According to DOJ, on average, the center’s residents die at the age of 46.5 years, compared with the average age of 72 years for other individuals with developmental disabilities living in institutional settings.
Among the 18 serious hazards the agency cited are the company’s failure to protect workers from rotating parts on conveyor belts and not providing a wash station for employees during the use of corrosive chemicals.
According to investigators, the company has not maintained OSHA 300 logs for two years and has failed to develop and implement a hazcom program, train employees on hazardous chemicals, and develop and implement a respiratory protection program, among other problems.
International President Edwin D. Hill promises a "bold, timely and safe startup" of two new nuclear reactors that are planned with federal loan guarantees near Augusta, Ga.
Restrictions were imposed in 1990 on the practice when white phosphorus from Army munitions was found to be killing ducks and swans on Eagle River Flats. A Superfund cleanup of the area is about to be completed.
EPA alleges that UCM failed to conduct hazardous waste determinations at their point of origin and failed to comply with universal waste regulations by not storing waste in closed containers.
The 45 serious violations of which the facility stands accused address hazards with industrial trucks, falls, PPE, machine guarding, electrical safety, process safety management, respirators, and emergency response.
OSHA has ordered The Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. to pay $1,000 in punitive damages and to take corrective actions, including expunging disciplinary actions and references to them from various records as well as compensating the worker for attorneys' fees.
The Food and Drug Administration is warning health care providers and consumers about counterfeit surgical mesh being distributed in the United States under the C. R. Bard/Davol brand name. Surgical mesh products are used to reinforce soft tissue where weakness exists.
Unguarded protruding steel rebar, uncovered 7-foot deep holes, and an unprotected 14-foot-high excavation wall were among the unsafe conditions OSHA found at the construction site in Newton, Mass.
"Unprotected trenches can become deathtraps in an instant when cave-ins occur," said Richard S. Terrill, OSHA's regional administrator in Seattle.
"Employers should not assume this [combustible dust] hazard is minor or non-existent. Addressing it requires ongoing attention and effort, but proper precautions can prevent or minimize the possibility of a devastating explosion or fire," said William Coffin, OSHA's area director for Maine.
Acciona Energy, a Spanish company whose North American subsidiary has several U.S. projects under way, announced March 9 it has signed a deal to build three wind farms in the Mexican state of Oaxaca with 204 of its turbines providing 306 MW of total capacity. New equipment for servicing turbines is arriving, too.
If energy-saving construction were a poker game, the Department of Energy made a large bet March 5 by offering a conditional commitment for a $72 million loan guarantee to SAGE Electrochromics Inc. of Faribault, Minn.
"Employers whose businesses have injury and illness rates this high need to take immediate steps to protect their workers," said OSHA head Dr. David Michaels.
Rick Marinelli joined FAA in 1992 and now serves as manager of its Airport Engineering Division, responsible for programs relating to runway and taxiway geometry, airport airspace analysis, airport winter operations, design standards for airport facilities and equipment, airport pavements, airport lighting and electrical systems, and airport safety data.
“Hot work around flammable gas or vapor is one of the most common causes of worker deaths that we see at the Chemical Safety Board,” said CSB Board Member William B. Wark.
The agency's investigation substantiated the employee's complaint that his job duties were systematically removed and his paychecks were delayed and ultimately stopped after he questioned the accuracy of several statements made in the company's SEC filings.
Pressure on the industry to achieve a zero risk level is wrongheaded because it is not attainable in the real world, Dale Klein, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission member, told attendees Friday in Raleigh, N.C., at the Grand Challenge Summit 2010.
"One may think that fingersticks are selected more frequently because they cost less; however, that isn't necessarily true," says white paper author Richard Penington. "Likewise, some believe that the venous blood draw gives results that are more accurate because the blood is sent to a lab for testing. That's also not necessarily true."