How well the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's automatic train control system performs is a central issue for the three-day hearing into the June 2009 collision of two WMATA trains, but the larger issue is that the transit agency is at a crossroads.
"This case is a clear and grave example of the human cost incurred when required fall protection safeguards are absent, ignored, or inadequate," said Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA's New Hampshire area director.
The agency's revised "current intelligence bulletin" for asbestos fibers and other elongate mineral particles explains what NIOSH still wants to explore and also clarifies the 1990 NIOSH recommended exposure limit for airborne asbestos fibers.
Specifically, OSHA found blocked exits, workers lacking safety glasses and gloves while working with acid, unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals, unmarked electrical equipment, exposed live electrical parts, and moisture in electrical equipment.
"From the top down, Fred Weber Inc. has displayed outstanding effort in implementing a comprehensive safety and health management system," said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "The company is an exemplar of workplace safety."
According to the study, the market is driven by the fact that more than 120 million workers across the globe are exposed to dangerously high noise levels (over 85 dB). In the United States alone, more than 30 million workers are exposed to prolonged noise levels in their day-to-day life.
"Our honorees will be diverse. They won’t all be public figures, well known, or famous; they will be everyday heroes making a difference in the lives of others,” said ASSE WISE Chair Kelly Bernish.
The National Association of Tower Erectors worked with tower owners and operators to develop the content, which will guide on-site employees of owners, carriers, broadcasters, and general contractors.
A study done for Safe Work Australia also showed that many in the country's trades do not follow standard safety precautions to protect themselves against exposure to asbestos fibers.
Guidelines highlight transport platform operation, inspection, maintenance, and fall protection.
The two deadly incidents, which befell separate worksites, were among five that occurred during a 15-day span in the Pittsburgh area last summer.
According to new data from EEOC regarding job patterns in the private sector, Hispanics or Latinos had the fastest growth rate, increasing from 2.5 percent to more than 13 percent between 1966 and 2008.
More than 60 sessions will be offered throughout the event’s three days, including sessions on fall protection, power line safety, worker’s compensation issues, electrical safety, industrial hygiene issues, and work zone safety. NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard will deliver the event’s keynote address.
Among the imposed sanctions, the company, its owner, and former owner must pay outstanding monetary penalties, which continue to accrue interest, and other miscellaneous fees, in the current amount of $258,582.08; and the current owner must pay a $100 daily penalty, calculated from the time of default, in early 2008, on the ignored OSHRC final order.
The California Air Resources Board has decided not to delay the March 1 compliance deadline of its regulation limiting emissions by off-road diesel equipment, which Associated General Contractors, a big construction trade association, warns will be painful for builders in the state.
EPA noted this is the seventh year in a multi-year initiative to improve compliance with the construction general permit. The permit authorizes storm water discharges from construction sites, and it requires operators of those sites to design, install, and maintain storm water controls to protect surface waters from common construction site pollutants like sediment, oil and grease, and concrete washout.
"Because of people like Chris, millions of workers in the U.S. go to work and leave work injury and illness free every day," said ASSE President C. Christopher Patton. "We salute Chris for all he has done the past 20 years as a dedicated safety and health professional and will honor his memory, especially in St. Louis where he touched so many lives."
The company was cited for two alleged willful violations for failing to adequately protect employees from energized electrical circuits and failing to inform employees about the hazards involved with energized electrical circuits.
The job will consist of replacing all 6,350 windows in the 73-story, downtown-Atlanta Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel, which was damaged by a tornado in March 2008.
"This case is a clear example of what can and does happen when adequate and effective scaffolding and fall protection are lacking at a jobsite," said OSHA's Brenda Gordon, commenting on the incident in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood.