The report identified regulatory gaps at the federal and state levels and called on the EPA and state regulatory bodies to improve current safety and security measures at exploration and production sites.
The penalty consists of a $316,000 fine and $272,000 in costs after CEMEX UK Operations Ltd pleaded guilty to violating Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 in an employee's 2008 death.
Seventeen serious safety and health violations were cited. Those related to hexavalent chromium include failing to prevent exposure beyond OSHA's authorized limits and not developing a plan to limit exposure.
The company was fined for manufacturing and selling unsafe nurse tanks—a type of cargo tank used to store and transport anhydrous ammonia, a hazardous material used in farming operations.
"The safety of this company's employees is compromised due to management's failure to perform maintenance and take common-sense steps to prevent injuries," said Roberto Sanchez, director of OSHA's area office in Birmingham.
Seven serious violations involve failing to provide protection from trip and fall hazards, ensure electrical cords are not spliced, and ensure industrial machines were properly guarded.
Wet dust filters not only ensure regulatory compliance, but also can improve workers' comfort and production flow.
Some companies see LOTO as a burden. But it is a competitive advantage to those willing to develop a program that is not only safe and compliant, but also highly efficient.
Charles Greer Lumber Co. has been cited by OSHA for 18 safety and health violations following an April inspection of the company's plant in Suwanee, Ga. Penalties total $87,780.
The violations involve uncorrected deficiencies in ammonia processing equipment, not developing and implementing safe work practices for all mechanical and maintenance tasks, and incomplete written standard operating procedures.
The violations include failing to comply with the requirements of OSHA's process safety management standard, which resulted in workers being exposed to ammonia during maintenance of pipe lines.
An inspection was opened after OSHA learned that a worker sustained serious eye and facial injuries when the grinding wheel of the portable grinder he was operating ruptured and kicked back in his face.
The serious violations involve failing to investigate incidents as being related to process safety management and address inconsistent thickness measurements collected during pressure vessel inspections.
What training have they had? Are they qualified to the NFPA 70E standard and to 29 CFR 1910.332, 1910.333, and 1910.269?
Justin Feldman and Taylor Lincoln of the organization's Congress Watch division cite five OSHA and MSHA rules as proving that safety and health regulations often cost less and yield more than opponents feared.
DOE issued a $243,750 civil penalty to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions after a worker received a hand puncture from a sharp object contaminated with plutonium-238.
TRSA contends the science behind research results released this week is insufficient and mainly a transparent effort to push disposable paper industrial wipers as substitutes for reusable cloth shop towels.
The agency investigated three releases at the West Virginia plant within a 48-hour period in January 2010, including a phosgene gas release that killed a worker who was near the location where phosgene cylinders were stored.
“Without knowing it, manufacturing workers may be ingesting certain heavy metals at elevated levels from this unexpected source," said Barbara Beck, Ph.D., DABT, principal at Gradient, the firm that conducted the research. "For some of these metals, the amounts ingested may be greater than allowed in drinking water on a daily basis."
UK Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations Mike Weightman filed an interim report last month, telling the British government there is no need to curtail operations at the country’s nuclear power plants in light of the Japanese crisis at the Fukushima plant.