The fire, which started in the pellet mill, was transported through several conveying systems to a pellet cooler and then to a dust collector, and caused several other flash fires.
Industry officials are reviewing lessons learned form the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and trading notes on new technology and upcoming projects at the Offshore Technology Conference this week in Houston.
"This inspection has identified violations that involve possible amputations by unguarded equipment and electrical shock dangers," said Andre Richards, director of OSHA's Atlanta-West Area Office.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010 there were more than 10,000 construction workers in the private construction industry who were injured as a result of falling while working from heights on the job and another 255 workers were killed.
When a worker explained that he could not cut his hair because of his religion, the company told him that unless he cut his hair, he could no longer continue to work at its Taco Bell restaurant.
Eleven serious health violations, with $43,400 in fines, involve workers' exposure to hexavalent chromium and silica, both of which can cause irreversible health problems.
The handbook covers topics ranging from occupational health and safety to liability issues.
The inspection was initiated as part of OSHA's National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation. Proposed penalties total $45,000.
Some of these devices have a critical defect that may cause the release of insufficient oxygen during start-up, a defect that could immediately result in a life-threatening situation for workers using the respirator.
An uncharacteristic trend identified over the quarter is that five of these fatalities—three of them involving mine supervisors—occurred on five consecutive weekends.
An investigation that began on Oct. 24, 2011, found that employees were exposed to noise levels surpassing 85 decibels, as well as excessive airborne levels of lead and copper.
In April 2011, BNSF coal train collided with the rear end of a standing BNSF maintenance-of-way equipment train near Red Oak, Iowa. Both crewmembers had fallen asleep, which led to their failure to comply with the signal indication requiring them to operate at a restricted speed and stop short of the standing train.
At the time of the incident, employees were injecting wastewater underground that was left over from hydraulic fracturing and drilling operations.
"Struck-by" injuries and fatalities are caused by conventional traffic/passenger vehicles, forklifts, and other moving powered industrial equipment such as cranes and yard trucks.
An OSHA whistleblower investigator found that the company terminated the employment of a riverboat barge captain after he complained to the U.S. Coast Guard about an inoperable starboard vessel engine.
The citations are the result of a follow-up investigation conducted in January. Proposed penalties total $71,280.
The decision to exempt all-cargo airlines from the pilot fatigue final rule is a topic getting attention from the Subcommittee on Aviation.
ZEP Formula 165 is not effective against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, contrary to its labeling claim, according to the agency.
This guidance covers “any manufacturing process change that might affect a food substance’s identity, intended uses, or the way it behaves in the body after it is eaten,” says Dennis Keefe, Ph.D., director of the Office of Food Additive Safety.
American Building employees were installing metal roofing onto a prefabricated steel building when one of the workers fell 35 feet to the ground and sustained fatal injuries.