"Company management had the experience and knowledge to recognize and correct these hazards before the fatality, but they placed production ahead of worker safety, resulting in this tragedy," said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office.
“In looking at the data, it is quite clear that having a certified food protection manager on the job makes a difference,” said FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael R. Taylor. “Some states and localities require certified food protection managers already, and many in the retail industry employ them voluntarily as a matter of good practice. We think it should become common practice.”
An occupational health concern common among all Deepwater Horizon response workers was heat stress from work in a hot and humid environment.
"Falling is the great safety hazard for workers on roofing projects, and B.O.S.S. Construction has demonstrated a pattern of disregard for its workers' safety by failing to ensure fall protection is in place on jobsites," said OSHA Area Director Jule Hovi.
"These sizable fines reflect the severity and ongoing nature of these hazards," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "The Postal Service ignored long-established safety standards and knowingly put its workers in harm's way."
"Falls are the number-one reason workers performing construction work are hurt or killed. There is no excuse for an employer in the construction industry to not provide the necessary equipment and training for workers performing roofing work," said Charles Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo.
"We are continuing to find serious threats to miners' safety and health," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "While some operators are finally getting the message, others are not."
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration may expand its definition of High Consequence Area, set leak detection requirements for all pipelines, and require measures to prevent stress corrosion cracking.
ASTM D7622 and D7623 "should bring uniformity in testing across the industry," said David Hwang, vice chairman of Subcommittee D02.03 on Elemental Analysis.
It is reversing the enforcement policy it has used since 1983, which allows most employers to use PPE and a hearing conservation program rather than engineering and administrative controls.
An examination of 11 refineries by Cal/OSHA's Process Safety Management Unit found they are properly managing the risks that caused the April 2010 explosion at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Wash., in which seven workers died.
Lord Young's report delivered Oct. 15 recommends qualification requirements for health and safety consultants and a longer period, seven days, in which businesses would have to report an injury or accident to authorities.
"For the safety of all their workers, employers must be vigilant when workers enter confined spaces, and take effective and specific protective action," said Greg Baxter, OSHA's regional administrator in Denver.
FAA alleges that Corporate Air operated the aircraft on at least 80 flights in spite of continued evidence of excessive oil consumption by the right engine.
"We took this legal action because, in the past, these defendants have professed to operate single establishments even though they are actually operating a large, multi-establishment retail enterprise with many locations," said Maria Rosado, director of the Wage and Hour Division's district office in New York City.
Part of the agency's "End Black Lung -- Act Now" campaign, the rule being published Oct. 19 will halve the concentration limit for respirable coal dust in underground mines to 1.0 mg/m3 over the next two years and also will phase in required use of continuous personal dust monitors.
The Oct. 7 letter from the Office of Health, Safety and Security's acting enforcement chief to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC said SRNS "had extensive deficiencies" in hazard assessment and its electrical safety program.
"Simsmetal East knowingly put its workers at risk by failing to protect them from overexposure to lead, which can cause brain damage, paralysis, kidney disease, and even death," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office in New Jersey.
Making certificate holders with 10 or more helicopter air ambulances establish operations control centers is one facet of the proposal, which is intended to make helicopter air ambulance flights safer nationwide.
The latest two are dated Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Both concern interpretations of construction standards.