DOJ notes the plea is related to felony guilty pleas already entered by the company and its president, who pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act for disposing pesticide waste down the sewers of the city of St. Joseph, Mo.
The DOT summit on the topic will start Sept. 30, but you can submit comments or questions now via www.regulations.gov.
The separate settlements took place one week apart in different states and together totaled more than $2 million in monetary relief for the victims.
Her gig as a special guest DJ will air all weekend long through Labor Day on SIRIUS XM's The Spectrum, and her playlist might or might not include the Johnny Paycheck hit "Take This Job and Shove It."
“If we could communicate two messages for the Labor Day weekend they would be to simply wear your life jacket and be totally aware at all times of what’s going on around you,” said Al Johnson, the First Coast Guard District’s recreational boating specialist.
The Georgia-based company has been cited for having no written procedures for formaldehyde process equipment, engineering controls not implemented for overexposure to dust, and exposing employees to dust two-and-a-half to 20 times the permissible exposure limit, among other violations.
The agency's inspection found that the facility, which uses large amounts of anhydrous ammonia in its refrigeration system, had not conducted a proper evaluation of hazards and that standard operating procedures were either incomplete or had not been developed for all system activities, among other things.
Illinois has became the newest state to receive approval from OSHA to administer its own occupational safety and health plan for public employees in the state. A notice appears in the Sept. 1st edition of the Federal Register.
"The sizable fines proposed here reflect the gravity of this employer's ongoing failure to correct clear and recognized hazards that could result in burns, crushing injuries, or death for its employees," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.
Heberle Disposal Service Inc., a Rochester, N.Y., solid waste collection company, faces an additional $304,200 in fines from OSHA for failing to correct hazards cited during a 2008 inspection and for new and recurring safety hazards at its Alvanar Road worksite.
"We believe that this agreement represents a fair and just resolution of this matter and, hopefully, will serve as a warning to all businesses that generate wastewater that they must abide by all requirements of their discharge permits," said U.S. Attorney Nora R. Dannehy.
According to DOJ, the company's six plants in the state are illegally emitting massive amounts of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter.
"Sometimes a simple conversation with the employee about what might be needed to return to work is all that is necessary to keep valued employees in their jobs," said EEOC Chicago Regional Attorney John Hendrickson.
OSHA issued about $1 million in fines against two of the companies that were charged in the Aug. 27 indictment, which was announced the following day by U.S. Attorney David Gaouette, shown here.
"One wrong step can end a worker's career or life," said Kay Gee, OSHA's acting area director in Manhattan. "We want to emphasize to all contractors the importance of supplying effective fall protection safeguards and training to their workers."
According to the lawsuit, the disabled worker could not effectively communicate with others without the assistance of a job coach because of his cerebral palsy and limited intellectual functioning.
"Different companies. Different worksites. Similar issues. Trench work can be extremely dangerous," said OSHA Regional Administrator Greg Baxter.
The greatest potential hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances might seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of all Americans, the agency noted.
An agency inspection identified dozens of instances throughout the plant where workers were exposed to possible lacerations, amputation, and crushing injuries from unguarded moving parts of mechanical power presses and other machinery as well as a lack of specific procedures to prevent the accidental startup of numerous machines during set-up, maintenance, and repair.
"It's critical that companies report the storage and release of toxic chemicals--if they don't, public safety is jeopardized in an emergency," said Edward Kowalski, EPA's Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle.