In 2006 and 2007, EPA investigators said the shuttle buses that carry passengers from the airport terminal to the rental car locations were idling excessively. Both Massachusetts and Connecticut have clean air regulations which limit motor vehicle idling (to five minutes in Massachusetts and three minutes in Connecticut).
OSHA has cited the hospital for an alleged serious violation of OSHA's general duty clause for failing to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious injury to workers, in this case the hazard of employees being injured by violent patients.
Proposed fines total $43,000 for violations including the company's failure to properly inspect piping used to transfer phosgene, perform a thorough process hazard analysis for its phosgene operation, train workers on hazards associated with phosgene, thoroughly inspect all high-risk sections of piping used to transfer oleum, and properly install energized electrical conductors.
An inspection earlier this year resulted in the St. Louis company receiving five repeat citations, mainly for problems involving its use of scaffolds, plus two other serious allegations.
According to EPA, the Wichita, Kan.-based plant generates significant quantities of hazardous waste, including industrial wastewater treatment filter sludge, primer residue waste containing chromium and cadmium, tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene waste from degreasers, and hazardous waste oil.
The investigation that followed the incident resulted in one willful, one repeat, and six serious citations. The willful charge, which alone has a proposed penalty of $70,000, is for failing to provide proper guarding on the mechanical power presses to prevent an amputation.
“Air pollution from particulate matter directly impacts the health of the community. It’s an especially serious issue in Maricopa County, where air quality does not meet the federal standard,” said EPA’s Jared Blumenfeld.
The new office will aim to connect employees, employers, and community-based organizations with the resources and assistance needed to ensure that workers in low-wage industries -- including laborers on federal construction and service contracts -- are paid fairly for all hours worked, DOL said.
According to EEOC, the employee informed her employer of a restriction against handling pesticides. The company honored her restriction for approximately six weeks and then terminated her employment, claiming it did not have enough work for her to perform with this restriction.
“Each day, oilfield workers are exposed to any number of hazards, including falls, fires, and explosions,” said John Hermanson, OSHA regional administrator in Philadelphia. “This alliance further strengthens OSHA’s ongoing efforts to protect workers in this area.”
The December 2005 explosion at the fuel storage depot in Hemel Hempstead, near London, is considered the most costly petrochemical accident ever in Britain, with an estimated total cost of almost $1.5 billion.
The agency has proposed $279,000 in fines after finding that the company failed to conduct an incident investigation of a January 2001 anhydrous ammonia leak, certify or evaluate its process safety management program every three years as required, establish and implement procedures to maintain changes in the process, and provide and document employee training, among other citations.
The agency issued a willful violation for the Dallas company's failure to institute an effective hearing conservation program, plus 10 serious violations for failing to protect workers from being struck by flying objects, the unexpected release of energy while servicing and maintaining equipment, and exposure to blood and hazardous chemicals, among other charges.
An inspection found that the company failed to provide adequate guarding on lathes, grinding, and other dangerous machines, and that it did not sufficiently develop and implement training on locking a machine's energy source and alerting others about the state of that power source.
According to DOJ and EPA, the company, which makes pipes, valves, fittings, fire hydrants, propane and compressed air tanks, and other similar products, emits pollutants such as particulate matter, VOCs, and mercury as a result of its manufacturing processes at various facilities.
Extra law enforcement patrols beginning July 16 in King County are part of a statewide "Slow down or pay up" campaign statewide and a push to eliminate deaths and serious injuries in traffic crashes by 2030.
"These citations and sizable fines reflect the Postal Service's failure to equip its workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to safely work with live electrical parts," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "The Postal Service knew that proper and effective training was needed for the safety of its workers but did not provide it."
Effective July 8, a new directive extends to Sept. 30 a yearlong NEP. It specifies programmed inspections in three regions and unprogrammed ones in the other seven OSHA regions.
Three top leaders from the U.S. Labor Department endorsed H.R. 5663 at a House hearing Tuesday, but the leading safety professional associations have taken opposing sides on the bill.
All told, the inspections at four of the discount retailer's Connecticut locations resulted in seven repeat citations with $95,200 in proposed fines, 13 serious citations with $38,500 in fines, and 10 other-than-serious citations with $7,000 in fines, for a proposed total of $140,700.