MSHA did not provide dates of two public hearings into the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion but said Tuesday that they'll be streamed online.
The 33 serious violations include a lack of training, electrical hazards, inadequate personal protective equipment, failing to implement an adequate hazard communication and respiratory protection program, and failing to properly handle confined spaces.
During an inspection that was part of a regional emphasis program, investigators observed employees working without adequate protection on platforms as high as 20 feet.
“Air carriers cannot let maintenance issues lapse,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “When a problem is discovered, it needs to be corrected immediately.”
One of the largest safety blitzes ever conducted by the province's Ministry of Labour resulted in 784 stop-work orders and 121 summonses issued for fall hazards on hundreds of construction sites.
OSHA issued citations for, among other things, failing to ensure workers were not exposed to noise levels at or above 85 decimals and to adequately protect employees from exposure to hazardous chemicals such as formaldehyde.
The company was cited for violations at its Parsippany, N.J., worksite, which it shares with Salonika Associates LLC, also cited after a Site-Specific Targeting Program inspection.
EPA conducted an inspection of the company’s warehouse to determine its compliance with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The inspection found several alleged violations, including storage of waste pharmaceuticals, including hazardous wastes, without a proper permit.
"This facility has been inspected previously and received citations for various workplace hazards," said Darlene Fossum, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "Management cannot delay taking action any longer to improve its safety and health program in order to protect workers."
“Our heat sweeps are designed not only to send employers a strong enforcement message but also to provide employers and employees with information they need to keep their workers safe," said Cal/OSHA Chief Len Welsh.
"While it's fortunate that no collapse occurred, excavation safety cannot rely on good fortune," said OSHA Area Director Brenda Gordon. "Required safeguards must be in place and in use at all times."
Within the past five years, OSHA has conducted more than 900 inspections at USPS facilities across the country and has issued more than 600 citations.
Among other violations, the company failed to provide workers with a fall arrest harness with a lanyard and did not adequately plank scaffolding during masonry work that reached as high as 24 feet, OSHA said.
Specifically, the facility failed to adequately train workers on respirator selection, use, storage, and maintenance; did not supply positive-pressure filtered air to all work cabs; did not label containers of coke-contaminated clothing; allowed food and beverages to be consumed in an area with visible accumulations of coke-oven emissions; and more, according to investigators.
After an investigation, OSHA ordered the rapid transit company to take corrective action, including expunging disciplinary actions and references to them from various records as well as compensating the worker for lost wages resulting from the suspension.
In its fifteenth OSHA inspection since 1974, the company was charged with nine willful, four repeat, and 17 serious violations, including hazards of confined space entry and combustible dust.
“Although Pineville Lumber agreed to correct these violations, the company failed to follow through, leaving its employees exposed to workplace hazards that could result in serious injury or illness,” said Jeff Funke, director of OSHA’s Charleston Area Office.
"Racial and age stereotyping has no place in hiring decisions; it is illegal, demoralizing, and deprives the workplace of invaluable knowledge, experience and creativity,” said EEOC District Director Delner Franklin-Thomas.
Some of the loans made by the company and a subsidiary defaulted shortly after they were made as a result of their disregard of Small Business Administration rules, regulations, and underwriting requirements, DOJ said.
"These informal stakeholder meetings and written comments from stakeholders will help give OSHA direction to develop innovative ideas that will allow employers, workers and researchers to participate in improving occupational safety and health through the use of occupational injury and illness data," said OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels.