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.
"Company management was aware of the requirements to establish a lockout program and did not take action," said Kurt Petermeyer, director of OSHA's Mobile (Ala.) Area Office.
With full implementation of the new safety performance measurement initiative set for July, the agency has rolled out extensive online resources to help the industry prepare.
Assistant Secretary Joseph A. Main said the "Rules to Live By" program "should make great strides in preventing fatal accidents."
On a 2-1 vote, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board approved urgent safety recommendations on gas purging safety at a Feb. 4 public meeting in Raleigh, following extensive testimony and public comment.
The explosion blew out walls of the unfinished power plant and set off a fire during a test of natural gas lines.
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.
After the Maritime and Coastguard Agency finishes its consultation with stakeholders, regulations could be in effect by Oct. 1 to implement EC Directive 83/477/EEC and protect workers from asbestos exposure.
FDA this week told health facilities they have 18 months to switch from the STERIS System 1 to alternatives, three times longer than it recommended previously. STERIS Corp. continues to seek clearance for the new device.
Although North Carolina is one of 22 states that operate their own job safety and health programs, under approval and monitoring by federal OSHA, this inspection was conducted by federal OSHA because the contractor was working on a federal installation.
"With the full support of the mining industry, ‘Rules to Live By' should make great strides in preventing fatal accidents," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
The nomination of M. Patricia Smith as solicitor of Labor, pending since March 2009, passed 60-37 today in the U.S. Senate.
Adjusting for inflation will keep the top penalty for a related series of violations of school bus safety provisions on the march: It would set you back $16,500,000.
An inspection found that the Atlanta-based company also failed to fully implement a hearing conservation program and did not have an established written hazard communication program on exposure to hazardous substances. Proposed fines exceed $135,000.
The settlement between DOL and Pilgrim's Pride Corp. involves overtime back pay for 798 workers at a Dallas facility and also their pay for time putting on and taking off protective gear. Whether donning and doffing are compensable work has challenged federal courts for some time.
DuPont officials told the CSB that a braided steel hose connected to a 1-ton capacity phosgene tank suddenly ruptured, releasing phosgene into the air. The phosgene release followed two other accidents at the same plant the same week, including an ongoing release of chloromethane from the plant’s Hexazinone unit, which went undetected for several days, and a release from a spent sulfuric acid unit.
"There is no excuse for mine operators to deliberately flout their obligations to pay civil penalties for safety and health violations," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and a California affiliate have created Web sites to help motorists battle local taxes assessed when emergency vehicles respond to a crash scene.
“Millions of workers are not provided federal occupational safety and health protections due to the fact that the OSH Act only requires such coverage in states with their own occupational safety and health plans,” Patton wrote.
Agency inspectors found that combustible particulate solids, which were generated during trimming and repair operations, were not collected into an adequately designed dust collection system, were allowed to accumulate on machinery and surfaces, and were not adequately cleaned up to prevent such buildup.