Of the 167 retail trade workers killed in 2007, 39 killed were convenience store employees, 32 worked at gasoline stations, and 7 worked at liquor stores.
"An unguarded excavation is a tomb in waiting. Its walls can collapse in moments, crushing and burying workers beneath tons of soil before they have a chance to react or escape," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties.
The agency is conducting the two meetings in Atlanta to make it easier for families of those who perished in the 2008 Imperial Sugar Co. explosion in Port Wentworth, Ga., to attend.
"We are proud to welcome Detroit Edison's River Rouge Power Plant into this exceptional group of Michigan MVPP companies," said DELEG Director Stanley Pruss. "Your dedication to employee safety and health excellence sends a strong message to all employers that worker protection is a sound business decision."
"OSHA determined that this company is fully aware of the deficiencies it has in its safety program and what needs to be changed to provide safe work conditions for employees but hasn't acted to correct those deficiencies," said Roberto Sanchez, director of the agency's area office in Birmingham, Ala.
"An unprotected excavation can become a grave in seconds. A cave-in can crush and bury workers beneath tons of rock and soil before they have a chance to react or escape," said Kang Yi, OSHA's acting area director in Bridgeport, Conn.
OSHA agents found workers were exposed to dangers from the company's failure to first de-energize live electrical parts before having employees work on them, resulting in the issuance of a willful citation.
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said the new restriction isn't the end of what his agency will do to prevent distracted driving. This measure subjects truckers or bus drivers who text while driving to a possible $2,750 penalty.
"The significant fines of $683,000 cannot replace this worker's life or bring peace to the family, but they will go a long way in letting this employer know disregarding worker safety and health will not be tolerated," said OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels.
The association's president wrote to U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who sponsored S. 1788, warning that risk control approaches aren't available at this time to address all of the workers' exposures in that industry.
"There's no excuse for workers being repeatedly and needlessly exposed to potentially fatal or disabling falls," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts.
The government's hugely popular health information site has rolled out a new version for mobile device users. Down a bit from its peak, the site still attracts more than 10 million unique visitors per month.
In an effort to comply with the Open Government Directive, DOL has released six high-value datasets for public use. The datasets include OSHA’s Data Initiative, which provides establishment-specific injury and illness rates, and DOL’s Research and Evaluation Inventory.
Inspections at two of the wholesaler's warehouses found damaged storage racks, unguarded moving machine parts, no auxiliary lighting for powered pallet jacks that were operating in areas where the dock lights were not in working order, and exposed energized electrical conductors, among other violations.
Though the revision does not change the long-standing requirements for compliant garments with respect to classification and color, it does address their usable life and issues for the wearer related to flame-resistance and use during rainfall.
As part of the consent decree, the company will discontinue use of approximately 70 miles of a pipeline that travels through the Tehachapi Mountains, portions of which are geologically unstable. The agreement does allow for the reuse of the pipeline.
Attendees will be presented with the different inspection methods for parent material as well as for welds and heat affected zones, along with advice on what to do if damage caused by HHA is found.
The airline and its sister company, DAL Global Services, are the only air transportation operators in the state to receive VPP's highest level of recognition.
In addition to paying a $13,166 penalty, the company agreed to provide more than $8,800 for training and equipment to the City of Hoquiam (Wash.) Fire Department to improve the department's capabilities in responding to hazardous materials emergencies.
"This facility is not only the first oil and gas field operations for ConocoPhillips that has exceeded OSHA's VPP minimum standards, but the company has not had an OSHA recordable injury since 2005," said Dean McDaniel, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas, Texas.