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.
Held in Reno and sponsored by MSHA, the national contest features 38 teams from 16 states. Awards will be presented Thursday.
The retail giant received two notices of failure to abate after a new inspection found that workers in the store's painting and plumbing departments still lacked suitable emergency drenching facilities and methylene chloride information and training.
In 2006 and 2007, EPA investigators said the shuttle buses that carry passengers from the airport terminal to the rental car locations were idling excessively. Both Massachusetts and Connecticut have clean air regulations which limit motor vehicle idling (to five minutes in Massachusetts and three minutes in Connecticut).
“Air pollution from particulate matter directly impacts the health of the community. It’s an especially serious issue in Maricopa County, where air quality does not meet the federal standard,” said EPA’s Jared Blumenfeld.
According to DOJ and EPA, the company, which makes pipes, valves, fittings, fire hydrants, propane and compressed air tanks, and other similar products, emits pollutants such as particulate matter, VOCs, and mercury as a result of its manufacturing processes at various facilities.
The half-day event will focus specifically on damage to building contents that can result from airborne contaminants and the ramifications to contractors of EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule.
The GISHD inspection identified numerous violations of the following MIOSHA standards: hexavalent chromium, dipping and coating operations, asbestos, formaldehyde, and noise. The most serious violations involved employee overexposures to highly hazardous air contaminants.
The agency determined the state's 16-year-old plan allows companies to avoid certain federal clean air requirements by lumping emissions from multiple units under a single "cap" rather than setting specific emission limits for individual pollution sources at their plants.
The ranking member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee said he wants to know how $475 million given to medical providers was spent.
In one case, we had start over with the supervisors and painstakingly work down to the line employees to communicate the correct message that every bit of protection helps.
Remodeling contractors need certification to meet new EPA lead requirements for exposure protection during renovations, repair, and painting. They'll also need PPE.
"Employees exposed to methylene chloride are at increased risk of developing cancer, adverse effects on the heart, central nervous system, and liver, and skin or eye irritation,” said OSHA’s Arthur Dube. “Effective safeguards are vital to the health and well-being of the workers."
The citation is based in part on information that two children living in renovated Michigan homes had tested positive for elevated blood lead levels.
A roundtable hosted by CSA Standards produced a whitepaper suggesting how to prepare for the next one, with emphasis on vaccine development and PPE.
After top officials met today at the White House with the president, the company announced it will inject $5 billion this year and $1.25 billion quarterly thereafter until the full amount is reached.
In all, the employer faces allegations of three willful and 16 serious violations carrying nearly $201,000 in penalties, plus an other-than-serious charge with no proposed penalty related to voluntary respirator use.
The July 14 meeting to be hosted by the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory at the DoubleTree Pittsburgh Airport Hotel will cover lots of issues.
Smokers of U.S.-brand cigarettes have higher exposures to major carcinogens and cancer-causing agents compared to smokers of foreign brands, according to CDC.
"This employer's failure to address these potentially life-threatening conditions leaves its workers exposed to the hazards of fire, explosion, electrocution, lacerations, amputation, and toxic substances," said Diana Cortez, OSHA's area director in Tarrytown.