Ray Gonzalez didn’t die in a mine, but his family had hoped that a mine safety bill in Congress might help prevent more deaths like his.
OSHA’s intention to finalize a list of chemicals on which to focus the agency’s efforts to address outdated rules on workplace chemical exposures was officially announced in the December 1 issue of OSHA Quick Takes and described in my November 17 post, “OSHA Poised to Action on Chemical Hazards.” No matter what approach or combination of approaches OSHA ultimately takes on chemical exposures, employer education and training must lay the foundation for voluntary compliance and enforcement.
Lead paint lurks everywhere in the New York City subway system, which is more than a century old. The hazards of removal are well-known and exposure has been linked to childhood learning disabilities and nervous-system disorders in adults. Yet some say the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is not doing all it can to protect workers and riders.
There are hopeful signs that Metro is starting to upgrade its slapdash attitude toward safety, which in recent years has yielded disastrous results. With the transit agency preparing to hire a new general manager, the task will be to maintain momentum toward building a robust culture of safety.
The legal tangle over Brazilian Blowout, a salon hair smoothing solution, grows frizzier. Lawyers this week filed a complaint in Multnomah County Circuit Court, asking for an injunction that would force Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Division to stop reporting test results showing the product contains unsafe levels of formaldehyde.
The government is no closer to finding the cause of an explosion that killed three workers at a small West Virginia chemical plant, a federal investigator said Thursday.
A federal judge on Friday indicated that he would not dismiss federal safety regulators’ unprecedented court action to close a Pike County mine operated by subsidiaries of Massey Energy.
The Village of Tarrytown has been served with four serious violations from the New York State Department of Labor. The violations were for lapses in protocol and safety that contributed to the accidental deaths of two men who died of asphyxiation when they entered a manhole behind Consolidated Engine Company.
Police have spent this week combing a snow-dusted Long Island beach where they’ve found the remains of four women, thought to include sex workers targeted by a serial killer who met the women on Craigslist.
A state law that took effect in October requires motorists to clean ice and snow off all exposed surfaces of vehicles before they start rolling. Fines range from $25 to $75. Several states previously imposed fines if snow flying from vehicles caused damage or injury; New Jersey’s penalty is as much as $1,500 for commercial vehicles.
