"An unguarded excavation is a tomb in waiting. Its walls can collapse in moments, crushing and burying workers beneath tons of soil before they have a chance to react or escape," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties.
The agency is conducting the two meetings in Atlanta to make it easier for families of those who perished in the 2008 Imperial Sugar Co. explosion in Port Wentworth, Ga., to attend.
"OSHA determined that this company is fully aware of the deficiencies it has in its safety program and what needs to be changed to provide safe work conditions for employees but hasn't acted to correct those deficiencies," said Roberto Sanchez, director of the agency's area office in Birmingham, Ala.
OSHA agents found workers were exposed to dangers from the company's failure to first de-energize live electrical parts before having employees work on them, resulting in the issuance of a willful citation.
"The significant fines of $683,000 cannot replace this worker's life or bring peace to the family, but they will go a long way in letting this employer know disregarding worker safety and health will not be tolerated," said OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels.
"There's no excuse for workers being repeatedly and needlessly exposed to potentially fatal or disabling falls," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.
Inspections at two of the wholesaler's warehouses found damaged storage racks, unguarded moving machine parts, no auxiliary lighting for powered pallet jacks that were operating in areas where the dock lights were not in working order, and exposed energized electrical conductors, among other violations.
As part of the consent decree, the company will discontinue use of approximately 70 miles of a pipeline that travels through the Tehachapi Mountains, portions of which are geologically unstable. The agreement does allow for the reuse of the pipeline.
Attendees will be presented with the different inspection methods for parent material as well as for welds and heat affected zones, along with advice on what to do if damage caused by HHA is found.
According to researchers at Johns Hopkins, the most common reasons for medical evacuation of military personnel from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years have been fractures, tendonitis, and other musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders.
In addition to paying a $13,166 penalty, the company agreed to provide more than $8,800 for training and equipment to the City of Hoquiam (Wash.) Fire Department to improve the department's capabilities in responding to hazardous materials emergencies.
The waste was part of a shipment of approximately 31,993 pounds of cathode ray tubes that had been rejected in Hong Kong and returned to the Port of Long Beach.
"[T]hese settlements call for tough new controls and innovative technologies to cut down on harmful air emissions that threaten the health of millions of Americans," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
"This was a serious accident which claimed the lives of four workers, injured scores of others, and resulted in hundreds of job losses," said CSB Chairman John Bresland. "The goal of the CSB investigation is to recommend measures that will help prevent other devastating accidents during gas purging operations."
The refinery "did not ensure adequate maintenance and oversight of its process safety equipment, exposing workers to the release of toxic chemicals and posing a danger to not only the company's employees but to the community, as well," said Dean McDaniel, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Graco Children's Products Inc., of Atlanta, Ga., has announced a voluntary recall 1.5 million units of the Passage™, Alano™, and Spree™ Strollers and Travel Systems.
"It's been 99 years since the fire at The Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in New York City took the lives of nearly 150 workers. . . . Blocked fire exits can be deadly. It is that simple," said OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels.
Currently, USCG members must walk -- carrying all of their equipment -- to any ice rescue scenes, which can take valuable time in rescue efforts. With the airboat, which goes over ice and water, rescuers will be able to reach more incidents and get there faster.
NFPA applauds Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and California for their
actions on requiring home fire sprinklers per an initiative the association launched last year.
Requirements for exposure limits, exposure monitoring and determination, protective work clothing and equipment, medical surveillance, communication of hexavalent chromium hazards, and recordkeeping are described.