hot-button issues, but needle-related injuries still present significant regulatory risks for hospitals.

• Two workers killed in Metro accident

Two Metro track workers were struck and killed by a piece of track equipment near the Rockville Metrorail station early Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a series of serious incidents that have plagued the system over the last year.

• Makeshift Scaffold, Other Dangers Add up to $54K Fine for Contractor

OSHA has cited Star Service Corp. of East Boston, Mass., for 25 alleged violations of workplace safety standards, and totaling $54,250 in fines.

• Welder killed when equipment drops

A Homer man was killed on the job when the bucket of a front-end loader fell and crushed him, Alaska State Troopers said Monday.

• Contractor fined nearly $180,000, cited by OSHA for health violations

The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Chicago-based contractor nearly $180,000 after being cited for violating federal workplace health standards.

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Daily Roundup, Monday, Jan. 25

• US Labor Department secures back wages for fired whistleblower in Corpus Christi

A former employee of Corpus Christi-based Orion Drilling Co., fired after complaining to management about being exposed to mold in the workplace, has been paid $10,000 in back wages as a result of a settlement secured by the U.S. Department of Labor.

• OSHA targets under-reporting of injuries, illnesses

In response to recent studies and other reports that suggest employers underreport accidents and injuries, effective Sept. 30, 2009, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration began a one-year national emphasis program on record keeping to assess the accuracy of injury and illness data recorded by employers.

• Mother of monorail driver sues Disney World over fatal crash

In the wrongful death suit, lawyers for Christine Wuennenberg say Disney failed to follow its own monorail-safety procedures, leading directly to the July crash that killed 21-year-old Austin Wuennenberg.

• Officials ID worker killed in McKinney trench collapse

The construction worker who died in a trench collapse of blunt force injuries Thursday in McKinney has been identified as Jose Perez, 21, of Dallas.

• Wallingford fined for OSHA violations

A recent inspection of government offices by the Connecticut Occupational Safety and Health Administration found a total of 13 violations, with six listed as “serious,” resulting in $2,590 worth of fines.

• Feds probing leaks that killed worker at W.Va. DuPont plant

Federal officials are investigating a series of incidents at a DuPont Co. plant in West Virginia, including a chemical leak that resulted in the death of a longtime DuPont worker.

• NEVADAN AT WORK: Safety agency chief aims to take peril out of production

Steve Coffield told reporters at the October media conference he would reorganize the state agency he has worked at for 14 years, and improve training for inspectors.

• Two hurt in plant explosion in Nashua

Two people were seriously injured in an explosion at Worthen Industries in Nashua, N.H., yesterday; they suffer from serious burns and lacerations.

• Worker dies at Houston refinery Friday

A worker died from an apparent fall on Friday morning at LyondellBasell’s Houston refinery, a company spokesman said.

• $1.5 Million Fine Following Worker Death

A waste management company was fined $1,477,500 for scores of alleged violations of OSHA standards following an investigation into an explosion that killed a worker—the third in less than a year—at the company’s facility in Houston, Texas.

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Daily Roundup, Friday, Jan. 22

• Prison computer recycling put staff, inmates at risk, NIOSH finds

Federal prisoners and staff overseers were exposed for years to excessive levels of toxic heavy metals during computer recycling operations, according to a report from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health that studied facilities in Atwater, Calif.; Elkton, Ohio; Texarkana, Texas; and Marianna, Fla., between 1997 and 2003.

• OSHA fines tile company after floor collapse

The federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration on Thursday fined a Grandview business $50,000 for a floor collapse in September that injured three workers.

• OSHA seeks to require MSDs on injury logs

Changes are afoot at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and many experts believe stronger enforcement and more stringent regulations are one step closer to reality.

• Tea company faces fine

A Tea construction company in South Dakota faces $4,200 in federal fines following an investigation of a job site where an employee was killed last fall after an embankment collapsed and buried him.

• OSHA seeks to fine area grocery supplier $97K

Federal workplace safety investigators are seeking $97,000 in fines from a Hartford, Conn., area wholesale grocery supplier for repeated safety violations in two of its warehouses.

• OSHA Investigating Fatal Industrial Accident in Andrews County

OSHA investigators are investigating after Wednesday’s deadly industrial accident in Andrews County, in which 27-year-old Kelly Dustin Sealy was found trapped 30 feet in the air, above the rig floor.

• Former Sabinsa employee raises concerns over workplace safety

A temporary employee who stopped working at Sabinsa last May said the company relied on temporary workers to mix the products and failed to provide him given basic safety gear for his first three days.

• Firefighters say 2009 was a safer year

Shreveport firefighters say 2009 was a safe year for them, a release from the department says, a fact it attributes to increased job-safety awareness and extensive educational programs through the department’s Safety Officers and Training Division.

• District fined for employee’s death

Desert Sands Unified School District is facing more than $44,000 in fines after a state Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the recent death of a district employee, a 50-year-old sprinkler specialist who was electrocuted on the job in July.

• Employers can minimize risk of workplace violence

Whether workplace violence stems from a current or former employee, an unknown assailant or an employee’s domestic situation, many incidents are foreseeable and/or preventable.

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Daily Roundup, Thursday, Jan. 21

• CT construction worker killed by forklift

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigates a tragic accident which occurred on York Hill campus when a construction worker was killed by a forklift, Friday, Jan.15, according to The Quinnipiac Chronicle.

• Firefighter Face Protection: Goggles vs. Faceshields

There is a continuing debate about the type of eye and face protection that should be provided to firefighters.

• Company faces fines in SD construction death

A company in Tea, S.D., is facing $4,200 in fines for two alleged violations connected to a death of a 27-year-old employee at a construction site.

• Three Companies Cited by OSHA Following Explosion During Pipeline Construction

Three companies have been cited by OSHA for exposing workers to hazards during the construction of gas pipeline meter stations in Mississippi.

• Worker not killed by substances at Payson plant, company says

A day after one of its workers died after exposure to a chemical at its Payson, Utah, plant, the Sabinsa Corp. contends the substances the employee worked with were “all nutritional ingredients; none of which are toxic or dangerous.”

• Fire hits Columbia Recycling again

There were no injuries from a fire Wednesday that hit Columbia Recycling Corp. on Chattanooga Avenue in Dalton, Ga., the site of a fire three years ago that left one employee dead and resulted in fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

• Worksite Wellness Programs May Retain Employees, Reduce Absenteeism

Research shows a direct correlation between effective workplace health programs and improved employee performance.

• OSHA pushes new safety rules on musculoskeletal injuries

OSHA is pushing for federal rules that would require companies to count job-related musculoskeletal disorders – a step that could make it easier for safety officials to prevent such injuries.

• 1 killed, 1 hurt in trench collapse at McKinney pipeline project site

A construction worker was killed and another injured during a partial trench collapse this morning in McKinney.

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Daily Roundup, Wednesday, Jan. 20

• OSHA Reduces Fine Against Disney In Deadly Crash

A fine leveled against Walt Disney World for safety violations uncovered after the death of an employee in a monorail accident last summer has been reduced 20 percent.

• State safety agency most likely won’t cite city in worker’s death

The state employee safety agency probably will not issue any citations to the City of Anderson, Ind., for the December pedestrian accident in which a city worker was struck and killed while cleaning debris, a commissioner said Tuesday.

• Exxon Mobil had shelter-in-place incident on Tuesday

Exxon Mobil Corp. had a temporary shelter-in-place Wednesday for a unit at its Baton Rouge refinery and chemical plant, according to a city fire official.

• Tech chemical blast under federal probe

A chemical explosion that critically injured a 29-year-old graduate student earlier this month on Texas Tech’s campus has caught the attention of federal authorities.

• Minnesota businesses warned of check fraud scam

Investigators believe the suspect is a former Department of Labor and Industry employee and that the potential victims are businesses that sent a check to the department to pay fines imposed between Jan. 1 and Nov. 18, 2009, by the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

• Textile Groups Urge OSHA To Avoid Unnecessary Regulations

In response to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plan to issue a regulation covering combustible dust in factories, the National Cotton Council (NCC) and a number of textile organizations have urged the agency to “use caution” in regulating textile mills.

• Dry cleaner goes ‘wet’ for greater safety

“Wet cleaning” has revolutionized the industry, offering a water-based cleanse that eliminates a harsh chemical used in traditional dry cleaning and providing workers a safe alternative.

• Family Awarded $11.1 Million

The family of a Gregory man who was killed when a crane collapsed on him has been awarded $11.1 million by a San Particio County, Texas, jury.

• Unadilla Forks Volunteer Fire Co. temporarily closes

The Unadilla Forks, N.Y., Volunteer Fire Co. closed its doors last week, but only on a temporary basis, company President Greg Robinson said, to look at the department’s compliance with OSHA codes.

• Employee slices fingers in meat cutter, sues Tyson for improper training

Although employed as a meat cutter for Tyson, Roberto Serrano alleges his improper training caused him to slice off the tips of three fingers while cutting meat for distribution.

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Daily Roundup, Tuesday, Jan. 19

• Scientist blames Pfizer for illness

A former Pfizer Inc. scientist who claims to have been infected by an unknown virus at the company’s Groton laboratories will have her civil lawsuit heard in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Conn.

• Workplace injuries are common in northwestern Pennsylvania

Fatal workplace accidents are rare in northwestern Pennsylvania, but less serious injuries happen all the time, said a physician.

• Labor and the Law: Injury on the job

An employee injured at work is offered a voluntary layoff from personnel and asks an expert if that is fair.

• Port Orange man dies when drink cart falls on him

Authorities are investigating the death of a 56-year-old Port Orange, Fla., man killed by a beverage cart that fell on top of him.

• Falling golf cart crushes worker

A man working on a golf cart was killed Monday when the cart rolled off a lift at the Cypress Knolls Golf Course in Palm Coast, Fla., according to Flagler County Fire Rescue.

• OSHA cited Citgo for violations

Federal regulators cited Citgo Refining and Chemicals LP in Corpus Christi, Texas, for allegedly exposing workers to the release of toxic chemicals.

• NJ construction worker falls 16–feet from scaffold

New Jersey police and emergency medical services (EMS) rushed to the scene Monday morning after a construction worker fell 16 feet.

• Witnesses: Man tried but failed to escape falling beam

An Orlando man crushed to death by a 33-foot-long, 1,750-pound metal beam at an Ocala work site Friday morning tried to escape from being hit by the falling material but was unsuccessful, according to witnesses at the scene.

• No criminal charges against longshoreman involved in fatal port accident

A Chesapeake longshoreman will not be charged in a Dec. 22 fatal accident at Norfolk International Terminals that killed a dock foreman, the commonwealth’s attorney’s office said late Thursday.

• 1 electrical worker killed, 1 hurt in Broomfield

Authorities say a Colorado electrical worker using a bucket truck was killed and his co-worker was injured when the bucket gave out as they worked on an overhead line in Broomfield.

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Daily Roundup, Friday, Jan. 15

• Mesothelioma Researchers Further Support the Link Between Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma

German mesothelioma researchers recently published a study further proving the causal relationship between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma.

• Worker Crushed By 1,500-Pound Steel Beam

An Ocala, Fla., construction worker was crushed to death Friday morning when a 1,500-pound steel beam fell on him.

• DOL/OSHA Schedules Conference on Latino Worker Safety and Health

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will convene a National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety, April 14-15, primarily targeting the construction industry and safety.

• Commack Home Goods facing fire safety fine from OSHA

A Commack, N.Y., home furnishings store was hit with a proposed fine of more than $200,000 this week for having an unsafe workplace after federal inspectors found that its fire exits were blocked, a federal agency said Thursday.

• OSHA fines Defiance plant again, this time for $190,000

A Chicago specialty tool company has been hit with a $190,000 fine from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, primarily for failing to correct items that were supposed to have been fixed last year.

• Body Of Farmworker Returned To Mexico

Twenty-year-old Jose Obeth Santiz Cruz had died after getting trapped in a gutter cleaner at a Franklin County, Vt., dairy farm.

• Battle begins on Fulton public smoking ban

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has concluded that secondhand smoke is an occupational carcinogen just like mercury, lead or asbestos.

• ASSE urges lawmakers to keep public sector provisions in safety bill

The American Society of Safety Engineers is urging federal lawmakers to keep provisions that cover public sector employees in legislation aimed at strengthening occupational safety and health laws.

• Oregon OSHA fines Milwaukie company $740,400

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Occupational Safety and Health Division has fined Americold Logistics a total of $740,400 for extensive safety and health violations, such as not having proper safeguards in place to contain ammonia.

• New OSHA Videos Feature Guidance on Respirators

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed two new videos for healthcare workers that feature training and guidance on respirator safety.

• Social workers left in lurch

A Louisville lawmaker who is disgruntled that 2007 legislation to improve social worker safety was never fully implemented said Thursday he will file a bill, named for a social worker killed on the job, in coming days to restore funding for the measure.

• EPA agents search Chevron facilities in Alaska

Agents from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigating possible air-pollution violations spent two days searching Chevron-owned oil facilities in Alaska, company and government officials said Thursday.

• ABB Shooting Aftermath: Making the Workplace Safer

A perfect security plan might not stop a workplace rampage but some local experts believe there are ways to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.

• Recordkeeping: It’s that time of year again

It’s time to complete and post OSHA’s Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses even if there were no work-related injuries or illnesses during the year.

• One killed, one hurt when bucket truck collapses in Broomfield

Two employees of Sturgeon Electric Co. were putting up an electrical line at the Broomfield, Colo., Plaza shopping center at the northeast corner of 120th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard when their bucket truck failed.

• Walt Disney World Cited in Fatal Monorail Collision

OSHA has cited Walt Disney World for safety violations following the death of a monorail driver in July. And the agency has issued a recommendation letter concerning the death of an actor during a stage production at the park in August.

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