One willful violation was cited for allowing employees to dry sweep in areas where lead is used and processed. OSHA standards require lead to be removed by a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air filter or other equally effective method.
The Lightstep technology to be installed in three Upper Iowa University buildings this winter is a life safety product that answers post-9/11 needs for safe, fast emergency evacuations, UIU’s president says.
The renovation of about 89,000 square feet of laboratories, offices, and support space will include more efficient energy controls, HEPA filters for nano research, and a new fire sprinkler system. Construction should begin by Oct. 1.
When hazardous drugs must be prepared and administered, there are workplace best practices that can minimize potentially harmful exposure. These include the use of engineering controls and personal protective equipment.
Fourteen serious violations involve the company's failure to install isolation devices on the dust collector system to prevent fires and explosions, keep steel beams and floors free of coffee and tea dust accumulation, and develop and implement an emergency action plan and training in the use of fire extinguishers.
An estimated average of 3,800 university housing fires occur each year. Annually, these fires are responsible for 25 injuries and $9 million in property loss.
"The violations which related to improper management of the anhydrous ammonia system demonstrate a lax attitude towards a potentially catastrophic atmospheric release," said John Healy, OSHA area director in Englewood.
"Even in a retail outlet, employees can be exposed to deadly or disabling hazards if the proper safeguards and training are absent, as they were here," said Edward Jerome, OSHA's area director in Albany.
The study found that health care workers perceived surfaces as safer to touch than patient skin, in spite of research that has proven touching one contaminated surface can spread bacteria to up to the next seven surfaces touched.
OSHA's inspection found employees exposed to fire hazards from the open container of gasoline, combustibles allowed in the work area when the acetylene torch was being used, an unapproved light fixture in a hazardous location, and a lack of training in fire extinguisher use for employees.
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future also says currently available revenues are sufficient and a new, non-DOE nuclear waste management program should be established.
"This injury could have been prevented had the company followed proper machine guarding safety procedures," said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office.
Emergency preparedness is equally as important as prevention in maintaining a safe workplace.
Northeastern Wisconsin Wood Products was first inspected by OSHA in 2006 and issued eight citations. A follow-up inspection in 2007 found that most of the originally cited hazards remained unabated.
OSHA cited the company for 15 safety violations following an inspection resulting from the January death of a pedestal grinder operator who was killed when the abrasive wheel on the grinder exploded and struck the operator on the head.
OSHA's Dallas Area Office initiated an inspection Feb 21, after receiving a report that a worker was fatally injured from being caught in a pinsetter machine while clearing a jam.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's new advisory bulletin for owners and operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines says the Yellowstone River spill that began July 1 shows the risks.
DOE issued a $243,750 civil penalty to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions after a worker received a hand puncture from a sharp object contaminated with plutonium-238.
Proposed penalties total $169,400 following an inspection that began Jan. 10.
The July 28 meeting in Rockville, Md., to discuss recommendations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Japan Task Force gives Public Citizen and others the chance to say they don't go far enough.