The company was cited for allegedly failing to conduct drills or exercises to help prepare for a potential spill from its oil storage facility in Woxall, Pa. Under the Clean Water Act, owners of oil storage facilities must have a plan to minimize the risk of spills, including periodic exercises.
A distribution company will pay $318,000 plus $27,000 in costs after pleading guilty in a British courtroom. Regular inspections of the truck involved in the case might have prevented the death, HSE's inspector said.
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.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is requesting nominations of qualified individuals for its nine existing federal advisory committees. Nominations for all committees will be accepted on an ongoing basis and will be considered as and when vacancies arise.
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday issued two comprehensive evaluations containing recommendations that address three key objectives of the agency's public health mission as it relates to medical devices--foster device innovation, create a more predictable regulatory environment, and enhance device safety.
"The fines and penalties reflect the gravity and severity of the deadly conditions created by the companies managing the work at the site," said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. "No operation and no deadline is worth cutting common sense safety procedures. Workers should not sacrifice their lives for their livelihoods."
A report released Aug. 2 by Safe Work Australia evaluates two possible approaches for using control banding to ensure safety when working with nanomaterials but admits workplaces there have little knowledge of it.
More than 50 public meetings are in the books for this project of CDC and ATSDR about chemical exposures and public health. An action agenda is scheduled for release in December.
The purpose of the SPCC rule, which was finalized in 1973, is to establish requirements for facilities to prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.
What can we do to prevent or minimize these incidents? The simple answer is training and increased awareness.
With criminal penalties associated with safety regulation looming, many corporate safety professionals are opting to spread worker protection more broadly across their workforces.
According to the lawsuit, a class of female farmworkers was subjected to threatening behavior by male coworkers who made lewd and unwanted sexual advances and used a forklift to chase women or block them with their bodies or a broom while they walked down the hall of the processing plant.
“Since Southern California has the worst air pollution in the nation, for the sake of public health we must ensure that all businesses are operating in compliance with air quality regulations and doing their part to help improve our air,” said Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“We depend on professional truck and bus drivers to safely move our economy,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “This grant program makes an investment in our workforce, while ensuring that new commercial drivers are well-trained and focused on safety."
Provided as a free service to help trucking companies and truck drivers, the new information includes the latest exemptions to idling regulations in effect in North Carolina, West Virginia, and Detroit.
Its Office of Health, Safety and Security seeks comments about potentially adding both to its current program, which randomly tests for marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine, and amphetamines.
When a flight is oversold, DOT regulations require airlines to seek volunteers willing to give up their seats for compensation. DOT's investigation revealed numerous cases in which Comair failed to solicit volunteers to leave overbooked flights and provide passengers with the appropriate denied boarding compensation.
OSHA found that the company had not cleaned the vessel thoroughly enough to ensure the absence of flammable materials or vapors, and had not vented it prior to allowing welding to be performed.
The new standard has been a long time coming, having begun with a July 2002 announcement of the intent to set up a negotiated rulemaking committee.
By early 2011, nine states will have laws on their books banning use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Twenty-seven states have primary enforcement texting bans in place or will begin primary enforcement this year.