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...
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...
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...
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...
OSHA Says Safety Program at St. Louis Company Needs a Nip and Tuck
OSHA has cited Clint Horn, doing business as Sturgis Tuckpointing, in St. Louis with alleged safety violations for repeatedly exposing workers to fall hazards while working on scaffolding structures. Proposed penalties total $221,600...
Cal/OSHA Prohibits Farm Laborers from Working at Two Sites
Cal/OSHA, fearing some employers put workers at risk by not providing adequate protection from triple-digit heat in the state, have cracked down on several employers...
Michaels’ Congressional Testimony Points to Discrepancies between OSHA and EPA Fines and Criminal Penalties
Members of Congress are working to link together key provisions of the Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAW Act, HR 2067), introduced last year, to mining safety and health provisions of the Mine Safety and Health Act of 2010 bill, HR 5663. The Miner Safety and Health Act would amend the OSH Act to allow for higher fines, stiffer criminal penalties and greater protection for whistleblowers in cases involving workplace safety. It also would allow victims and their families access to OSHA citations, notify them if the employer contests the findings of OSHA’s investigation and give them the right to meet with OSHA representatives...
ASSE Opposes New Miner Safety and Health Act
Efforts to link key provisions of the Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAW Act, HR 2067) to mining safety and health provisions of the Mine Safety and Health Act of 2010 bill, HR 5663, are creating workplace legislation that is widesweeping but still does not accomplish protecting all of America’s workers, says the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). The group is urging Congress to take a step back and think about the 8 million public sector workers who still won’t be covered under the new legislation...
OSHA cites Enbridge G&P Following Worker Fatality From Hydrogen Sulfide
OSHA has cited Enbridge G&P (East Texas) LP with two alleged willful and five alleged serious violations following a chemical release at the company’s Bryans Mill plant in Douglasville, Tex., which resulted in a worker’s death...
OSHA’s Michaels Concerned Some Oil Spill Workers Not Receiving Proper Training
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels is concerned that many workers are not receiving the training they need to keep them safe during the Gulf Coast oil spill clean-up...
OSHA: Imperial Sugar Will Pay More Than $6 Million, Implement Safety and Health Abatement Measures
OSHA announced July 7 that it has resolved litigation with Imperial Sugar Co. stemming from the February 2008 explosion at the company’s Port Wentworth, Ga., plant and subsequently discovered safety and health violations at the company’s Gramercy, La., facility...
Will You Be A Target for The New OSHA Sheriff?
Five things employers should do to avoid willful and repeated violations...
CSB Approves Urgent Recommendations to Prevent Deadly Explosions During Pipe Cleaning and Purging Operations
On June 28, CSB approved series of 18 urgent recommendations aimed at preventing fires and explosions caused when fuel gas is used to clean or purge gas pipes of debris, air or other substances, typically during facility construction and maintenance...
Workplace Violence to Big Rigs – Celebrating 20 Years of Studying Workplace Hazards
To study the air that workers in auto repair shops breathe, analysts with the SHARP Program, the research group at the Department of Labor & Industries, bought a hunting vest and stuffed it with measuring devices, including several filters and three different air pumps...
House Hearing Raises Questions on Safety Protections for Offshore Oil Workers
During a June 23 hearing, House Education and Labor Committee members raised serious questions regarding important worker safety protections on offshore oil rigs like the Deepwater Horizon...
OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Directive Is In Effect
OSHA’s Severe Violators Enforcement Program (SVEP) directive became effective June 18...
Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | Next
