OSHA agents found workers were exposed to dangers from the company's failure to first de-energize live electrical parts before having employees work on them, resulting in the issuance of a willful citation.
MSHA has issued its accident investigation report in the May 2009 inundation that left seven coal miners trapped underground for nearly 24 hours at the Cobra Resources LLC Mountaineer Alma A Mine in Wharncliffe, W.Va.
"Unfortunately, this incident was a classic example of a multiple-fatality event where would-be rescuers are themselves overcome in their attempt to save the initial victim," said Kay Gee, OSHA's area director for Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
"No one ever thinks the trench he or she is working in will collapse, but the fact is cave-ins happen in seconds, crushing and burying workers beneath tons of soil and debris before they have a chance to react or escape," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for southeastern Massachusetts.
Preliminary data from MSHA indicates that mine fatalities in 2009 fell for the second straight year for a combined total of 34 mining deaths nationwide, a significant drop from last year's total of 52 deaths.
Are user seal checks necessary to ensure protection? And, if so, when should they be performed? A white paper prepared by the American Industrial Hygiene Association's Respiratory Protection Committee asks these and several other questions to resolve important issues.
The standards are designed for anyone involved in pumps, including users, consultants, contractors, construction firms, manufacturers of pumps, seals, motors, instrumentation, controls, and pump software developers and systems integrators.
Specifically, the employer did not evaluate permit-required confined space conditions by testing the atmospheric conditions in the boot pit for oxygen and carbon dioxide levels prior to entry, OSHA said.
"The need for fall protection was clear and recognized, yet this employer did not provide this basic, commonsense, and legally required safeguard," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties.
The agency began a health inspection in June after receiving information that fires had occurred in the Ohio plant, and that large amounts of dust from the manufacturing process had accumulated throughout the worksite.
Today's online chats by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and OSH Acting Assistant Secretary Jordan Barab tell us they are not planning an ergonomics rulemaking, although a column to log MSDs on the 300 log will be restored.
Among its many functions at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Raytheon MCVC provides the necessary range interface for test plans and test management activities for on-range and environmental testing, and performs processing for Patriot As A Target missiles.
During the past 10 million hours, the company has safely completed a number of major construction projects, from replacing a segment of line underneath the Susquehanna River in Maryland to lifting an underwater line in southern Mississippi to replace block valves, to boring a new line under I-65 near Birmingham while traffic continued above.
The new system will display the risk of extreme heat stress and time to flashover (the point when all combustible materials in a room simultaneously erupt in flames) on the incident commander's screen, along with the firefighters' locations and vital signs.
Joe Main, the assistant secretary now in charge at MSHA, will unveil a “comprehensive” strategy Dec. 3 at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, the agency announced.
Safety Director Ted Sommer said the company "strives every day to meet our goal of zero incidents through preplanning, training, and open coordination among the trades."
The fees for training and courses provided by the commission's Safety Section take effect Dec. 1 in three categories: per-person specialty courses/workshops, flat-rate full or half days once per month for a year, and hourly rates for as-needed training.
OSHA issued $1,592,500 of the $1.6 million in fines against Tempel Grain Elevators LLP of Wiley, Colo., in connection with the May 29 engulfment death of a 17-year-old worker.
"An unprotected trench is a potential grave, since its sidewalls can collapse in an instant, crushing and burying workers before they have a chance to react or escape," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.
The revised standard updates references for the provisions addressing piping systems, as well as acetylene generators and filling acetylene cylinders and requires that in-plant transfer, handling, storage, and use of acetylene cylinders comply with Compressed Gas Association Pamphlet G-1-2003, titled Acetylene.