Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children under the age of 14, with at least 33 fatalities reported in 2011.
There have been several recent instances in which MSHA has been able to detect the occurrence of advance notice.
Joining Cal/OSHA officials at a news conference, Battalion Chief Jack Wise said, "It is our experience that the victims, would-be rescuers, and co-workers either fail to adhere to their emergency plans or simply do not have a plan in place, with catastrophic results."
OSHA found that the wheels of the rail car had not been chocked, and a safety chain had not been attached to prevent the car from rolling away while it was being disconnected from the rest of the train.
The workers died due to inhalation of hydrogen sulfide gas while cleaning an underground storm drain system at the recycling facility.
Ninety-two percent of all civilian fatalities in residential building fires involve thermal burns and smoke inhalation.
SAFFiR is a humanoid robot that would be outfitted with sensors and is being designed to interact with people and perform many of the dangerous firefighting tasks now done by humans.
The citation follows an investigation in September, prompted by a complaint, which determined employees were working on top of rail cars without fall protection while preparing the cars for loading of corn and soybeans.
The new requirements for testing and certification become effective in 30 days, but manufactures can make and sell currently approved respirators for the next three years.
Since 2006, OSHA has conducted five fatality inspections at dairy farms in Wisconsin. Hazards cited have been related to animal handling, tractor rollover protection, and manure pits.
Safety and health violations include inadequate lockout/tagout programs, fall protection, and noise sampling, among others. Proposed penalties total $174,600.
“Installing rollover protection on tractors and ensuring all farm workers and children are educated on farm safety practices is critical to reducing farm-related fatalities," said ASSE Agriculture Branch Chair Mike Wolf.
Federal inspectors issued 253 citations, orders, and safeguards during special impact inspections conducted at 12 coal mines and four metal/nonmetal mines in January.
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.
Grant applications are being accepted through March 9, 2012, and the agency will award a total of $1 million by summer 2012. Nonprofit organizations, cities, and similar governmental subdivisions, or consortiums of such subdivisions, are eligible to receive the grants.
Preliminary data indicate a 14 percent decrease in citations and orders issued at these mines—74,373 in 2010 compared to 64,186 in 2011.
OSHA's Englewood Area Office opened an investigation at a work site in Wheat Ridge on Aug. 30 and a second investigation on Sept. 8 at a site in Colorado Springs, following reports that workers were installing sewer pipes without adequate protection from possible cave-ins.
The goals of the initiative are to increase enforcement efforts and provide resources, online materials, training, and consultation to prevent injuries and deaths in confined spaces.
"Some mines require targeted, enhanced enforcement methods. The formation of OAASEI will enable MSHA to better manage and coordinate its use of special enforcement tools against the most serious violators of the Mine Act," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
"The sizable fines proposed here reflect not only the seriousness of these conditions but the fact that several of them are substantially similar to hazards identified at nine other Wal-Mart locations in New York and eight other states," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo.