Chemical incident blamed on burned chillies

A CHEMICAL incident which saw 11 people evacuated from their homes Sunday night (January 16) is being blamed on chilli being cooked.

Some of the people living in a three storey building in Sydenham Avenue, Sydenham, were coughing and spluttering as they were led out of the property at around 10.30pm.

Ambulance staff treated one woman at the scene. The patient, who is believed to be in her 30s, did not need hospital treatment.

This incident was originally called in to the emergency services as a gas leak but this was quickly ruled out and it was treated as chemical.

Firefighters wearing special suits designed for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents then entered the building to detect the source of the fumes.

But the CBRN team did not find any sign of any chemical leak in the property and at 11.53pm they reported to the police that they were putting it down to burned chillis.

Fatal construction accident on Tri-C's campus kills one

By: WEWS News Staff

HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio - An accident during a construction project on Cuyahoga Community College’s East campus left a 45-year-old man dead after he fell three stories from a bucket lift truck, according to the Cuyahoga County Coroner's office.

Craig Mackovjak of Broadview Heights died at South Pointe Hospital, the coroner's Office said.

The accident occurred Monday morning on the Tri-C East campus in Highland Hills. The coroner said he was working in a bucket lift truck on some type of project at the school when he fell three stories. However, coroner's spokesman Powell Caesar said Monday night that an autopsy would have to determine the cause and manner of death. The autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the family said Mackovjack was married to Judge Deanna O'Donnell of Parma Municipal Court. They have four children: Morgan (22), Connor (21), Mason (13) and Quinn (12).

Mackovjak was also a member of the Broadview Heights Planning Commission and a former city councilman.

Broadview Heights Council President Helen Dunlap said he brought balance.

"He was very down to earth," she said. "He wouldn't do what they called political games. He would make a decision and stick to his decision. He knew who he was and how he wanted to be portrayed."

Mackovjak is also being remembered as a good husband and family man. Judge Tim Gilligan, who spoke on behalf of the family Monday night, said Mackovjak was planning to take his son to basketball practice after work.

"He'll be missed," Gilligan said. "We'll all miss him."

Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AMBULANCE CALL ESCALATES INTO HAZ-MAT RESPONSE AFTER EMT’S GET CONTAMINATED

HERNDON — Two Dalmatia Ambulance crew members were taken to the hospital with upper respiratory problems Monday after treating a 27-year-old man who claimed he suffered a chemical burn while riding a train through southern Northumberland County.

Norfolk Southern Corp. spokesman Rudy Husband said the burned man’s story doesn’t add up and there’s no evidence he was even on a train.

State police Cpl. George Ritchey said an investigation was continuing to determine what happened.

“There is no reason for public alarm,” he said. He refused to identify the man unless criminal charges are filed.

The 8:45 a.m. incident in Jackson Township, just south of Herndon, brought out Northumberland County’s hazardous-materials team, state police, Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad police, state Department of Environmental Protection representatives and several area fire and ambulance departments.

Identified by police only as a 27-year-old who lives outside the area, the man knocked on several homes and businesses in Herndon asking for help, Herndon Assistant Fire Chief Ron Hinckley said.

No one allowed the man inside, but someone called 911.

Among the first to reach the man in a parking lot off Route 147 next to the Lower Northumberland County Senior Action Center was the Dalmatia Ambulance. Edward Carl Sr. and Eric Shrawder were treating the man, who was apparently burned, inside an ambulance when they became sick, Hinckley said.

“They were having trouble breathing and (experiencing) respiratory distress,” he said.

Northumberland County’s hazmat team was called to the scene, and all three men were stripped naked and doused with a cleansing solution from a decontamination unit set up in the lot.

While first responders tried to shield the men from being seen by passersby, no one could protect them from the 20-degree chill.

Carl and Shrawder were taken by ambulance to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where they were treated and released.

The burned man was flown by helicopter to the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Medical Center, Allentown. His condition was unknown.

First-responders were tight-lipped at the scene, but Husband said in a telephone interview that the burned man’s story raised questions from the start.

Specifically in question is his claim that he got on a train illegally in Philadelphia and rode it to Herndon where he jumped off.

Norfolk Southern doesn’t run trains between Philadelphia and Herndon, Husband said, and all trains passing through the small Northumberland County borough travel at 40 mph.

“There was no evidence of anyone jumping off a train,” Husband said.

Also, only one train passed through the borough Monday morning, and it was an empty coal train.

Husband said Norfolk Southern does transport chemicals, but the material is contained in tanks.

Clothing was found in a Herndon park on Lower Road, just feet from the railroad tracks and about a mile from the parking lot where the hazmat team convened, but it didn’t immediately shed light on the type and source of chemical that may have caused the problems, Northumberland County Emergency Services Director Paul Froutz said.

The area where the clothing was found was roped off while several children played on a hill several feet away.

The ambulance in which the burned man was initially treated and the two EMTs were overcome was left in the parking lot and roped off until the substance could be identified and the interior thoroughly cleaned.

Bizarre series of events leaves worker seriously injured

Part of workplace safety is identifying risks. However, sometimes it’s difficult to imagine a series of events like this one that left a worker severely injured.

While raised on a boom, the worker was using a cutting torch to remove bolts from a sign on a Kroger store in Murfreesboro, TN. One of the hot bolts from the sign fell and melted through a hydraulic hose on the boom.

That caused pressurized hydraulic fluid to shoot out of the hose and into the path of the worker’s torch, setting the worker and Kroger sign on fire.

The man jumped out of the boom, injuring his legs and breaking his ankles. The boom was raised about 18 feet above ground level when he jumped.

The man, an employee of Jarvis Sign, wasn’t identified. An eyewitness said the worker was conscious and limping after the incident and had to ask others how badly burned his back was.

He was taken to a local hospital. There are no reports on his condition.

California Lays Out New Safety Law for Foodservice Industry

LENEXA, Kan. -- The new year brings with it a new law for the state of California and its foodservice workers. Effective July 1, more than one million foodservice workers -- restaurant employees who handle food -- within the state must obtain food safety certification and earn a California Food Handler Card, ThePacker.com reported.

“The reaction overall from our members has been positive,” Leslie Huffman, vice president of marketing and communications for the Sacramento-based California Restaurant Association told the Web site. “Since food safety is a top priority, they see making sure restaurant employees are trained in basic food safety as a positive step in ensuring customer safety remains a top priority.”

Under the new bill, signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sept. 25 of last year, training courses must be available at no more than $15, with company's not required to pay for an employee's time and expense to take the training, according to ThePacker.com.

However, many companies that are members of the CRA already have food safety training in place for new employees, and sites with in-house food safety training programs are exempt from the new law upon meeting certain conditions.

California's local health departments will enforce the new law, making sure that companies meet state requirements, ensuring that workers have their California Food Handler Cards and keeping records that can be provided to local law enforcement upon request, the Web site stated.

“We don’t believe it will be a burden for local health departments since they are already going out and conducting health inspections,” Huffman added. “Verifying that employees have their California Food Handler card will add a step to the health inspection process but is not intended to be overly burdensome.”

The California Food Handler Card is valid for three years. According to ThePacker.com, the new law was modeled after local laws in three California cities: Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego.

Maureen Keith, media relations manager for Washington, D.C.-based National Restaurant Association, told the Web site that four other states -- Arkansas, Florida, Oregon and Washington -- have their own state-wide food safety requirements and that more than two dozen other states have at least one jurisdiction that requires food handler employee training.

Seven Firefighters Injured In Queens Fire

Seven firefighters were injured while battling a seven-alarm fire in New York City, officials said.

The blaze, broke out at J&J Ironworks, a one-story brick commercial building in Queens, at about 6 p.m. Monday, according to a Fire Department spokesman. About 200 firefighters were at the scene throughout the evening.

Fire Deputy Chief Gregory Rup said that four firefighters were burned when the building’s roof collapsed on them. One sustained serious burns to his face, another a back injury and two others were treated and released.

There was no one inside the factory when the fire started. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

Mexican Hazmat Carriers Barred from DOT-Proposed Program

A new Obama Administration proposal to allow Mexican trucks to operate throughout the United States drew a lukewarm response from many in the trucking industry. A concept document outlining a framework for the new program was released January 6. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the document will serve as a starting point to renew the cross-border program for Mexican truckers that was canceled in March 2009. Negotiations with the Mexico government are still to come, and no target date for implementation has been suggested at this point. The initial cross-border trucking program was launched in 2007 by the Bush Administration to comply with requirements under the North American Free Trade Agreement (javascript:void(0)NAFTA). Under that pilot program, Mexican carriers had to register their vehicles with the U.S. government and up to 100 Mexican fleets could operate at any given time inside the United States. Mexico’s government reciprocated by allowing a small number of U.S. carriers to operate inside Mexico. Read more here.

Environmental Enforcement: Two New England Shipyards Settle EPA Claims

Two New England shipyards have agreed to pay penalties to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that they violated federal environmental laws.

Rose’s Oil Service, a shipyard and fuel oil distributor in Gloucester, Mass., was cited for violations of federal water and oil pollution prevention laws. The company agreed to pay $130,000 to resolve EPA allegations it discharged pressure wash water and storm water without authorization under the Clean Water Act. According to the EPA, Rose’s Oil Service failed to prepare a Facility Response Plan and an adequate Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan in violation of federal oil pollution regulations.

Promet Marine Services, which builds, repairs and retrofits vessels in Providence, R.I., agreed to pay $290,000 to settle EPA claims that it violated federal clean air and clean water laws. According to the agency, Promet’s use of paints exceeded volatile organic compound and hazardous air pollutant limits of the Clean Air Act. Promet violated the Clean Water Act through the unauthorized discharge of contaminated pressure wash water into the Providence River, EPA said.

The company is now using paints that comply with regulatory limits, has applied for required air permits, and has a process water recycling system at its facility to eliminate illegal discharges of copper, lead, zinc and solids in pressure wash water, according to an EPA statement.

Both settlements include a certification by the shipyards that they are now complying with all requirements.

Trans-Alaska pipeline leak shuts-in production from Prudhoe Bay

By Phaedra Friend Troy

Technicians are working to repair a leak that occurred on the Trans-Alaska pipeline system, also known as TAPS, that caused a crude oil spill, while North Slope producers have been prorated to 5 percent production.

A crude oil spill of nine to 10 barrels was discovered on Saturday, January 8, and Alyeska has been working to clean the spill since. The leak occurred from underground piping at Pump Station 1.

Engineers are working to develop a plan to leak-test the lines, as well as design options to circumvent the flow in order to restart the pipeline.

“We have a significant amount of resources, tools and personnel on site at Pump Station 1 responding to this event,” said Tom Barrett, Alyeska’s president. “Our goal is to engineer and implement a solution so that we can safely return the pipeline to service as quickly as possible.”

Oil Leak Has Significant Impact

According to Daily Finance, super-majors BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil have cut oil production from the Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska by 95 percent while the pipeline undergoes repairs.

An official timeline for the restart of Trans-Alaska pipeline has not been published, although The Wall Street Journal cites an unnamed source, saying that the system should be back up and running by Friday, January 14.

Spanning 800 miles to transport crude oil from Alaska’s North Slope to tankers in Valdez, the Trans-Alaska pipeline transports some 15 percent of US production.

On the news of the pipeline shut-down, the price of crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped more than 2 percent to nearly $90.

Reuters reports that the outlook for US crude prices are up because of the pipeline incident and the accident that shut down Canadian Natural’s Horizon Oil Sands refinery near Alberta.

NIPSCO reaches $600MM settlement with EPA for violation claims at its coal-fired facilities

Source: Northern Indiana Public Service Company

Following discussions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, NIPSCO has finalized a settlement outlining about $600 million in new environmental investments, conservation initiatives, and clean energy programs designed to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of northern Indiana.

Outlined in the settlement are environmental controls and clean air technology that further reduce nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter emissions at the company's coal-fired electric generation facilities.

The settlement is the 17th reached by the EPA and DOJ as part of a national initiative to control emissions from coal-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act's New Source Review requirements. It follows a 2004 Notice of Violation of the EPA's New Source Review process alleging that NIPSCO made upgrades or modifications to its generating facilities in the 1980s and 1990s without obtaining the proper permits.

NIPSCO is among more than 50 U.S. electric companies receiving a Notice of Violation since 1998 as part of the EPA initiative, and NIPSCO maintains that it acted in accordance with the regulations and conducted only routine maintenance and upgrades on the units. This settlement resolves all matters related to the New Source Review and future claims through 2018.

Importantly, the investments contemplated in the settlement support and complement the environmental improvements NIPSCO has already made to date.

Benefits of the Settlement

By the close of 2018, NIPSCO will invest approximately $600 million in improved environmental technology and related projects. Key benefits of these investments will include:

• Cleaner Air: NIPSCO's electric generating fleet is expected to be among the cleanest in Indiana, with NOx emissions lowered by an additional 35 percent from current rates, SO2 emissions lowered by an additional 80 percent from current rates, and other benefits, such as reduced fleet vehicle emissions and improved air quality monitoring, will be achieved. These improvements will have an added benefit of helping NIPSCO achieve compliance with anticipated tighter future emission standards.

• Jobs and Economic Development: Installation of new environmental controls at NIPSCO's R.M. Schahfer, Bailly and Michigan City generating stations are projected to create hundreds of new jobs for locally contracted companies during the next eight years, as well as new positions within the company.

• Conservation and Clean Energy: NIPSCO also will invest $9.5 million over the next five years in new environmental conservation and clean energy projects, including:

- Working with local communities and organizations to develop new publicly available electric vehicle charging stations – powered exclusively with renewable energy

-Replacing and retrofitting diesel engines with hybrid and/or electric vehicles throughout our service territory

- Partnering with the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and other regional conservation groups to acquire and conserve environmentally sensitive properties in the region

Under the terms of the settlement, NIPSCO will also pay a $3.5 million civil penalty. The additional environmental investments have been planned as part of anticipated ongoing capital spending.

Wichita ride maker to pay $500,000 in crash lawsuit

BY RON SYLVESTER
The Wichita Eagle

The children on the Yo-Yo carnival ride remembered hearing a loud crack before they fell.
The ride carrying about two dozen children collapsed, dragging them on the ground and slamming them into the surrounding rails before coming to a stop two years ago at a county fair in California.
The Wichita manufacturer of the Yo-Yo and the operator of the ride have agreed to pay more than $3.3 million to a family that had four children injured in the crash, their lawyer said Monday.
Most of the settlement is coming from the ride's owner, who safety investigators say failed to maintain the ride. The manufacturer agreed to pay $500,000 of the settlement.
Robert Allard, the San Jose, Calif., lawyer who represented the family, said Chance Rides Manufacturing of Wichita failed to properly tell owners of the ride's risks.
A similar accident had occurred in 2006 at Six Flags Over Texas.
In both cases, a lock washer failed, allowing two lock nuts to come loose, causing the arms swinging the riders to fall off.
"Essentially, they sacrificed consumer safety for their own protection," Allard said.
An executive for Chance Rides did not return a phone call Monday.
Five months after the accident at Angel Camp, Calif., Chance and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 85 of the Yo-Yo rides to inspect and repair them.
But Allard said Chance knew about the dangers for two years before the accident at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee.
Five days after the Yo-Yo ride crashed in Texas, injuring nine people, Chance put out a service bulletin detailing the problems that caused the accident and how to fix them.
Four days later, court records show, the company issued another memo that did not include the safeguards.
The danger escalated when the owners of the ride that crashed in California failed to maintain it at all.
Two owners neglected required service on the ride for more than 10 years, according to a report by the California Department of Industrial Relations.
The Yo-Yo twirls riders in swing-like seats suspended from chains on arms attached to a hydraulic cylinder.
Chance required the owners of the ride to send the cylinder back to Wichita to be rebuilt every five years, the California report said.
But the safety investigation found this ride had not been serviced since 1997.
The ride was owned by a company called Midway of Fun at the time of the accident. It had been purchased two years earlier from North American Amusements.
Despite its disrepair — including leaking hydraulics and improper electrical connections — the ride continued to run.
There were 23 children riding the Yo-Yo when it collapsed the evening of May 16, 2008, at the county fair named after one of Mark Twain's short stories.
As the ride crashed, some of the children became tangled in the swings, the safety report said.
"Witnesses report that the Yo-Yo made 1 1/2 revolutions, dragging the passengers before coming to a stop," the report said.
Among the injured were the four children of Robert and Deena Milligan of Angel's Camp, a Gold Rush town of about 3,100 east of San Francisco.
The Milligans' 14-year-old daughter was the most seriously injured. She suffered head injuries that doctors say have caused severe learning disabilities. She is now a sophomore in high school, Allard said.
Allard said that under the settlement agreement, Midway of Fun will pay $2.5 million and Chance owes $500,000. North American Amusements, the previous owner, will pay $375,000.
In the two years since the accident, Allard said, the Milligans have struggled to pay their children's medical bills.
The law firm helped pay the family's mortgage to keep them from losing their home, Allard said, and paid more than $100,000 in expert witnesses to help with the case.

Oil Worker Injured in Industrial Accident - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |

Oil Worker Injured in Industrial Accident - KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |

Staff Report
NewsWest 9

GAINES COUNTY - An oil worker from Odessa remains in critical condition.

34-year-old Zach Fitzilliam was struck on the head Wednesday morning when a piece of metal fell 30 feet above him.

It happened at an oil rig site in Gaines County.

This is according to KCBD TV, our sister station in Lubbock.

Gaines county officials say he was wearing a hard hat.

Fitzilliam was airlifted to University Medical Center in Lubbock.

Sulfuric Acid-Laden Tanker Capsizes on Rhine River Near Lorelei

By Sylvia Cochran

The German Rhine River, a major industrial artery for commercial shipping, is closed near St. Goarshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate. Located close to the Lorelei cliff, barge traffic is suspended.

Barge "Altwaldhof" Capsizes

The barge christened "Altwaldhof" capsized on the Rhine River. She carried a load of 2,400 tons of sulfuric acid and traveled from southern Germany's Ludwigshafen BASF docks to Antwerp, Belgium.

Thus far, none of the cargo has leaked into the river. Two crew members are missing and feared dead in the frigid river waters (current water temperatures only reach 39 degrees).

The Lorelei Cliff

The location of the shipping accident is St. Goarshausen, a small tourist town nestled along the banks of the Rhine. It is near Lorelei cliff, which signals barge operators that they are reaching one of the most treacherous parts of the river.

Narrow, rocky and with strong currents, the area near the Lorelei has historically been the site of numerous shipwrecks. Local mythology attributed the wrecks to the Siren-song of a Rhine nymph.

Not surprisingly, the area is a must-see on Rhine River cruises and tourist excursions to St. Goarshausen.

No Sign of a 1986 Rhine River Chemical Spill Recurrence

With the sulfuric acid still safely contained, German authorities are painfully aware that a spill would result in yet another major ecological disaster. The last devastating spill occurred in 1986, when a Basel, Switzerland chemical factory fire resulted in a leak that pumped approximately 30 tons of toxins into the Rhine. The concentration was so high that the river's waters turned red.

Looking Ahead: Rhine Closures are not Uncommon

In the wake of the acid-laden tanker's capsizing, the Rhine River will remain closed until the 360-foot tanker can be secured; this may take up to 30 hours. It is a common practice but nevertheless results in inconveniences for shippers relying on timely delivery of goods to manufacturers and commercial consumers.

Another example of this type of temporary closure occurred in March 2007 when a near-capsizing of a barge sent some of its cargo overboard. As a result, the Rhine was closed to through traffic between Cologne-Porz and Cologne-Niehl until the cargo could be retrieved and the barge secured.

What makes a renewed Rhine River closure so frustrating to commercial shippers right now is the fact that traffic had just been re-opened between Cologne and Koblenz -- after weekend flooding left the water levels too high for safe travels.

OSHA Fines Companies $229,390 after Explosion at PA Oil Well Kills Two Workers

After an investigation into an explosion at a Pennsylvania well site that killed two workers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued fines totaling $229,390 to two companies involved in the incident.

Huntley & Huntley Inc., of Monroeville, PA, contracted with Northeast Energy Management Inc., of Indiana, PA, to fix a leaking barrel tank at the Murry Heirs #6 well site in Cheswick, PA. As two Northeast Energy Management workers welded the tank on July 23 of 2010, the heat from the welding ignited oil vapors and caused the tank to explode, killing both workers.

The Washington Post reports that the explosion sent the tank flying over 100 foot tall trees, landing more than 200 feet away, and caused a nearby gas well to catch fire and burn for hours before a special crew could be brought from Texas to fight the fire. The newspaper identifies the two welders as 56-year-old Andy Yosurak Jr., of Creekside, and 46-year-old Kevin Henry, of New Florence.

OSHA investigators found that Northeast Energy Management Inc. failed to ensure the safety of its workers by verifying the tank the workers were welding had been thoroughly cleaned and free of flammable materials, which might produce a flammable or toxic vapor when subjected to heat, and to check if flammable/combustible or other hazardous materials were present. The agency issued the company two willful violations for these failures.

OSHA issues a “willful violation” when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Northeast Energy Management Inc. also received serious violations for failing to outfit its welders with flame retardant clothing, failing to ensure that welders get approval from supervisors prior to welding and failing to train employees in safety procedures needed to protect themselves from hazardous chemicals.

OSHA issues a “serious citation” when there is substantial probability, that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Huntley & Huntley Inc., owner of the well site and developer of more than 350 gas wells in western Pennsylvania, also received a willful violation by OSHA after they determined that the company failed to ensure that Northeast Energy Management Inc. trained welders and supervisors properly in regards to welding equipment and safety.

"These companies did not ensure that proper welding procedures were followed, resulting in this tragic loss of life," director of OSHA's Pittsburgh, PA office Robert Szymanski said in an OSHA release. "OSHA remains committed to holding employers legally responsible when they fail to adhere to federal law and compromise the safety of workers."

OSHA assessed penalties to Northeast Energy Management Inc. of $159,390 and Huntley & Huntley Inc. of $70,000. The companies have 15 days to comply or request a hearing.

OSHA Sticks Plastering Firm with $99,000 in Fines for Fall Hazards

OSHA's El Paso Area Office initiated this inspection on Oct. 19, 2010, when employees were observed working on a scaffold without the use of fall protection equipment at a worksite.

Jan 17, 2011
OSHA has issued five repeat citations to Best Plastering Contractors in El Paso, Texas, for exposing workers to fall hazards. Proposed penalties total $99,000.

"Falls are one of the most common and well-known hazards at a construction site. This is not the first time this company has jeopardized the safety of its workers," said Jack Rector, OSHA's area director in El Paso. "Falls can injure or kill a worker within seconds. It is fortunate in this case that there were no injuries or fatalities."

OSHA's El Paso Area Office initiated this inspection on Oct. 19, 2010, when employees were observed working on a scaffold without the use of fall protection equipment at a worksite. Best Plastering employs about 18 workers at its El Paso facility and eight of them were at this worksite.

Violations include failing to provide base plates and mud sills to prevent scaffolds from becoming unstable, a ladder for safe access to all working levels of the scaffold, training for employees who perform scaffolding work, and fall protection systems such as guardrails and/or personal fall arrest systems such as harnesses to employees working from a scaffold. A repeat citation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

In 2009, the company was fined more than $106,000 and cited with four willful and three serious violations for exposing employees to the same safety hazards.

OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, be in use when workers perform residential construction activities six feet or more above the next lower level.

DOT worker killed by falling tree

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PRESTON, Wash. -- A veteran Washington State Department of Transportation worker has died after behing hit by a falling tree during a rain storm.

WSDOT Maintenance Superintendent Jim McBride says the accident occurred late Sunday night on Highway 203 just south of Carnation.

He says the worker was setting up safety cones to alert motorists to powerlines knocked down by the storm when the tree fell on his truck and killed him.

McBride says the employee was well liked and loved his job.

He calls it a "sad night" for his department.

WSDOT will release more information after his family is notified.

OSHA clears Minnesota Power work site in electrocution death

Albuquerque Express
Source: Pioneer Press)

What caused the electrocution death of a Minnesota Power employee at a Schroeder worksite in September remains a mystery, even after a state investigation wrapped up last week.

The nearly five-month probe by the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration found no hazards at the site that could have caused the death of Kyle Damberg, a longtime company employee whose body was found in a building under construction.

No citations will be issued in the incident for unsafe practices, the final report says.

"We believe OSHA did a thorough investigation," said Amy Rutledge, a Minnesota Power spokeswoman.

"We certainly agree with their findings. It did confirm that our work site was safe, that Minnesota Power's safety practices meet or exceed OSHA's safety standards."

Meat Processing Plant Fined $212,000 for Lockout/Tagout, Repeat Violations

Meat Processing Plant Fined $212,000 for Lockout/Tagout, Repeat Violations -- Occupational Health & Safety

Bridgford Foods' Chicago facility has been inspected by OSHA three times since November 2007, resulting in 29 health and safety citations.

Jan 14, 2011
OSHA has issued the Bridgford Foods Processing Corp. facility in Chicago 10 safety citations for failing to implement and provide training for workers on lockout/tagout procedures, thereby exposing them to energized equipment. The meat processing plant is facing proposed penalties of $212,000.

"By failing to train employees and enforce lockout/tagout procedures, Bridgford Foods placed employees in danger of serious injury from equipment that was not properly de-energized," said Gary Anderson, OSHA's area director in Calumet City, Ill. "OSHA is committed to ensuring that workers are provided a safe and healthful workplace."

As a result of a July 2010 OSHA inspection, Bridgford Foods Processing has been issued one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $70,000, for allowing workers to remove a shovel stuck in an auger screw conveyor without locking or tagging out the auger, placing employees in danger of the machine operating while they worked to remove the shovel. A willful violation exists when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Bridgford Foods Processing also has been issued six repeat citations, with proposed fines of $135,000, for having locked exit doors, failing to provide lockout/tagout or electrical safety training, failing to provide a load backrest extension on a powered industrial truck to minimize the hazard of material falling, and failing to specifically outline energy control procedures. OSHA issues a repeat citation when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.


Additionally, two serious citations have been issued for failing to perform periodic energy control inspections and to maintain unobstructed exit routes. Those citations carry penalties of $7,000. An OSHA violation is serious when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

One other-than-serious citation has been issued for failing to properly illuminate exit signs. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

Bridgford Foods' Chicago facility has been inspected by OSHA three times since November 2007, resulting in 29 health and safety citations. The company is headquartered in Anaheim, Calif., and also operates two factories in Dallas and one in Statesville, N.C.

This investigation falls under the requirements of OSHA's Severe Violators Enforcement Program. Initiated in the spring of 2010, SVEP focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations in one or more of the following circumstances: a fatality or catastrophe, industry operations or processes that expose workers to severe occupational hazards, employee exposure to hazards related to the potential releases of highly hazardous chemicals and all egregious enforcement actions.

Contractor to be fined for Texas 114 lane closures

BY JAY BOARD

GRAPEVINE -- NorthGate Constructors, the contractor overseeing construction of the DFW Connector, faces a state fine for a downed television utility line that prompted officials to close Texas 114 on Wednesday morning.
Texas Department of Transportation officials will determine the amount of the fine this week, department spokesman Tony Hartzel said.
"We are definitely evaluating that situation," he said. "It's just a matter of assessing the amount of time" each of the four main lanes and four frontage road lanes were closed.
NorthGate's contract with the Transportation Department stipulates a fine of $8,300 per lane per hour for any construction-related closures that occur between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on a weekday.
"This has been the first incident of this kind since we began construction in February 2010," NorthGate spokeswoman Kristen Schropp wrote in an e-mail. "With an increased focus on utilities in the coming months, we hope that it will also be the last incident of this kind."
On Wednesday, the busy highway was closed at about 8 a.m., minutes after a driver reported the downed line, Grapevine police spokesman Lt. Todd Dearing said. A NorthGate excavator accidentally snagged the line, a bundle of coaxial cables, that hung across Texas 114.
Police closed the highway but opened a few lanes a short time later.
Authorities shut all lanes for a second time at about 9:20 a.m. in both directions on Texas 114 and its service roads between Ira E. Woods Avenue and Wall Street so crews could repair the line, Dearing said.
All lanes were reopened about 10:45 a.m.
NorthGate "immediately" distributed information about the closures to the news media and on its Twitter page and in e-mail blasts and text messages to those in its database. It also notified officials with state transportation, Grapevine, Southlake and Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine, Schropp said.

OSHA cites La. plant for workplace violations

PLAQUEMINE, La. (AP) — Federal workplace safety regulators have cited a plant in Plaquemine with 14 serious violations for exposing workers to multiple safety and health hazards at the facility.

Proposed penalties announced Tuesday against Georgia Gulf Chemicals & Vinyls LLC total $55,000. The company specializes in the production of chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer, vinyl resins, phenol and acetone.

Dorinda Folse, director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's office in Baton Rouge, said they opened an investigation on July 20 after an inspector saw violations by employees while conducting a separate probe of a different company contracted to do maintenance work inside the facility.

The violations include failing to illuminate exit routes, train workers performing preventive maintenance on safety critical instruments, and ensure eyewashes had adequate flow and capped nozzles.

Georgia Gulf, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., has 15 days to comply, request an informal conference with Folse's office or contest the citations and penalties before an independent commission.

Copyright © 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.