In addition, the company faces fines for three serious violations relating to poor egress procedures from the trench, failure to provide proper training for trench operations, and placing excavated materials too close to the edge of the trench.
Under an agreement signed last week, OSHA and LSU Continuing Education will work together to deliver workplace safety and health courses, specifically focusing on related hazard awareness and the recognition and benefits of an effective safety and health management system.
The specific objective of report is to identify all on-duty firefighter fatalities that occurred in the United States and its protectorates during the calendar year and to present in summary narrative form the circumstances surrounding each occurrence.
OSHA cited the company with one willful violation for failing to provide an adequate protective system for employees working in an excavation 8 to 10 feet in depth and one serious violation for failing to ensure employees were wearing high visibility vests.
Grantees will use the funds to provide federally mandated training and retraining of miners working at surface and underground coal and metal and nonmetal mines, including miners engaged in shell dredging or employed at surface stone, sand, and gravel mining operations.
According to the investigation, the worker was covered by almost 240-degree asphalt released from an open valve on the transfer system due to a pressure increase that separated the transfer hose from the system.
Proposed penalties against the two companies total more than $97,000. John Healy, OSHA's area director in Englewood, Colo., said the agency "will be stepping up its enforcement of fall hazards, especially in those areas of the state that experienced significant hail damage this year--areas where we expect to see an influx in roofing work."
European authorities are already taking in-vehicle safety to a new level, with Sweden mandating alcolocks in 11,000 government vehicles by 2012. The new report discusses benefits of speed limiters, event data recorders, distance warning systems, and more.
"There can be no delay in exiting a workplace during a fire or other emergency when the difference between escape and injury or death can be measured in seconds," said Kay Gee, OSHA's acting area director in Manhattan.
The site's lack of eyewash or shower stations near where employees were exposed to corrosive materials were among the 10 serious health violations for which OSHA cited the Georgia company.
Nine Ohio mine rescue teams will be assigned the same emergency problem and will be evaluated by state and federal mine inspectors on their procedures and speed. Two courses will run simultaneously and teams will be sequestered until it is their turn to compete.
The company was cited for violating Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requirements for treating, managing, and disposing of hazardous waste, including failure to mark, label, and keep hazardous waste containers closed; and comply with training, monitoring, inspection, and recording requirements.
In FY 2008, federal agencies paid out a total of more than $50 million in monetary benefits to complainants (including appellate decisions), according to EEOC's annual tally.
The National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) recently announced that its 35th annual conference will be held Feb. 25-27, 2010, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Titled "Explore the World of Hearing Loss Prevention," the conference will focus on various topics of local and international concern, including "whole life" hearing loss prevention; chemicals, ototoxicity, and otoprotection; and the impending change to the Noise Reduction Rating in the United States.
During a 2007 inspection, EPA staff found acetone and toluene being stored improperly at the facility. The agency noted that exposure to such solvents can affect breathing and cause vomiting.
"The procedures for protecting trench workers are easy enough to implement, but what's required first is employer and employee dedication to workplace safety and health," said Greg Baxter, OSHA's regional administrator in Denver.
The newly downloadable document addresses methods for controlling silica such as wet cutting during construction operations and using vacuum dust collection systems.
A panel presentation and discussion on "The State of the Granite Debate," focusing on the issue of radon and radioactivity from granite countertop materials, will be part of AARST's 21st International Radon Symposium next week.
MSHA recently announced it has awarded $500,000 in grant funds to six organizations that provide education and training within the mining industry.
In addition to issuing willful, repeat, and serious citations to the company, OSHA also issued it a notice of failure-to-abate citation relating to its failure to implement a respiratory program, institute a medical surveillance program for workers overexposed to chromium VI, and develop and implement a hazard communication program for workers exposed to caustics and corrosives.