"They still have a systemic safety problem in this refinery," said acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab today, announcing an additional 439 new violations found in 17 follow-up inspections at the refinery in Texas City, Texas.
"Electricity moves--and can kill or injure--at the speed of light. It doesn't give you a second chance," said C. William Freeman III, OSHA's area director in Hartford, Conn.
"Steel mills remain a dangerous place to work, and it is inexcusable to fail to correct serious dangers, particularly after they've already been identified by OSHA. . . . We expect better," said OSHA Area Director Jule Hovi in Toledo, Ohio.
As part of attaining VPP status, employers must demonstrate management commitment to the safety and health of their workers and actively involve them in supporting the safety and health management system.
The venture, which will employ about 1,200 workers during peak construction activities, is an expansion and extension of Brook Army Medical Center and Fort Sam Houston and will create a medical complex encompassing both Army installations.
NIST's report on the May 2 collapse of the Dallas Cowboys' Indoor Practice Facility recommends evaluating the performance of fabric-covered steel frame structures under wind loads. Comments are invited until Nov. 6.
The society will begin accepting submissions online Nov. 1. The deadline for entries is Dec. 1.
The declaration clears hospitals to set up alternate sites to house sick patients. It does not speed up vaccine delivery to the states.
On Friday, the union and Chevron Philips Petroleum marked the 20th anniversary of a refinery explosion and fire in Pasadena, Texas, that killed 23 workers and injured 314 others. International VP Gary Beevers said not enough has been done since then to ensure safety at refineries.
Employees not wearing PPE and the employer's failure to develop, implement, or maintain a written hazard communications program for employees working with mortar or cement were among the 11 repeat violations, which, together with five serious violations, have proposed penalties totaling $146,000.
The agency will hear comments from stakeholders on Nov. 4 in Bethesda, Md., and says it intends to amend the guidance, adding a sentence about the importance of proper flow rates and drain cover fastener integrity.
The Health and Safety Executive examined what footwear and flooring suppliers offer to end users in sales literature and online. No indication of slip resistance was given for 47 percent of the 1,304 footwear styles surveyed, and another 36 percent claimed to be slip resistant but provided no test data.
In a live webcast conducted on the DHS site at 11 a.m. EDT today, the secretary will discuss the nation’s need to counter the threat of cyber attacks, saying it is every computer users’ responsibility to stay safe online.
EPA is proposing the extension because its NPDES stormwater program needs more time to meet a deadline to incorporate new construction and development effluent limitations guidelines into a new permit.
One of the hazardous wastes the Utah man was accused of illegally dumping was nonylphenol, a powerful organic chemical and heavy-duty industrial cleaner that is toxic to aquatic life. The man’s actions allegedly caused a nearby wastewater treatment plant to violate permit limits for acute toxicity 22 times.
In addition to being able to show that a good-faith effort was made to acquire respirators, an employer will need to implement a hierarchy of controls, said acting OSHA chief Jordan Barab.
Deborah Friberg, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the Raleigh, N.C.-based WakeMed Health and Hospitals, has helped her staff set and meet ambitious goals in establishing an electronic infection surveillance system, improving hand hygiene compliance, and reducing MRSA and catheter-related blood stream infections, APIC said.
Inspections conducted over the past several months by OSHA's area office in Andover, Mass., also identified various chemical, mechanical, and electrical hazards--41 violations in all, with proposed penalties totaling $138,000.
Tsunamis and earthquakes in Asia in the past three weeks underscore the need to ensure hospitals are protected against natural disasters, the agencies said Wednesday as they marked International Day for Disaster Reduction 2009.
In April, a fire at the facility sent three workers to a local hospital. The resulting inspection revealed nine alleged willful, four serious, two repeat, and two failure-to-abate violations.