Charges of six willful and 10 serious citations follow a March 2008 explosion that caused serious injuries to two employees at the facility in Spooner, Wis.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a new Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit Monday for an estimated 4,100 industrial facilities in 29 different sectors to implement stormwater pollution prevention plans to protect water quality.
The crystalline silica dust released during tuckpointing operations is very hard to control. The dust may be carried throughout the workplace. When workers use compressed air to clean their clothes, tools, and equipment, even more dust is added to the air.
"We want people to be aware that whenever they see a fork lift truck--whether it's at work or in their local garden centre or DIY store--they need to be careful, they need to keep clear, and they must certainly never assume the operator has seen them," said FLTA Chief Executive David Ellison.
Specifically, the agencies signed partnerships with the Rocky Hill, Conn.-based Independent Electrical Contractors of New England Inc. (IECNE) and the Wethersfield-based Connecticut Office of Apprenticeship and Training (CTOAT).
The proposed total penalty includes $92,500 in fines for five repeat citations involving unguarded elevated work areas, untrained forklift operators, storing a forklift in front of a marked exit, exposed wiring in a heater and an electrical junction box, and not providing hazard communication training to new employees.
The bracket-safety rail system adjusts to seven roof pitches and can be used on flat roofs and working surfaces, the NORA Construction Sector co-chairs report.
HVAC and indoor air quality concerns are the target of the MyBuildingDoctor.com site, which will allow users to ask questions and get answers from Fluke Corp. experts.
"After decades of chemical attack, it may take another 50 years or so for the ozone layer to recover fully," said U.N. Sectretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "As the Montreal Protocol has taught us, when we degrade our environment too far, nursing it back to health tends to be a long journey, not a quick fix."
In every business environment, there are certain health and safety risks that employees expect to have addressed by their employers: Sidewalks must be shoveled and salted after snowstorms, safety goggles and masks must be supplied in the presence of airborne chemicals, and facilities must be kept clean and up to code to minimize accidents.
Over the past 10 years, the company, which operates 1,632 sites across the nation with approximately 11,900 employees, has been inspected 37 times by OSHA and cited for similar violations.
Construction and renovation projects in office settings can adversely affect building occupants by the release of airborne particulates, biological contaminants, and gases. Careful planning for IEQ and the prevention of exposure during these activities is essential.
"Consistent maintenance ensures that energy efficiency remains at design levels," said Robert Baker, chair of the committee that wrote the standard.
"We can't take chances with public health," said EPA's Mike Bussell. "Preventing a release of something as potentially dangerous as anhydrous ammonia protects the lives of workers, responders, and nearby residents."
The nationwide ladder exchange program offers owners up to 50 percent off the price of the new ladder they get in return. HSE is also tackling slips and falls.
The inspections were conducted to assess compliance with the EPA's nationwide storm water Construction General Permit, which requires operators of construction sites to plan for and implement storm water controls and to protect surface waters from common construction pollutants.
After a follow-up investigation, the company also was cited with serious and repeat violations. In all, OSHA proposed penalties of $40,600. The company is contesting the citations.
The Texas-based company joins the Washington Division of URS Corp., Georgia-Pacific, General Electric Co., the U.S. Postal Service, and Dow Chemical Co. in the program.
In his epic work "The Waste Land" (1922), T.S. Eliot wrote convincingly that “April is the cruellest month,” but a case can be made for September. Throughout American history, all varieties of disasters have transpired in this ninth month of the year—from shipwrecks to plane crashes to terrorist attacks—the aftermath of which have changed the way we live, work, and simply function as a society. Some of these changes have been subtle, others, such as the events of 9/11 seven years ago, drastic.
Andrew Siemaszko, a former reactor coolant system engineer at FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), was convicted on Aug. 26 by a federal jury in Toledo, Ohio, for concealing information from and making false statements to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Justice Department announced.