The agency's Wichita Area Office will examine grain elevators and other operations for hazards typically associated with grain handling. Two workers died in June when a grain elevator collapsed in Russell, Kan.
On numerous occasions, MSHA officials have attempted to resolve serious safety issues at Massey-owned Freedom Energy, including meetings with upper mine management over recurring roof problems, ventilation and dust control issues. The inspections, citations, and meetings with mine management have not resulted in changes in behavior.
"Excavation is recognized as one of the most hazardous construction operations. However, cave-ins are easily avoided when the proper precautions are taken," said Domenick Salvatore, director of OSHA's Wilmington Area Office.
"Conditions found during the MIOSHA inspection were very serious,” said Acting Director Andrew S. Levin. “They must fulfill their obligations under the MIOSH Act and provide a safe and healthy work environment for their employees.
Fatal incidents where rescue capability is not standing by and available are all too frequent.
When rescuers needed to determine how to safely extract Chilean miners without their fainting and suffering a potentially devastating loss of blood to the brain, they turned to a UT Southwestern Medical Center scientist whose expertise typically is focused on astronauts in space, not mine workers trapped underground.
"We are continuing to find serious threats to miners' safety and health," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "While some operators are finally getting the message, others are not."
"For the safety of all their workers, employers must be vigilant when workers enter confined spaces, and take effective and specific protective action," said Greg Baxter, OSHA's regional administrator in Denver.
The worker was crushed when he became caught between a fixed metal barrier and a large paper roll that was moving on a conveyor. OSHA identified other hazardous conditions that were not related to the fatality; those resulted in two repeat and two serious citations.
"There is no excuse for employees to work in an environment where they are exposed to being crushed while working inside machinery where the energy source was not properly locked out and tagged," said Charles Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo.
Wind farms are spread across most of the United States, and wind turbine manufacturing operations are spread even more widely, according to maps in a new report posted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The company is being cited with two repeat violations and $56,000 in proposed penalties for failing to inspect a trench after conditions changed. In addition, the company is being cited for exposing workers to engulfment hazards by not having a protective system in place to prevent a trench collapse.
Sixteen organizations receive $2.75 million in one-year grants to develop training materials about nanomaterials, work zone safety, green roofing jobs, beryllium, and several others.
"This employer had been renting a trench box designed to protect workers from cave-ins but returned it to cut down on costs," said Les Grove, OSHA's area director in Tampa, Fla. “Risking the safety of your workers is not an acceptable business decision."
The Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced it has awarded $500,000 in grant funds to six organizations that provide education and training within the mining industry.
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, a Danish company, introduces the V112-3.0 MW with a series of videos from top officials, including Vestas Americas' President Martha Wyrsch discussing safety and environmental stewardship.
The Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration recently announced the publication of comprehensive data regarding safety and health records of the nation's mines. The data sets contain all of the agency's public data from calendar year 2000 to the present regarding mine locations, accidents, injuries, production, violations, and inspections.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration recently issued a safety alert and fatality update to the mining industry to draw renewed attention to deaths that have occurred this year in mines throughout the country.
The board also released a 15-minute safety video titled "No Escape: Dangers of Confined Spaces," which includes a detailed animation depicting the tragedy that unfolded at Xcel's Cabin Creek plant on Oct. 2, 2007, taking the lives of five contractors.
The mining operation, located in Wise County, Va., was cited for five contributory violations in the August 2009 death of an electrician/repairman who was fatally injured when a portion of mine rib collapsed upon him.