Tower climbing has been called "the most dangerous profession." But Don Doty, chairman of the National Association of Tower Erectors, says the industry is much safer today than when NATE was formed. He discussed the turnaround and the state of safety in the industry in an Oct. 24, 2008, conversation and follow-up e-mail with Occupational Health & Safety's managing editor.
Wind towers reap the power of wind to generate electricity. How ironic, then, that wind towers can take the wind out of those who must repair, maintain, or inspect equipment there. According to one published account, three wind tower technicians were installing bolts in a turbine in a wind tower in Minnesota when their work ignited a fire. The tower quickly became engulfed in flames. One worker fell more than 200 feet and died; the other two escaped with injuries.
When someone has a work-related incident or illness, one of the most critical steps toward preventing future incidents like it is to let all other workers know as soon as possible what happened.
The world is watching as more wind turbines are popping up to generate enough power to sustain a city, a state, or maybe even a country. Information and predictions about the wind energy market change every day. Every time someone estimates the market to be on a certain growth path, it turns out to be even bigger.
A proposal out for comments will allow for the enforcement of the European Regulation on the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures, which adopts the internationally agreed Global Harmonized System on the classification and labeling of chemicals.
An educator who has studied the problem extensively says safe patient handling laws gaining ground in U.S. states require better injury and illness data for health care workers, who frequently are reluctant to report their injuries.
A key feature of the meeting will be the opportunity to work with technical committees on industry standards, guidelines, and electronic data exchange protocols affecting the pump industry.
Most of the expected coming layoffs will involve technical/professional positions (13 percent), unskilled labor positions (13 percent), and administrative positions (11 percent).
This four-hour event will cover major topics like SPCC plan basics, integrity testing, applicability, secondary containment, and recent rule revisions and will include a one-hour live question-and-answer session.
"Our common goal is a continuous and effective safety and health emphasis that will eliminate injuries and illnesses and their associated human and financial costs," said Marthe Kent, OSHA's New England regional administrator.
The Transportation Security Administration extended the effective date of part of its Rail Transportation Security rule to April 1, 2009, to give freight railroads, shippers, and hazmat recipients time to prepare.
James Purnell, Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, said he commissioned the inquiry because some 2,800 people have died from injuries in construction work in the past 25 years, and "no one can find it acceptable that this number of people have died directly as a cause of their work and we are not making sufficient progress on preventing this total of human misery."
University of South Carolina geographers have produced a map of natural-hazard mortality in the United States that gives the likelihood of dying as the result of natural events such as floods, earthquakes, or extreme weather
The alliance will place special emphasis on emergency preparedness and response activities related to restoring utility services quickly and safely following a major disaster.
"These employees were just one misstep or tumble away from a fatal or disabling plunge," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo, N.Y.
The company also agreed to provide anti-discrimination training for the owner, managers, supervisors, and employees and allow EEOC to monitor the work site for the next two years.
Lisa P. Jackson, CHMM, is the former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and before that worked for 16 years in EPA's Superfund Program, developing key hazardous waste cleanup regulations, overseeing hazardous waste cleanup programs and directing multimillion-dollar cleanup operations.
According to a recent Kansas State University study, restaurant workers blame time constraints, inconvenience, inadequate training and inadequate resources for failure to follow food safety practices.
A study examined factors contributing to occupational deaths in East Attica, Greece, in the five years preceding the 2004 Olympics. A 2002 increase to 19 deaths was linked with construction of large-scale public works projects, the investigators concluded.
According to the agency, by 2050, the population of people age 45 and over in the United States is projected to grow to more than 170 million people, from 93 million today.