Illinois has became the newest state to receive approval from OSHA to administer its own occupational safety and health plan for public employees in the state. A notice appears in the Sept. 1st edition of the Federal Register.
"The sizable fines proposed here reflect the gravity of this employer's ongoing failure to correct clear and recognized hazards that could result in burns, crushing injuries, or death for its employees," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.
Heberle Disposal Service Inc., a Rochester, N.Y., solid waste collection company, faces an additional $304,200 in fines from OSHA for failing to correct hazards cited during a 2008 inspection and for new and recurring safety hazards at its Alvanar Road worksite.
"We believe that this agreement represents a fair and just resolution of this matter and, hopefully, will serve as a warning to all businesses that generate wastewater that they must abide by all requirements of their discharge permits," said U.S. Attorney Nora R. Dannehy.
According to DOJ, the company's six plants in the state are illegally emitting massive amounts of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter.
"Sometimes a simple conversation with the employee about what might be needed to return to work is all that is necessary to keep valued employees in their jobs," said EEOC Chicago Regional Attorney John Hendrickson.
OSHA issued about $1 million in fines against two of the companies that were charged in the Aug. 27 indictment, which was announced the following day by U.S. Attorney David Gaouette, shown here.
"One wrong step can end a worker's career or life," said Kay Gee, OSHA's acting area director in Manhattan. "We want to emphasize to all contractors the importance of supplying effective fall protection safeguards and training to their workers."
According to the lawsuit, the disabled worker could not effectively communicate with others without the assistance of a job coach because of his cerebral palsy and limited intellectual functioning.
"Different companies. Different worksites. Similar issues. Trench work can be extremely dangerous," said OSHA Regional Administrator Greg Baxter.
The greatest potential hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances might seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of all Americans, the agency noted.
An agency inspection identified dozens of instances throughout the plant where workers were exposed to possible lacerations, amputation, and crushing injuries from unguarded moving parts of mechanical power presses and other machinery as well as a lack of specific procedures to prevent the accidental startup of numerous machines during set-up, maintenance, and repair.
"It's critical that companies report the storage and release of toxic chemicals--if they don't, public safety is jeopardized in an emergency," said Edward Kowalski, EPA's Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle.
Consumers who have used the drug, marketed as Xenical and the over-the-counter medication Alli, should consult a health care professional if they experience symptoms possibly associated with development of liver injury, particularly weakness or fatigue, fever, jaundice, or brown urine, the agency says. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, itching, or loss of appetite.
The ranking member on the U.S. Senate HELP Committee asked the president this week to withdraw M. Patricia Smith's nomination, saying her comments about a New York State Department of Labor program are not consistent with documents about it from the state of New York.
The latest workplace safety and health information will be showcased at the Southern Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Conference. The annual conference, scheduled for Oct. 21-22, 2009, at the Smullin Center in Medford, will focus on the theme “Celebrating Innovation in Safety and Health.”
Managers at the cited companies in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi "have displayed a systemic indifference to the safety and health of their own employees, resulting in a dangerous work environment," said Cindy Coe, OSHA's regional administrator in Atlanta.
The Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced Gerber Products Co. has agreed to settle findings of hiring discrimination against 1,912 rejected minority and female applicants for entry-level positions. The agreement settles the department's allegations that Gerber engaged in hiring discrimination against minority and female applicants for one year.
An Aug. 18 Safety Alert warns construction companies and utilities that machines used to cut trenches may be equipped with safety devices that do not function as designed.
Two panel discussions are planned, covering use of broadband applications by first responders and the impact of the technology on issues such as cyber security, pandemics, bioterrorism, and critical infrastructure vulnerabilities.