Eleven serious health violations, with $43,400 in fines, involve workers' exposure to hexavalent chromium and silica, both of which can cause irreversible health problems.
The handbook covers topics ranging from occupational health and safety to liability issues.
The inspection was initiated as part of OSHA's National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation. Proposed penalties total $45,000.
Some of these devices have a critical defect that may cause the release of insufficient oxygen during start-up, a defect that could immediately result in a life-threatening situation for workers using the respirator.
An uncharacteristic trend identified over the quarter is that five of these fatalities—three of them involving mine supervisors—occurred on five consecutive weekends.
An investigation that began on Oct. 24, 2011, found that employees were exposed to noise levels surpassing 85 decibels, as well as excessive airborne levels of lead and copper.
In April 2011, BNSF coal train collided with the rear end of a standing BNSF maintenance-of-way equipment train near Red Oak, Iowa. Both crewmembers had fallen asleep, which led to their failure to comply with the signal indication requiring them to operate at a restricted speed and stop short of the standing train.
At the time of the incident, employees were injecting wastewater underground that was left over from hydraulic fracturing and drilling operations.
"Struck-by" injuries and fatalities are caused by conventional traffic/passenger vehicles, forklifts, and other moving powered industrial equipment such as cranes and yard trucks.
An OSHA whistleblower investigator found that the company terminated the employment of a riverboat barge captain after he complained to the U.S. Coast Guard about an inoperable starboard vessel engine.
The citations are the result of a follow-up investigation conducted in January. Proposed penalties total $71,280.
The decision to exempt all-cargo airlines from the pilot fatigue final rule is a topic getting attention from the Subcommittee on Aviation.
ZEP Formula 165 is not effective against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, contrary to its labeling claim, according to the agency.
This guidance covers “any manufacturing process change that might affect a food substance’s identity, intended uses, or the way it behaves in the body after it is eaten,” says Dennis Keefe, Ph.D., director of the Office of Food Additive Safety.
American Building employees were installing metal roofing onto a prefabricated steel building when one of the workers fell 35 feet to the ground and sustained fatal injuries.
The employee had reported serious concerns to management regarding rodents and rodent droppings in the office and requested to have these problems corrected.
Experts and agency officials cited several factors that contribute to the lengthy time frames for developing and issuing standards, including increased procedural requirements, shifting priorities, and a rigorous standard of judicial review.
The rule requires health care professionals who perform medical examinations for interstate truck and bus drivers to be trained, tested, and certified on the specific physical qualifications that affect a driver’s ability to safely operate the vehicle.
Under the new directive, OSHA representatives will contact the victim's family to explain the investigation process and timeline and provide the family with updates throughout the investigation.
An OSHA investigation was initiated in November 2011 following the death of a worker who was crushed in a coating machine while attempting to clear a jam.