"Creating a safer environment and eliminating hazardous conditions on the high seas is one of the goals of the NTSB," said Robert Sumwalt, NTSB board member. "The forum will provide a great opportunity to identify strategies to improve safety."
Investigators found 14 live rodents, seven dead rodents, 23 gnaw holes on multiple food containers, multiple containers of food containing rodent pellets, four rodent nests, and apparent rodent pellets too numerous to count.
Hospitals vary in how they detect and treat drug-resistant staph infections, but most follow national guideline recommendations, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
According to DOJ, the company, which treats wastewater in a facility separate from its cheese-making plant, repeatedly violated its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit over a period of three years, affecting a waterway that flows into the Boise River, a salmon habitat.
According to its developers, the design's precision maneuverability throughout a large space and ability to be outfitted with a large variety of tools make it ideal for this type of application.
High-heat procedures are now required for five industries when temperatures reach 95 degrees or above: agriculture; construction; landscaping; oil & gas extraction; and transportation or delivery of agricultural products, construction material, or other heavy materials.
Investigators found that an employee of the Shawnee, Okla.-based convenience store chain was fired after complaining about safety hazards at a store. In addition to back pay and reinstatement, the Labor Department is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the employee.
“Employers who respond to disabled individuals with knee-jerk exclusions based on myths, fears, and stereotypes, rather than considering individual abilities, put themselves at risk,” said senior trial attorney Eduardo Juarez of EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office.
Many of the alleged violations concern the nationwide food distributor’s process safety management program, which was also the case in April, when a sister facility in Nampa, Idaho, roughly 180 miles away, was charged with penalties totaling $153,000.
By focusing proper cleaning on surfaces in the office that get more hand attention, health-based cleaning services target potentially contaminated surfaces that can harbor MRSA and other harmful pathogens.
EPA inspectors found Tanco had not properly implemented its Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan, including requirements for secondary containment and tank integrity testing, both of which are designed to prevent or minimize the impacts from accidental releases.
Last year's event in San Antonio, Texas (pictured), drew 2,836 attendees representing all areas and professions affiliated with the safety and health industry. For this year's conference in Orlando, organizers are expecting to up that number to at least 3,000.
A new study by two Albanian researchers has found prevalence varying between 19.2 percent and 25.7 percent among workers in the metallurgical industry.
EEOC filed the suit in New Jersey, saying the health care provider unlawfully fired employees who needed medical leave.
The company also agreed to spend at least $500 million on safety measures at its Texas City plant. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis today said "The size of the penalty rightly reflects BP's disregard for workplace safety."
The company received repeat citations for failing to make a reasonable estimate of employee exposure to hazardous chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide; it received willful citations for failing to implement confined space entry procedures.
The company was cited for allegedly failing to conduct drills or exercises to help prepare for a potential spill from its oil storage facility in Woxall, Pa. Under the Clean Water Act, owners of oil storage facilities must have a plan to minimize the risk of spills, including periodic exercises.
According to the Department of Justice, the amount of the civil penalty is “precedent-setting” yet “appropriate in light of the unacceptable risk” created by the underground storage tanks at the defendants’ 17 gas stations in Maryland and Delaware.
The company's "refusal to honor the requirements of this agreement reflects an irresponsible approach to worker safety and health, leaving workers vulnerable to injuries and possible fatalities," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "This situation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
"The fines and penalties reflect the gravity and severity of the deadly conditions created by the companies managing the work at the site," said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. "No operation and no deadline is worth cutting common sense safety procedures. Workers should not sacrifice their lives for their livelihoods."