OSHA’s Michaels Puts Focus on Long Work Hours, Fatigue and Worker Safety
In response to recent requests from advocacy organizations and individuals to issue regulations that would limit the work hours of resident physicians, OSHA Administrator Dr. David Michaels acknowledged that long working hours and worker fatigue is a safety concern not only for medical residents, but for employees in other industries as well...
OSHA Proposes Improvements to Its On-site Consultation Program
On Sept. 3, OSHA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise regulations covering the agency’s On-site Consultation Program. The changes will provide the agency greater flexibility for inspecting worksites that are undergoing an on-site consultation visit and those that are granted Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) status, as well as ensure enhanced worker safety...
OSHA Fines Whitesell Corp. $3 Million for Amputation Hazards at Two Factories
On Sept. 1, OSHA fined Whitesell Corp. $3,071,500 and cited the company with 72 safety and health violations for exposing workers to amputation hazards and other problems at its manufacturing plants in Tuscumbia and Muscle Shoals, Ala...
10 OSHA Recordkeeping Questions (Employers Get Wrong)
One of the nation’s top OSHA law attorneys shares the list of common recordkeeping mistakes he sees employers making...
DOL Awards Amtrak Employee $160,000 in Retaliation Case
On Aug. 26, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) ordered Amtrak to pay employee Nicole Anderson $60,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000 in punitive damages for the retaliation she experienced after reporting an on-the-job injury...
ASSE Urges OSHA to Utilize Consensus Standards When Developing Slips and Falls Rule
In an Aug. 19 letter to OSHA on the proposed Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment rule (29 CFR, Part 1910), the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) urged the agency to utilize existing fall standards and the voluntary consensus standards as it develops the new rule...
MSHA Releases Inspection Results from Targeted Mines with Suspected Unsafe Conditions
MSHA announced Aug. 24 the outcome of recent impact inspections at four underground coal mining operations where unsafe practices and conditions were suspected. MSHA inspectors uncovered numerous safety violations, including failure to follow the mine’s approved ventilation plan, inadequate roof support and accumulation of combustible materials...
OSHA Cites SeaWorld $75,000 Following Animal Trainer’s Death
OSHA has cited SeaWorld of Florida LLC a total of $75,000 for three safety violations following the Feb. 24 death of an animal trainer. SeaWorld, however, argued that OSHA’s allegations are unfounded and intends to contest the citations...
Fatal Injuries Declined 17 Percent in 2009
Preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released Aug. 19 show a decline in workplace fatalities in 2009 of 17 percent, compared with 2008. Transportation injuries, still the number one workplace killer, dropped 21 percent...
OSHA Warns Gulf Coast Employers Against Withholding HAZWOPER Certificates
OSHA has received numerous complaints from workers taking part in the Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup whose employers are refusing to provide them with a certificate following their completion of training under the Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, or HAZWOPER, standard...
OSHA Proposes Another $374,500 in Fines Against Cooperative Plus
OSHA recently proposed penalties of $374,500 against Cooperative Plus Inc., a farmer-owned cooperative, for federal workplace safety violations at its Whitewater and Genoa City, Wis., sites. This action follows the $721,000 in penalties issued Aug. 4 after a worker was seriously injured from being engulfed by soybeans at the cooperative’s Burlington, Wis., facility in February...
OSHA Cites Moscow, Pa., Roofing Contractor for Endangering Workers
OSHA has cited Eastern Roofing Systems Inc. of Moscow for fall hazards at a residential roof repairing operation in Scranton, Pa, with roposed penalties totaling $53,200...
EPA Proposes Improvements to Chemical Reporting
As part of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, EPA is proposing several actions to improve reporting on chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)...
BP Agrees To Pay Full Penalty of $50.6 Million For Citations Stemming from 2005 Texas City Refinery Explosion
OSHA on Aug. 12 announced that BP Products North America Inc. will pay the full penalty of $50.6 million stemming from the 2005 explosion at its Texas City, Texas, refinery that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others. The agreement resolves failure-to-abate citations issued in October 2009 after a follow-up investigation. In addition to paying the record fine, BP has agreed to take immediate steps to protect those now working at the refinery, allocating a minimum of $500 million to that effort...
NFL Running Back joins MSHA’s Stay Out – Stay Alive Campaign
MSHA recently announced that Kansas City Chiefs’ running back Thomas Jones has become a spokesman for the agency’s annual Stay Out – Stay Alive public safety campaign, which was launched in 1999 to warn outdoor enthusiasts, especially children, about the dangers of playing on mine property. Each year, dozens of people are injured or killed in recreational accidents at active and abandoned mine sites...
OSHA Proposes Hundreds of Citations, $16.6 Million in Fines for Kleen Energy Explosion
OSHA on August 5 cited three construction companies and 14 site contractors for 371 alleged workplace safety violations and proposed $16.6 million dollars in penalties following an investigation into the causes of February’s deadly natural gas explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems LLC power plant construction site in Middletown, Conn., that took the lives of six workers and injured 50 others...
OSHA Puts Grain Handling Operators on Notice; Fines Wisconsin Grain Cooperative $721,000
On Aug. 4, OSHA Administrator David Michaels announced that the agency will send letters to approximately 3,300 employers involved in grain handling and storage to warn them not to allow workers to enter grain storage facilities without proper equipment, precautions and training. This move comes on the heels of the agency issuing $721,000 in fines against a Wisconsin grain cooperative after a worker was engulfed in frozen soybeans...
Raising Fines Won't Decrease Workplace Fatalities
Tacking OSHA reform measures onto the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act is not the best way to blow the cobwebs off an outdated Occupational Safety and Health Act...
OSHA Publishes Cranes and Derricks Final Rule
It’s been in the works for years and has finally come to life: On July 28, OSHA announced it is issuing a new final rule for cranes and derricks in construction. The agency estimates the new rule will prevent 22 fatalities and 175 injuries each year...
EPA Responds to Enbridge Kalamazoo River Spill
EPA has assumed the role of federal on-scene coordinator in response to the Enbridge oil spill in the Kalamazoo River. In that role, EPA will coordinate the response activities carried out by federal and state officials and will direct the response efforts carried out by Enbridge Inc...
MSHA Ramps Up Enforcement, Hires Additional Inspectors as Citations, Penalties Increase
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has stepped up enforcement of the Mine Safety and Health Act with aggressive field inspections of coal, mineral and aggregate mining operations. Since April, citations and penalties have risen steadily with industry experts predicting a continued increase as MSHA expanded its budget for site inspections and is currently recruiting additional field inspectors...
OSHA Cites Krestmark Industries for Alleged Noise Violations
OSHA cited Krestmark Industries LP with one alleged willful and 10 alleged serious violations following a safety and health inspection at the company’s worksite in Dallas. Penalties total $129,500...
OSHA fines Kenton Iron Products $214,500 in Penalties
OSHA has cited Kenton Iron Products LLC with $214,500 in proposed penalties for 29 alleged serious, willful and repeat safety and health violations for unsafe working conditions at the company’s iron casting facility in Kenton, Ohio...
House Committee Approves Landmark Miner and Worker Safety Legislation
On a 30-17 vote, the House Education and Labor Committee on July 21 approved legislation to reform the nation’s mine and worker safety laws and update the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). The full House is expected to vote on H.R. 5663, the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act 0f 2010, (and pass it) before the August break, while the Senate is expected to vote on the bill (and defeat it) after the break...
OSHA: U.S. Postal Service Not Delivering on Safety at Capitol Heights Facility
OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service for workplace safety violations related to electrical hazards found at the Capitol Heights Processing and Distribution Center and is proposing penalties totaling $272,000...
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