Daily Roundup, Tuesday, November 9

• Experts say BP increased risk of blowout in Gulf

BP too often operated on the fly in the closing days of work on its doomed Gulf oil well, adding needless risk of a blowout, investigators, experts and panel members said at the presidential oil spill commission Tuesday.

• Investigator finds no evidence that BP took shortcuts to save money

The lead investigator for the presidential panel delving into the BP oil spill said on Monday that he had found no evidence that anyone involved in drilling the doomed well had taken safety shortcuts to save money.

• BP may pay billions for ‘missed signals’ that led to disaster

BP Plc remains at risk for billions of dollars in fines and legal costs even after a U.S. commission said safety wasn’t sacrificed for profit in the weeks and days leading up to the worst U.S. offshore oil spill.

• Judge closes hearing on offshore drilling permits

A federal judge on Tuesday barred news organizations from a conference over a company’s claim that the government has not yet issued a single permit to allow offshore drilling even though a moratorium was lifted in October.

• Tesoro faces EPA criminal probe for Wash. blast

Tesoro Corp. says it is under investigation by the Environment Protection Agency’s criminal division for the April 2 explosion and fire that killed seven people at the oil company’s Anacortes, Wash., refinery.

• Mold outbreak in Social Security office goes unsolved

The American Federation of Government Employees, the country’s largest federal employee union, is demanding the immediate closure of a Social Security Administration claims office in Ironton, Ohio, due to a black mold outbreak. The mold outbreak, which was first noticed two years ago, has left nine out of 11 workers ill, all of which have filed workers’ compensation claims, and poses a threat to the hundreds of people who go in and out of the contaminated office every week.

• Hyatt housekeepers to file OSHA complaints

Hyatt housekeepers in eight cities are expected to file complaints today with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, complaining of injuries they sustained on the job because of the high number of rooms they are expected to clean.

• Brazilian Blowout formally initiates legal proceedings against Oregon OSHA

Last week, Brazilian Blowout formally initiated legal proceedings in response to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Occupational Safety and Health Division’s (Oregon OSHA) inaccurate and unsupported conduct. Brazilian Blowout intends to seek an award of punitive damages to dissuade Oregon OSHA (OR-OSHA) from acting so recklessly again in the future.

• Lorain steel mill cited, fined for 13 safety violations

Republic Engineer Products in Lorain, Ohio, was handed 13 safety citations and fines of $143,000 yesterday for exposing workers to fall hazards, failing to provide protective equipment and failing to maintain equipment.

• Masonry block manufacturer fined $119,625 for machine guarding, more

OSHA has issued Harbison-Walker Refractories Co. of Vandalia, Mo., 17 workplace safety violations with $119,625 in proposed penalties.

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Daily Roundup, Friday, November 5

• Injury risk higher for night-shift workers, especially women

Canadians who work at night, especially women, face a high risk of being hurt on the job and more should be done to prevent the risk of injury, says a University of B.C. study.

• OSHA asks retailers for crowd control on Black Friday after Wal-Mart worker’s death

In 2008, a mob of shoppers waiting outside Wal-Mart for the store’s doors to open on Black Friday pushed inside and trampled 34-year-old Wal-Mart employee Jdimytai Damour to death.

• Porn studios and California health officials battle over workplace safety

During an unusual bureaucratic meeting yesterday, members of California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration sat down with representatives of California’s porn industry to talk about safe sex.

• Amtec Corp. cited for safety violations after explosion kills 2 workers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Amtec Corporation, a contractor at the U.S. Army’s Space & Missile Defense Command, Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, Ala., for safety violations following an explosion that killed two workers.

• Mining disaster may bring new light for worker safety for Chile

On Monday, nearly two weeks after the rescue, the miners visited Pinera at the presidential palace and took to the field against government officials in a friendly soccer game full of photo ops. The day in the limelight stood in sharp contrast to their dark ordeal, but their plight may be ushering in a new era in worker safety for Chile.

 

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Daily Roundup, Thursday, November 4

• MSHA asks federal judge to close unsafe Massey coal mine, wants paychecks to continue for affected miners

For the first time in the agency’s history, the Labor Department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) went to federal court to ask that a dangerous coal mine be shut down until it fixes its safety problems once and for all.

• Obama can pursue ambitious agenda without Congress’s help

If President Obama wants to pursue a progressive agenda in the next two years, there are plenty of ways he can do that even without any help from Capitol Hill.

• Targeting bogus injury records, OSHA takes heat from all sides

Workplace safety advocates have contended for years that bosses often cheat when it comes to their obligation to report on-the-job injuries. Academic researchers also have found extensive evidence that, whether due to deliberate fudging or other reasons, many serious work injuries are never properly disclosed to authorities.

• OSHA warns retailers to control holiday crowds

In a letter sent to retail companies, OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels reminded 14 CEOS of major retailers of the fatal injury suffered by a store employee two years ago when trampled by Black Friday shoppers, and he included an OSHA fact sheet with tips for controlling crowds.

• State data highlight safety issues at Napa State Hospital

Between early 2009 and the second quarter of 2010, patient attacks on Napa State Hospital staff more than quadrupled to 200 and patient assaults against other patients increased sevenfold to 692, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

• For NFL players, another risk: heart disease

Although some studies have shown retired N.F.L. players to have higher rates of indicators for cardiovascular disease like hypertension and artery-clogging plaque, experts say no hard data suggest that N.F.L. players over all are at greater risk of dying younger of heart disease than men of corresponding size and health in the general population.

• A safety kink in hair relaxing?

Just like the permanents that were once the height of fashion, the lucrative process of converting frizzy or kinky hair into smooth locks produces unpleasant odors. But is it dangerous, especially to the operators who apply the product repeatedly?

• American Nurses Association president leads briefing on continuing threat from sharp object injuries

Ten years ago, Congress passed the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, legislation aimed at protecting nurses and other health care professionals from being injured by needles and other sharp objects that can carry bloodborne infections. A November 4th briefing hosted by the American Nurses Association (ANA) examined the efficacy of that legislation and what more needs to be done to safeguard the lives and health of the nation’s nurses and health care workers.

• OSHA fines tree service $146K

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited ABC Professional Tree Services Inc., a Houston, Texas-based company specializing in tree trimming for public utility lines clearance, with $146,000 in proposed penalties for allegedly failing to ensure employees were trained to work near energized transmission and distribution lines.

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Daily Roundup, Wednesday, November 3

• Labor faces ‘huge sinkhole’ for U.S. agenda as Republicans take over House

With Republicans taking control of the House and gaining seats in the Senate, unions face little chance of achieving their legislative goals, such as relaxed organizing rules, mandatory paid sick leave, bigger fines for workplace safety violations and tougher mine-safety rules.

• On Capitol Hill, anything goes

Frustrated Americans often complain that lawmakers in Washington set rules for everyone else and then ignore them whenever convenient. Depending on your view, that’s more or less likely to change given yesterday’s election results. But in the actual halls of Congress, it almost certainly won’t change

• Looking at my crystal ball to predict regulatory initiatives for worker safety

It’s that time of year, when the Secretary of Labor is supposed to outline her rulemaking priorities for next 12 months. This would include new proposal to protect mine workers, like the 64 killed already this year, and the tens of thousands made ill by inadequate OSHA standards on exposure to chemicals.

• GOP social club sued for racial discrimination

The National Republican Club of Capitol Hill, an exclusive club known to be the place where the DC Republican “backroom deals” get made, is being sued for race discrimination by its former human resource manager.

• Experts urge measures to protect pro and amateur athletes from brain trauma

Just two weeks after the National Football League announced a crackdown on helmet-to-helmet tackles to reduce the risk of head injuries, the American Academy of Neurology has issued recommendations for protecting amateur and professional athletes who may have suffered a concussion.

• Poison Apple: iPhone production line tied to toxics in China

Anti-sweatshop activists have blasted Apple for ignoring exploitative, perhaps severely poisonous, working conditions at United Win Technology, a facility in Jiangsu Province apparently connected to Apple Computers. Media reports have been circulating since 2009 about exposure of workers to n-hexane, a substance workers say they’ve used to make those glittering Apple touch screens.

• Extensive corrosion threatens BP pipelines in Alaska, risking explosions, spills

The extensive pipeline system that moves oil, gas and waste throughout BP’s operations in Alaska is plagued by severe corrosion, according to an internal maintenance report generated four weeks ago.

• NBA Knicks game postponed by asbestos wafting from rafters of Madison Square Garden

Tuesday night’s National Basketball Assn. contest between the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic was postponed after asbestos-related debris fell into the arena during overnight maintenance at Madison Square Garden, according to a statement from the Knicks.

• Rockford’s Lowe’s Distribution Center fined by OSHA

The Lowe’s Distribution Center in Rockford, Ill., faces $182,000 fines from OSHA. The fines are for failure to document and report employee injuries and illnesses, as required by OSHA safety and health regulations.

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Daily Roundup, Tuesday, November 2

• Do you get paid time off work to vote?

Some good news for all you busy workers out there: Finding time in your day to vote may be easier than you think. Thirty-one states guarantee employees time off to vote, at least under certain conditions. In 23 of these states, employees are entitled to paid time off to vote. Are you?

• Democrats face biggest House midterm defeat in years

The Republicans are poised to retake the U.S. House and narrow Democrats’ margin in the Senate, delivering a rebuke to President Barack Obama’s party in a campaign shaped by voter anxiety over jobs and the economy. The shift in power also would mean unions face little chance of achieving their major legislative goals, such as easier organizing rules, mandatory paid sick leave, bigger fines for workplace safety violations and tougher mine-safety rules.

• Interior hires firm that OK’d deepwater safety procedures to do autopsy of failed device

The Interior Department has hired a Norwegian firm to inspect the giant subsea device that failed to prevent the Macondo oil and gas well from exploding on April 20, although the same firm earlier gave a thumbs-up to safety procedures on board the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which sank in the accident.

• What agency inspects trams? None

The automated tram that struck and killed a contractor last week at Bush Intercontinental Airport did not meet government safety regulations for operation because none exist for the vehicle, according to city, state and federal officials.

• Analysis: Pipeline safety delays endanger oil supply, nature

Pipeline leaks, like one that cut U.S. crude imports last month and pushed oil prices up $4 a barrel, may become more frequent as the U.S. delays safety reforms on its aging 2.5 million mile network of energy lines.

• Union wins review of mining safety drill rule

The D.C. Circuit handed a miners’ union a partial victory in its challenge of federal mine safety regulations, saying the government failed to explain why it chose to require annual instead of quarterly training sessions on seeking refuge in case of an accident.

• OSHA cites New York and Pennsylvania contractors following scaffold collapse at Binghamton University that injured 6 workers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited two contractors for alleged serious violations of safety standards following a June 2 scaffold collapse at Binghamton University that injured six workers.

• Piping accident was caused by system failure

The piping accident that injured 12 workers when it sent high-temperature water into a pipe by HPER and steam spewing into the air Monday, was caused by a system failure, not a break in the pipe, authorities say.

• Hydraulic Lift Fails While Worker Cuts Down Tree Limbs In Genoa

An employee of Westside Forestry was utilizing a hydraulic boom lift to cut down tree limbs from a mature pine tree when the hydraulic extension failed and imploded, causing the lift to free-fall approximately 50 to 60 feet. The employee on the lift sustained serious head injuries and other internal injuries and was taken to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.

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Daily Roundup, Monday, November 1

• Lawmaker seeks hearing on toxic exposures in prison recycling plants

A blistering government report about prison employees and inmates being exposed to toxic substances while working in electronic waste recycling plants prompted a call Friday for a congressional hearing.

• Oregon’s workplace safety agency warns about high-levels of formaldehyde in Brazilian Blowout hair product

Oregon’s workplace-safety watchdogs warned the state’s 21,228 licensed hair stylists Friday that extensive testing found significant formaldehyde levels in the popular, high-end treatment known as Brazilian Blowout, as well as in some other hair-straighteners and smoothers.

• OSHA reduces daily hours for 10- and 30-hour training to avoid mental fatigue, improve training

OSHA recently revised its policy for all Outreach Training Programs to address the number of hours each day a student may spend in OSHA 10- and 30-hour classes in an effort to prevent workers from being saturated with so much information that they may miss content that could prevent injuries, illnesses and death.

• Nurses union reports unsafe understaffing at Washington Hospital Center

The largest nurses union in the country asked the D.C. Health Department on Monday to investigate nurse understaffing at Washington Hospital Center that the union says is jeopardizing patient care.

• The Ground Zero settlement

This being America, after every tragedy come the lawsuits, and the cleanup at Ground Zero after 9/11 has been no exception. This particular lawsuit can largely be put to rest, however, under a settlement that appears to serve the best interests of all parties.

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