OSHA found that the railroad, which provides commuter rail service in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, interfered with the worker's medical treatment and forced him to work in violation of his physician's orders.
“When you’re operating in extreme cold conditions, it’s a challenge to find apparel that will keep workers comfortable and still allow them to do their jobs,” said ISEA Director of Member and Technical Services Cristine Fargo.
OSHA's Houston South Area Office initiated a safety inspection on Sept. 7, 2011, as a result of several employee complaints, while concurrently conducting a site-specific target inspection.
Provide training in the proper selection and use of PPE for your employees and yourself such as eyewear, gloves, boots, and dust masks/respirators for cleaning and other operations.
Safety and health violations include inadequate lockout/tagout programs, fall protection, and noise sampling, among others. Proposed penalties total $174,600.
"The level of disregard for workers' safety demonstrated by this employer is irresponsible. Although the employer knows the fire and explosion hazards associated with the accumulation of combustible dust, a choice was made to do nothing about it," said Les Grove, OSHA's area director in Tampa.
Head/face protection should be near the top of your list because it affects almost every other safety program you have on site.
The best way to use the time while we await the new labeling regulation is to train users to fit protectors correctly and use fit testing to document the protection provided by a given protector.
"Allowing workers to come in contact with exposed and energized parts without appropriate personal protective equipment demonstrates a lack of concern for their safety," said George Yoksas, OSHA's area director in Milwaukee.
The agency described Kuehne Chemical Co. Inc. as a bleach manufacturer and chlorine and caustic soda reseller that employs 45 workers at its Delaware City, Del. facility, where the inspection took place.
The violation was cited after an investigation prompted by a complaint determined that employees working on mold machines and exposed to hot temperatures that could result in burns were provided with ineffective personal protective equipment.
A freight company, its managing director, and a contractor pleaded guilty in connection with a remodeling job that may exposed at least 20 people to asbestos fibers.
Methylene chloride vapor has been recognized as potentially fatal to furniture strippers and factory workers but has not been reported previously as a cause of death among bathtub refinishers.
Colgate-Palmolive, 3M’s Hutchinson Plant in Minnesota, and Bechtel National Inc. are the recipients of this year’s Hearing Loss Prevention Awards.
OSHA opened an inspection in September based on a complaint that a worker had suffered sprains, multiple lacerations, and contusions as a result of having clothing become caught in a conveyor belt.
OSHA issued six willful violations for failing to record injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 log for four years, evaluate the accuracy of the 300 logs before certifying them for three years, and develop and implement an effective hearing conservation program.
OSHA began its investigation on Aug. 23, 2011, at the company's worksite following a report that two employees had fingers amputated from coming into contact with a moving saw blade while cutting material to be used as blocking and padding in the construction of manufactured homes.
This fatality is the third at the barge manufacturing facility since May 2010, when two other workers were killed in separate incidents on different days.
Comments are due by March 16. Numerous comments already in the docket say there's no need to enact a new federal safety standard.
In effect for six more months, until Sept. 15, 2012, are measures giving compliance assistance requests top priority and reducing penalties up to 10 percent.