According to DOJ, the company, which treats wastewater in a facility separate from its cheese-making plant, repeatedly violated its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit over a period of three years, affecting a waterway that flows into the Boise River, a salmon habitat.
According to its developers, the design's precision maneuverability throughout a large space and ability to be outfitted with a large variety of tools make it ideal for this type of application.
Data from two nationally representative surveys indicates that the prevalence of hearing loss among U.S. adolescents increased by about 30 percent from 1988-1994 to 2005-2006, with 1 in 5 adolescents having hearing loss in 2005-2006, according to a study in the August 18 issue of JAMA.
Direct to consumer (DTC) genetic tests are increasingly being marketed to the public via television, print ads, and the Internet. These home genetic tests provide access to a person's genomic information without necessarily involving a doctor or insurance company in the process.
High-heat procedures are now required for five industries when temperatures reach 95 degrees or above: agriculture; construction; landscaping; oil & gas extraction; and transportation or delivery of agricultural products, construction material, or other heavy materials.
OSHA head Dr. David Michaels said employers are allegedly withholding written certificates attesting successful completion of HAZWOPER training to prevent workers from leaving their employ.
Agency inspectors passing by the worksite observed a worker installing a water main in an apparently unprotected 6-foot-by-6-inch deep trench. An inspection was opened on the spot and OSHA found that the trench lacked protection against a potential collapse of its walls.
The record high temperatures that have dominated most of the summer are continuing to make outdoor activities more dangerous. Despite the extreme heat and humidity many people are exercising outside because they know winter is just around the corner.
At one of the sites, the farmer-owned company failed to test the atmosphere before entry and to have an employee entering wear a safety harness and lifeline. It also failed to post an employee to observe the entry. Both facilities failed to turn off and lock out power to the auger before workers entered the grain bins, investigators said.
Many of the alleged violations concern the nationwide food distributor’s process safety management program, which was also the case in April, when a sister facility in Nampa, Idaho, roughly 180 miles away, was charged with penalties totaling $153,000.
The 24 alleged serious violations that resulted from a site-specific targeting program investigation included a failure to have at least two suitable gas masks available and accessible; lack of developed confined space procedures; and grinding wheel, compressed air, and electrical shock hazards.
"If OSHA's standards regarding proper trench sloping, shoring, and shielding were followed, it is possible this tragedy could have been avoided," said Michael Rivera, OSHA's area director in Corpus Christi.
By focusing proper cleaning on surfaces in the office that get more hand attention, health-based cleaning services target potentially contaminated surfaces that can harbor MRSA and other harmful pathogens.
It cautions, however, that this case study of its use in disinfectant sprays, now released for public comment, does not draw conclusions about potential health risks.
The company also agreed to spend at least $500 million on safety measures at its Texas City plant. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis today said "The size of the penalty rightly reflects BP's disregard for workplace safety."
Between June 2004 and September 2007, approximately 6,510 barrels of crude oil were discharged from various pipelines and one tank owned and operated by Plains into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines, according to EPA.
“Controlling the mosquito vector can work, but it is very expensive and difficult to sustain,” says Anna Durbin, M.D., who is leading the study at Johns Hopkins. “In the long run, vaccination would be a more efficient and cost-effective approach.”
The company received repeat citations for failing to make a reasonable estimate of employee exposure to hazardous chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide; it received willful citations for failing to implement confined space entry procedures.
According to the Department of Justice, the amount of the civil penalty is “precedent-setting” yet “appropriate in light of the unacceptable risk” created by the underground storage tanks at the defendants’ 17 gas stations in Maryland and Delaware.
Rather than be deflated by the news that drivers in Dallas, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Antonio, and Birmingham are the worst in the country at keeping their tires properly inflated, hundreds in those areas can get free RMA tire gauges today, if their vehicles can get them there.