Preliminary data released by the Mine Safety and Health Administration confirm that 2015 was the safest year in U.S. mining history, both in the number of deaths and mining's fatal and injury rates.
L&I cited the utility district for five serious violations and for each assessed the maximum penalty of $7,000.
"As a large and geographically diverse state, Texas faces the full gamut of public safety threats, including severe weather and natural or manmade disasters, and preparedness is our number-one defense against such emergencies," said Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw.
The Obama administration has identified $589 million in funding that will go toward Zika preparedness and response -- mosquito control, lab capacity, developing diagnostics and vaccines, supporting affected expectant mothers and babies, and tracking the spread and effects of Zika infections in humans in the United States, Puerto Rico, other U.S. territories, and abroad.
ISEA President Dan Shipp said the demand for QSSP classes is higher than ever.
The former CEO of Massey Energy, a subsidiary of which owned the Upper Big Branch South mine when a methane explosion killed 29 miners on April 5, 2010, was sentenced April 6 to a year in federal prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
DOT developed these resources to offer a flexible approach to training responders to prepare for rail incidents involving flammable liquids; the materials offer information on best practices related to rail incidents involving Class 3 flammable liquids, such as crude oil and ethanol.
Exposure to cigarette smoke or toxic fumes increases the risk for COPD. Epidemiological studies have found that 15-50 percent of smokers develop COPD, while occupational exposures to toxins, dusts, and industrial chemicals causes an estimated 15 percent of all COPD cases.
"I'm incredibly proud of this accomplishment," said Phil Breidenbach, Nuclear Waste Partnership president and project manager. "We have done many things to improve safety in the WIPP underground, but none are more important or impactful than this system."
The rule will require those involved in transporting human and animal food by motor vehicle or rail to follow recognized best practices for sanitary transportation, such as properly refrigerating food and adequately cleaning vehicles between loads.