The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is developing tougher rules to prevent the 100,000 drivers under its jurisdiction from using cell phones and other devices in any way as they drive.
The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Joe Main Wednesday night, prompting the United Mine Workers' international president and U.S. Rep. George Miller to say a new day has begun for miners and MSHA.
OSHA has been conducting a Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) since October 2007, which it says has resulted in an unusually high number of General Duty Clause violations, indicating a strong need for a standard.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration has proposed $504,900 in civil penalties against UAE Coalcorp Associates, which operates the Harmony Mine in Northumberland County, Pa. Five violations were cited from a fatal roof fall incident in June 2008 and assessed under the flagrant violation provision of MSHA's civil penalty regulation.
EPA is proposing the extension because its NPDES stormwater program needs more time to meet a deadline to incorporate new construction and development effluent limitations guidelines into a new permit.
One of the hazardous wastes the Utah man was accused of illegally dumping was nonylphenol, a powerful organic chemical and heavy-duty industrial cleaner that is toxic to aquatic life. The man’s actions allegedly caused a nearby wastewater treatment plant to violate permit limits for acute toxicity 22 times.
TV and radio public service announcements featuring the actor will run on local stations in English and Spanish later this fall.
In addition to being able to show that a good-faith effort was made to acquire respirators, an employer will need to implement a hierarchy of controls, said acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab.
The 2004 death of Keith Webb, 53, during the unloading of a ship docked in the Thames River exposed Tate & Lyle PLC's failure to train employees to enter and exit ships' holds.
Surprisingly, the nomination of Dr. David Michaels to head OSHA is among 11 listed on the agenda of an Oct. 21 hearing by the U.S. Senate HELP Committee. A few days ago, a press officer for Chairman Tom Harkin said she had no idea when the panel would consider Michaels' nomination.
After a recent increase in the number of workers killed while performing grain handling operations such as loading, emptying, and cleaning storage bins, OSHA is reminding employers and workers of available resources and OSHA standards that identify hazards and offer solutions to prevent fatalities.
Inspections conducted over the past several months by OSHA's area office in Andover, Mass., also identified various chemical, mechanical, and electrical hazards--41 violations in all, with proposed penalties totaling $138,000.
OSHA has cited NuStar Asphalt Refining Co. LLC for 24 alleged serious workplace safety and health violations found at its Paulsboro worksite. Penalties proposed total $105,750.
In April, a fire at the facility sent three workers to a local hospital. The resulting inspection revealed nine alleged willful, four serious, two repeat, and two failure-to-abate violations.
The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Rel's Foods Inc. (Rel's), of Oakland, Calif., seeking to stop the company from manufacturing, producing, and selling adulterated food products.
"Improperly utilized fall protection equipment is just as deadly as failing to use fall protection at all," said OSHA Area Director Rosemarie Ohar. "Workers who lack adequate and effective fall protection are just one slip, trip or misstep away from a potentially fatal plunge."
"The identified violations leave employees at the refinery at risk of accidents that could result in injury or possible death," said Patricia Jones, area director of OSHA's office in Avenel, N.J.
The investigation found 32 serious violations, including failing to evaluate the worksite for exposures to hydrogen sulfide, develop procedures for waste stream processing, develop decontamination procedures, and train workers on the hazards associated with confined space entry on barges.
Five minutes after the worker was instructed to exit the excavation, one of its sidewalls collapsed. Had the worker still been in the excavation, he could have been crushed or buried by the cave-in, an inspector noted.
"Employers should not assume that OSHA will not conduct inspections because much of this work is done at night," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties. "We will conduct inspections where and when we must to ensure that employers implement and maintain effective controls to minimize this hazard to their workers."