“Thanks to the hard work of the legislature and representatives of labor and industry, we have enacted one of the nation’s strongest mine safety laws, which completes the work begun following the Quecreek Mine accident,” said Gov. Edward Rendell, signing the new law.
The rule would require that underground coal mines provide refuge alternatives to protect miners when a life-threatening event makes escape impossible.
An alliance between OSHA and the American Society of Safety Engineers continues with the goal of fostering a culture of prevention for safety and health hazards at U.S. job sites.
EPA has not decided how to use all the authorities or tools available to it to achieve the Act's goals, and, meanwhile, it has not been reporting program results in relation to homes at risk in its performance reporting.
Correspondent Scott Pelley's segment on the problem of dust explosions will include interviews of former CSB Chair Carolyn Merritt and OSHA chief Edwin Foulke Jr. This CSB photo shows the damaged Imperial Sugar plant.
"This horrible tragedy underscores the need for all employers to implement effective safety and health management systems," said Louis Ricca Jr., acting administrator for OSHA's New York region.
NIOSH wants to know how stakeholders envision improving performance of instruments such as this personal dust monitor for miners. The input will contribute to a Nov. 13-14 DREAM workshop.
FirePASS's William Costello said the technology could have prevented February's Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion in Port Wentworth, Ga. OSHA chief Edwin Foulke Jr. responded with a letter clarifying the agency's denial of variance for the system.
Three employees were killed by steam and hot ash when boiler tubes ruptured in the lower vestibule/dead air space of boiler Unit #3 in the plant's boiler house in Salem, Mass.
This NIST photo shows electronics engineer Dennis Camell aligning antennas in a California mine for a study identifying optimal frequencies for radio transmissions in tunnels.
Since 1999, more than 200 people have died in recreational accidents at abandoned and active mine operations across the country; 148 of those incidents occurred in the past five years.
With somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 million people employed, construction is one of the largest industries in the United States. That’s a lot of people to send home safe every day. Construction work sites present a number of potential safety hazards; employers, with increased awareness, are emphasizing safe work habits to reduce injuries.
This proposed rule, for which the agency took comments in 2005, is one of two important ones expected to be proposed in June.
Employee exposure to electrocution and being caught in unguarded or unexpectedly energized driers and other machinery were also among the dangers OSHA found.
Three employees contracted from a temporary help company were injured after they were instructed by supervisors to clean the inside of a tank that contained concrete slurry waste.
Industry associations say methods used to measure asbestos under MSHA's new rule "may indicate that asbestos is present in a mine when in fact it is not."
OSHA will start an "informal public hearing" on the rule at 10 a.m. July 22 in Washington, D.C. If a second or third day is necessary, the hearing will begin at 9 a.m. those days.
The alleged violations include failing to lockout equipment prior to bin entry to prevent accidental energy start-up and allowing employees to walk on the grain to make it flow.
Rep. John Barrow, whose district includes the Imperial Sugar plant, is a sponsor of H.R. 5522, which would require interim and final dust standards and revision of the HazCom standard.
Numerous safety organizations have filed critical comments about the proposed standard, but the big construction union praised it, for the most part.