OSHA found that employees performing welding work in the main fabrication area were exposed to airborne concentrations of hexavalent chromium in excess of the permissible exposure limit.
"The level of disregard for workers' safety demonstrated by this employer is irresponsible. Although the employer knows the fire and explosion hazards associated with the accumulation of combustible dust, a choice was made to do nothing about it," said Les Grove, OSHA's area director in Tampa.
The latest five-year goal –- once more to cut reportable injuries by 50 percent -– comes after the 2010 target was reached one year early, HSE reports.
The alliance is geared to address hazard communication and to increase awareness of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS).
If you have an active team that either drills regularly or has real incidents, they are continually showing their competency each time they respond.
With the phased acceptance of GHS document, classification, and labeling standards, the next few years could see significant and sweeping changes.
Methylene chloride vapor has been recognized as potentially fatal to furniture strippers and factory workers but has not been reported previously as a cause of death among bathtub refinishers.
A judge granted preliminary approval to a settlement involving activities done 40-60 years ago at the company's former plant in the West Virginia city, an industrialized suburb of the state capital, Charleston.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued the new bulletin in response to NTSB's report on the San Bruno, Calif., explosion.
OMB completed the review on Feb. 21 and has sent the rule to OSHA, which means the final rule will be published soon.
OSHA opened an inspection following a report of a fire resulting from a dust explosion in a machine at the company's Fond du Lac, Wis., facility, which converts liquid whey products into dried whey protein concentrate powder.
A study released by the U.S. Geological Survey confirms EPA measurements soon after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the nuclear plant.
The energy company can expect the Feb. 27 trial over the Deepwater Horizon incident to focus on its safety culture. Non-executive Director Frank Bowman says it's in good shape.
A delivery driver was refilling an above-ground gasoline storage tank that had a broken gauge. The tank overflowed, and the combination of vapors and heat from the running delivery truck caused an explosion.
OSHA initiated its inspection as part of the agency's national emphasis program to reduce employees' exposure to combustible dust hazards. Proposed penalties total $103,356.
Needlestick injury rates from 2001 to 2005 were well below pre-Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act rates, according to the study.
The explosion occurred when a pressure vessel containing compressed gas, including oxygen and hydrogen, exploded while the two workers were transferring hydrogen and oxygen gas from one cylinder to another.
After receiving a complaint, OSHA opened an inspection focused on the agency's process safety management standard for facilities that use hazardous chemicals. Proposed fines total $76,500.
"The sizable fines proposed here reflect not only the seriousness of these conditions but the fact that several of them are substantially similar to hazards identified at nine other Wal-Mart locations in New York and eight other states," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo.
Thirty-five percent of the 822 hospitals responding had investigated at least one outbreak in the previous two years.