Ohio Construction Accident: Worker killed in fall at Highland Hills-area college

By Nicole Howley

Highland Hills, OH—A construction worker fatally fell three stores at Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus in Highland Hills. The construction accident happened while the man was working on a building at the community college just before 9 a.m., on Monday, January 17, 2011, as reported by FOX8.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner’s office reported that construction worker Craig Macoviak, 45, of Broadview Heights, was working in a bucket lift when he suddenly fell three stories. It was not reported what caused Macoviak to fall, but he was reportedly working with a crew who were tearing down a section of an on-campus building.

Responding emergency medical crews rushed Macoviak from the scene of the accident to South Pointe Hospital for treatment. Doctors later pronounced him dead.
A construction company unaffiliated with the college employed Macoviak.
A full investigation is underway. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are expected to investigate the fatal construction accident.

OSHA Names New Construction Directorate Leader

Jim Maddux is the new director of OSHA’s Directorate of Construction. Maddux most recently served in the Directorate of Standards and Guidance as Director of the Office of Physical Hazards and Acting Director of the Office of Engineering Safety.

Maddux began his career with OSHA in 1990 as a statistician. He has been a project director, author, and contributor to numerous standards and guidance projects, including the payment for PPE standard, recordkeeping regulations, and ergonomics guidelines.

Agency Head Dr. David Michaels said Maddux has been “a valuable member of the OSHA team for over 20 years.”

OSHA withdraws proposed interpretation of occupational noise

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on January 19 announced that it is withdrawing its proposed interpretation titled “Interpretation of OSHA’s Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise.” The interpretation would have clarified the term “feasible administrative or engineering controls” as used in OSHA’s noise standard. The proposed interpretation was published in the Federal Register on October 19, 2010.

“Hearing loss caused by excessive noise levels remains a serious occupational health problem in this country,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “However, it is clear from the concerns raised about this proposal that addressing this problem requires much more public outreach and many more resources than we had originally anticipated. We are sensitive to the possible costs associated with improving worker protection and have decided to suspend work on this proposed modification while we study other approaches to abating workplace noise hazards.”

Michaels met earlier this month with the offices of Sen. Olympia Snowe and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, members of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, in response to a letter from the senators. Sens. Snowe and Lieberman are also co-chairs of the Senate Task Force on Manufacturing.

Thousands of workers every year continue to suffer from preventable hearing loss due to high workplace noise levels. Since 2004, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that nearly 125,000 workers have suffered significant, permanent hearing loss. In 2008 alone, BLS reported more than 22,000 hearing loss cases, and Michaels emphasized that OSHA remains committed to finding ways to reduce this toll.

As part of this effort, the agency will:

Conduct a thorough review of comments that have been submitted in response to the Federal Register notice and of any other information it receives on this issue.
Hold a stakeholder meeting on preventing occupational hearing loss to elicit the views of employers, workers, and noise control and public health professionals.
Consult with experts from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the National Academy of Engineering.
Initiate a robust outreach and compliance assistance effort to provide enhanced technical information and guidance on the many inexpensive, effective engineering controls for dangerous noise levels.
For small businesses, OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program offers free and confidential advice on health and safety solutions with priority given to high-hazard worksites. Through this program, small and medium-sized employers can obtain free advice on addressing noise hazards. On-site consultation services exist in every state, and they are independent from OSHA’s enforcement efforts. On-site Consultation Program consultants, employed by state agencies or universities, work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing safety and health management systems.

Texting while driving is now officially a violation of OSHA standards

Hunton & Williams LLP

Recently, there has been a large amount of public commentary regarding the dangers of distracted driving, including texting while driving. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which regulates workplace safety, has now officially declared texting while driving to be a workplace hazard and an OSHA violation. In its recent open letter to employers, OSHA explained that:

It is [the employer’s] responsibility and legal obligation to create and maintain a safe and healthful workplace, and that would include having a clear, unequivocal and enforced policy against the hazard of texting while driving. Companies are in violation of [OSHA] if, by policy or practice, they require texting while driving, or create incentives that encourage or condone it, or they structure work so that texting is a practical necessity for workers to carry out their job.

The Department of Labor and the Department of Transportation are partnering with OSHA in its distracted driving initiative. These government agencies are initiating public awareness campaigns on the issue of distracted driving.

Additionally, more than half of the states have enacted laws against distracted driving beyond the traditional “workplace.” For example, most states prohibit drivers from texting while driving regardless of whether their vehicle is used for business or not. Eight states, including California and New York, prohibit drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving and authorize an officer to cite a driver for a violation without the requirement that any other traffic offense take place. Thirty more states ban text messaging while driving. A complete listing of current state laws on cell phone use and texting while driving can be found on the Governors Highway Safety Association’s website or the National Conference of State Legislatures’ website.

While OSHA’s distracted driving initiative is designed to address workplace safety concerns, it is clear that lawmakers and government agencies are focused on ending distracted driving. OSHA warns employers that it will investigate complaints that an employer requires or encourages texting while driving and will impose penalties for those employers who fail to comply with its guidelines.

In view of OSHA’s declaration, employers should consider issuing and enforcing a distracted driving policy that clearly prohibits the use of text, email or any handheld communication device while operating a company vehicle or driving a personal vehicle for business use.

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) to host a seminar on labor laws

Olney, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) will host an informational seminar “Lunch with Labor” in Olney from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. January 20 at the Holiday Motel & Restaurant, 1300 S. West St., in Olney. (at the junction of Highway 50 and Route 130).

The statewide outreach series will include representatives from IDOL and US Department of Labor (USDOL) who will discuss the Illinois State Plan and the new Occupational Safety Health Act (OSHA) standards, safety and health requirements, Prevailing Wage Act, minimum wage and Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA).

Lunch will be provided for a fee per person.

To RSVP for the seminar or for further information, contact Carmen Shipley at Carmen Shipley at Carmen.E.Shipley@llinois.gov or by phone at (217) 782-9386 .

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.

Former ODOT exec sentenced

Dennis Kratoch nets seven years in prison.

(Cleveland) - Former ODOT District 12 Facilities Manager Dennis Kratochvil was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday.

Kratochvil has paid $110,000 in restitution to the Ohio Department of Transportation and was ordered to pay $11,000 in fines.

On October 18, the 68-year-old pleaded guilty to 14 felony counts. The Chagrin Falls resident was the main target in this ODOT corruption case.

The Ohio Inspector General’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol conducted the investigation. In April 2007, an allegation was made that Kratochvil had committed ethics violations by fishing with vendors over whom he had contract authority.

The investigation revealed Kratochvil at the center of a massive interlocking web of schemes involving ODOT contracts. For over a decade, he, former District 12 Equipment Supervisor Terry Kosmata and ODOT storekeeper Kevin Horrigan rigged and steered hundreds of competitively bid contracts to favored vendors in exchange for gratuities.

These gratuities included hunting and fishing trips to Texas and Alaska, gambling junkets to Las Vegas, expensive meals and bar tabs, boating trips and hot tub parties with strippers, and cash bribes delivered to Kratochvil at ODOT District Headquarters in Garfield Heights.

Under indictment, Kratochvil threatened another co-defendant who was also a State’s witness against Kratochvil. On the day this co-defendant was waiting on the judge outside the courtroom to enter a plea of guilty, Kratochvil called him on his cell phone and threatened his life.

Sixteen of the seventeen defendants in this ODOT case have been sentenced on corruption-related charges and have paid a total of $611,840 in restitution.

The center of this criminal activity was ODOT’s District 12 headquarters located in Garfield Heights. The case of ODOT vendor Dennis B. Kratochvil (Dennis L. Kratochvil’s son) is pending.

(Copyright 2011 Clear Channel and/or the Associated Press, all rights reserved.)

Just Leaked: Industrial accident death

Affton, MO (KSDK) -- The OSHA is investigating a fatal accident at a St. Louis County industrial plant.

The accident occurred Friday morning at Kerry Sweet Ingredients at 8021 New Hampshire around 11 a.m.

Investigators tell NewsChannel 5 a man got stuck between two forklifts. Michael Muessig was rushed to St. John's Mercy Medical Center, where he died that afternoon.

The company said they are shocked and saddened by Muessig's death and that their thoughts and prayers are with his family.

KSDK

OSHA at Forty

By David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz

On July 28, Alex Pacas, 19, and Wyatt Whitebread, 14, of Mount Carroll, IL were suffocated to death, sinking into several thousand tons of quicksand-like shelled corn in the grain bin where they were working. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) quickly determined that their deaths were preventable if Haasbach, LLC, the grain elevator's owner, had followed proper safety regulations.

Such tragedies are more common than you might think. Every day, an average of 14 American workers die in work-related accidents, many of which are preventable. In addition, every year 3.3 million American workers are injured or sickened by their work conditions. As shocking as this is, these figures represent a dramatic improvement when compared to the situation before the federal Occupational Safety and Health act (OSH) was passed 40 years ago this week.

The OSH Act, signed into law by President Richard Nixon in the waning days of 1970, is a real success story. In the past four decades, the number of deaths due to workplace accidents fell from 13,800 in 1970 to 5,657 in 2007. The total incidence rate of private sector occupational injuries and illnesses plummeted from 10.9 per 100 workers in 1972 to 3.9 in 2008. The decline of blue-collar industrial jobs has certainly contributed to the falling numbers of workplace fatalities and diseases, but much of the progress is due to the tougher government standards made possible by OSHA which is now celebrating its fortieth anniversary.

This improvement was accomplished despite 40 years of attacks on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration by conservative critics and business leaders who demonize it as a harmful infringement on American free enterprise. Business lobby groups, corporate-sponsored academics, and business-side politicians use every conceivable argument in their rhetorical armament. Most vociferously, the corporate lobbyists insisted that OSHA would hurt the ability of business to operate efficiently, destroy firms, and kill jobs. A few years after the law was passed, a Chamber of Commerce pamphlet declared "This is the sorry history of OSHA - a statute which serves little useful purpose; and in its administration is even threatening the entire business system."

This year, Congressional Republicans and their industry allies carried on this ignoble tradition, successfully blocking the first significant reform of the OSH Act since its passage. The Protecting America's Workers Act and Robert Byrd Mine Safety Act would have given OSHA the tools to crack down on repeat violators and prevent many more accidents. In recent hearings over the proposed law, Jonathan Snare, representing the Coalition of Workplace Safety, a corporate front group, argued that any tightening of regulatory oversight would "create greater cost, litigation and hamper job creation." Snare continued that, "Especially during these challenging economic conditions, the adverse impact on the ability of employers to create jobs is a critical factor and should be of concern to this Committee and Congress." Snare's comment is yet another example of how corporate America cries wolf whenever reformers attempt to make business more socially responsible. Time and again, their doomsday predictions have proven false.

OSHA has been particularly effective when regulating some of our most dangerous industries, which hasn't stopped the affected employers from vigorously challenging the agency at every turn. Following a series of explosions in grain elevators in December 1977, which caused the deaths of 59 workers, OSHA began the process of developing a grain handling facilities standard that took a decade to put into effect. At the time industry was bitterly opposed. Yet, the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), a persistent critic of OSHA, acknowledged in 1998 that the industry had seen "an unprecedented decline in explosions, injuries and fatalities at grain handling facilities." In 2006, a review by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board reported a 42 percent decline in grain explosions, 60 percent decline in injuries, and a 70 percent decline in fatal accidents. (There are still recalcitrant employers who do not follow OSHA's guidelines, leading to tragedies like the deaths of Pacas and Whitebread.) Similarly, the passage of the Cotton Dust standard in 1978 lowered rates of "brown lung" among textile workers throughout the country from approximately 12 percent to about 1 percent of all employees.

Despite these successes, business lobby groups and their allies in Congress have hamstrung OSHA's effectiveness by thwarting tougher standards, restricting its budget, and limiting the number of inspectors. Today, state and federal OSHA agencies combined only have 2, 218 inspectors, and in every state the number of OSHA inspectors fails to meet the benchmark set by the International Labour Organization for the appropriate ratio of safety inspectors to employees.

This year's headline catching accidents at Upper Big Branch and Deepwater Horizon, and many of the less known tragedies like the deaths of two teenagers in Mount Carroll, were avoidable with stronger laws and more vigorous enforcement. Industry groups have used their significant resources to escape their responsibilities. Now, the US Chamber of Commerce and congressional Republicans are stepping up their attacks on OSHA, recycling many of the same arguments they used 40 years ago. While they claim stronger workplace protections are "job killers," the unfortunate reality is that it is American workers who are dying every day.

OSHA's 40th anniversary is both a milestone to celebrate and a call to action. The newly elected House of Representatives is threatening to defund OSHA and make workplaces more dangerous. Eric Cantor, the new House Majority Leader, has threatened to look closely at any proposed regulation that imposes "additional unnecessary costs on employers and job creators," an allusion to a coming assault on OSHA and other federal regulatory agencies. This is a frightening scenario because America needs effective protections to ensure that our citizens come home from work every night safe and healthy.

David Rosner, a member of the National Academy's Institute of Medicine, is Ronald H. Lauterstein Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and History at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Gerald Markowitz is Distinguished Professor of History at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and City University of New York Graduate Center. Together they have authored eight books on the history of public health, occupational health and environmental health.

York County officials had noted several violations at site of fatal trench collapse in Newberry Township

By MONICA VON DOBENECK, The Patriot-News

The red flags started to go up 20 months ago. 

    

That’s when county inspectors first found erosion-control problems with the stormwater drain project in northern York County where one man died and another was injured in a trench collapse last month. 

    

While there were no safety inspections during the time leading up to the fatal trench collapse in Newberry Township, the York County Conservation District had noted several problems with erosion control in the prior months. 

    

According to county records requested by The Patriot-News, inspectors had been out to the site seven times. Those inspections were to ensure runoff was not draining into Fishing Creek and eventually the Chesapeake Bay, and were unrelated to safety matters. 

    

Each inspection found some failure in the erosion controls, beginning in March 2009, when a county report says Eclipse Builders had failed to submit an erosion and sedimentation control plan. A plan was submitted in June 2010 and approved by the conservation district in July. 

    

Inspections afterward noted that earth disturbance activities “are in continued violation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law.” A review of the most recent report shows that most, but not all, conditions had been met, however. 

    

The property on Old Trail Road in Newberry Twp. is owned by Eclipse Builders Inc., whose president is Abhed Hbaiu. Hbaiu said the company was doing work on the 3.5-acre site to install stormwater drainage for possible future development. He owns a property next door with a small used-car dealership, but said there was no decision on the use for the land. 

    

Hbaiu said the state Department of Environmental Protection, which subcontracts the conservation district to do inspections, was particularly concerned about the site because it used to be a junk yard. 

    

“DEP and the conservation district just wanted to make sure the stuff was done according to plan,” he said. “It took 27 months just to get the permit ... They want to make sure no water was infiltrating into the ground and could end up in the stream ... The last time out, they were impressed with our progress.” 

    

York County spokesman Carl Lindquist would not say if it was unusual for inspectors to go out to an excavation site seven times. That depends on the size of the site, the potential to pollute, and the compliance of the excavators, he said. 

    

County inspectors were last out Dec. 12, two days before the collapse that killed Jory Raber III, 20, and injured Joshua Gimmel. At that time, the trench had not yet been dug, Lindquist said. 

    

Trench excavations are a leading cause of fatal workplace accidents like the one in Newberry Twp., according to statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

    

According to OSHA, 22 people died in trench cave-ins during 2009, 27 in 2008 and 30 in 2007. Those numbers are down over previous years. 

    

The hazard is severe enough for OSHA to place trenching on its “special emphasis” list. That means that OSHA employees should make an extra effort to inspect hazards responsible for a high number of workplace injuries. 

    

While OSHA is investigating the trench collapse in Newberry Twp., it could take up to six months to make a determination, according to Kevin Kilp of the agency’s Harrisburg office. OSHA can impose penalties for safety violations. Trenching operations “tend to begin and end quickly,” OSHA guidelines say. 

    

The excavator on the site was Raber’s father, Jory Raber II. 

    

Hbaiu said the elder Raber has many years experience in the excavating industry and knew what he was doing. 

    

“It was a freak accident,” Hbaiu said. “If I were to call it anything, that’s what I would call it. I know the father lost his son ... and an investigation isn’t going to bring the boy back or make the father feel any better about losing his son. Everybody just wishes this didn’t happen.” 

    

Newberry Twp. police and the York County District Attorney say there are no criminal charges pending. 

    

According to the OSHA website, the fatality rate for excavation work is 112 percent higher than the rate for general construction, and construction work is already among the most dangerous hazards in the workplace. 

    

For that reason, OSHA guidelines recommend unprogrammed inspections if OSHA personnel find out about trenching activities during the course of routine travel. Usually, OSHA conducts routine inspections only in the case of employee complaints, referrals from other agencies, or reports of imminent danger. 

    

According to OSHA guidelines: “Compliance with OSHA standards applicable to such operations is frequently bypassed because of economic pressures, a belief that compliance in unnecessary or an expectation that these short-term operations will go undetected.” 

    

Adhering to safety methods in trenching should include identifying the type of soil, paying attention to rainfall and other weather patterns, determining the proper slope for the sides and properly shoring up trenches. 

    

OSHA had not conducted any inspections at the Eclipse Builders website before the collapse, according to Kilp. The elder Raber could not be reached for comment, and Hbaiu said he didn’t know what the trench looked like before it collapsed. 

    

Hbaiu said no one cares what OSHA concludes. He said Newberry Twp. is a small community where everyone knows everyone, and people there are doing what they can to reach out to the Raber family. Fulton Bank and Members 1st Federal Credit Union are collecting money to benefit Raber’s fiancee and unborn child. 

    

“Everyone is just terribly sorry this happened,” Hbaiu said.

Ohio Steel Manufacturer Fined for Fall Hazards, Faulty Equipment

As a result of the June inspection by OSHA, the company was issued two willful citations with proposed fines of $140,000 and four serious citations with proposed penalties of $16,000.

OSHA has issued Republic Engineered Products Inc., a steel manufacturing company, two willful and four serious citations for exposing its workers to fall hazards and failing to maintain equipment and walkways at its Canton, Ohio, facility. The company faces penalties totaling $156,000.

"Republic Engineered Products Inc. has repeatedly demonstrated a willful disregard for employees' safety by continually failing to provide fall protection and maintain equipment in its steel plants," said OSHA Area Director Rob Medlock in Cleveland. "Failing to correct these issues is not acceptable. OSHA is committed to seeing that the workers at this facility are provided a safe and healthy workplace."

As a result of the June inspection by OSHA, the company was issued two willful citations with proposed fines of $140,000 for exposing workers to fall hazards and failing to complete periodic inspections of overhead cranes within the past 12 months. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

The company also received four serious citations with proposed penalties of $16,000. Alleged violations include operating cranes with severe cracks in the brake assemblies, failing to provide proper illumination on ladderways and stairways, failure to keep floor areas and walkways clear of debris, and failing to maintain equipment. A serious citation is issued 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.

The company's Canton location, which employs about 670 people, has been inspected six times and received 31 safety violations since 2005. Republic Engineered Products Inc., which is headquartered in Canton, employs more than 1,000 workers company-wide and operates additional manufacturing facilities in Lorain and Massillon, Ohio, as well as Blasdell, N.Y., Gary, Ind., and Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. The Lorain operation was cited in November for 13 OSHA violations and fined $143,000.

OSHA Cites Texas Refinery for Multiple Safety Hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Pasadena Refining Services Inc. with 21 serious violations for exposing workers to multiple safety and health hazards at the company's facility in Pasadena, Texas Proposed penalties total $115,650.

OSHA's Houston South Area Office in Texas began its investigation on June 30 at the company's facility on Red Bluff Road as part of the agency's national emphasis program on process safety management of refineries.

The serious violations include failing to provide properly constructed scaffolds, provide supports to hold piping, provide controls to prevent valves from closing, conduct annual confined space audits, ensure guard rails are adequate, and ensure that operating procedures are up-to-date and accurate.

Pasadena Refining Services is an independent refinery which employs about 363 employees in Pasadena. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's Houston South Area Office or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA

3 Contractors Cited for Cave-Ins at Supermarket Construction Site

OSHA has cited and fined three Massachusetts contractors for exposing workers to cave-in hazards at a Salem, New Hampshire, worksite. Joseph P. Cardillo & Son, Inc. of Wakefield, Majestic Mechanical Contractors Inc., of Tewksbury, and Domenick Zanni Sons, Inc., of Reading were cited for violations while installing a grease trap and piping for a supermarket being built on Rt. 28. An inspection was launched in June when an OSHA official observed employees working in an unprotected 8-foot-deep excavation that also lacked a ladder or other safe means of egress.

New Hampshire area director Rosemarie Ohar noted that the size of the fines—$154,700—reflects the gravity of the hazards and the fact that two of the employers knew about requirements to prevent cave-ins but did not supply them. “The danger was real and present because the walls of an unguarded trench can collapse in seconds, striking and engulfing workers before they have a chance to react or escape,” she said.

OSHA requires that excavations 5 feet or deeper be protected against collapse.

OSHA fines Postal Service $80,000 for violations in Duluth

By Ralph Ellis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has levied $80,000 in fines against the U.S. Postal Service for safety violations at a Duluth facility.

OSHA spokesman Michael Wald said Wednesday the fine was steep because inspectors found five repeat violations at the 500-employee North Metro Processing and Distribution Center on Boggs Road.

“We’ve been out there four times in two years,” Wald said. “When you go out, you should never find what you found the first time.”

Postal Service spokesmen were contacted but did not comment on the action. The Postal Service has 15 business days from the receipt of citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or appeal to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The repeat violations involve safeguards to prevent the accidental startup of machinery; storing material in front of an electrical and circuit breaker panel; having unused openings on electrical boxes; using flexible cords instead of fixed wiring and missing the electrical strain prevention clamp on dock lights.

Those violations netted $75,000 in fines. OSHA also fined the Postal Service $5,000 for what it called “serious violations” for failing to mark exits visibly and having broken dock lights that exposed electrical wiring.

Wald said inspectors went to the Duluth facility most recently because of a complaint, but made other visits to see if fixes had been made. He didn’t know if any injuries had occurred, though “all these issues had the potential for injury.”

Wald noted OSHA can fine the Postal Service because it’s not a federal agency. Federal agencies can be cited but not fined, he said.

OSHA Warns New York Employers and Workers of Hazards of Snow Cleanup

January 2, 2011

As New York continues to recover from last week’s snowstorm and in preparation for more winter storms, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) warns of potential dangers of snow cleanup and urges proper worker safeguards.

“Cleaning up after a storm encompasses a variety of tasks, each of which can carry risks if performed incorrectly or without proper safeguards," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York in an OSHA news release. "We want people to know what those risks are and what steps they can take to protect themselves against these hazards."

OSHA wants workers, employers and the public in New York to be aware of the following hazards associated with snow removal and recovery work:

• Electric shock from contact with downed power lines or the use of ungrounded electrical equipment.
• Falls from snow removal on roofs, or while working in aerial lifts or on ladders.
• Being struck or crushed by trees, branches or structures that collapse under the weight of accumulated snow.
• Carbon monoxide poisoning from gasoline-powered generators in inadequately ventilated areas or idling vehicles.
• Lacerations or amputations from unguarded or improperly operated chain saws and power tools, and improperly attempting to clear jams in snow blowers.
• Slips or falls on icy or snow-covered walking surfaces.
• Being struck by motor vehicles while working in roadways.
• Hypothermia or frostbite from exposure to cold temperatures.

Ways to prevent these on the job hazards include:

• Assuming all power lines are energized, keeping a distance and coordinating with utility companies.
• Making certain that all electrically powered equipment is grounded.
• Providing and ensuring the use of effective fall protection.
• Properly using and maintaining ladders.
• Using caution around surfaces weighed down by large amounts of snow.
• Making certain all powered equipment is properly guarded and disconnected from power sources before cleaning or performing maintenance.
• Using and wearing eye, face and body protection.
• Clearing walking surfaces of snow and ice, and using salt or its equivalent where appropriate.
• Establishing and clearly marking work zones.
• Wearing reflective clothing.
• Using engineering controls, personal protective equipment and safe work practices to reduce the length and severity of exposure to the cold.

The New York Times reported today that continuing snow removal operations have hampered trash removal in New York City. A sanitation department representative told the newspaper that 50% of normal trash collection trucks would resume operation, but 50% of the trucks would still be used for snow removal operations.

OSHA fines Peoria Siding for safety violations

Peoria Siding & Window Co. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration with a "willful safety violation" in November.
OSHA charges the company failed to provide fall protection for employees working on residential roofing projects at a job site in Pekin. Penalties may total $48,400. According to an OSHA news release, a willful violation involves "intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements or plain indifference to employee safety and health." OSHA said the exterior home improvement company was also cited in July 2008 and July 2010.
Peoria Siding president Steve Jackson said the company does not believe it is guilty of the violation and has begun an appeal. He said no one was injured, and the violations involved employees who had not used proper safety equipment, such as safety glasses.
"A $48,000 fine for a company of our size in the middle of this economy?" Jackson said. "From my perspective, it's way too stiff a penalty."
Peoria Siding & Window holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
According to OSHA, employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards can call 589-7033. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call toll-free at  (800) 321-OSHA.

Copyright 2010 pjstar.com. Some rights reserved

OSHA Fines LM Wind Power Following Worker Fatality Investigation

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited LM Wind Power Blades Inc. of Grand Forks, N.D., with five safety violations for exposing workers to fall and crushing hazards that ultimately took one worker's life. 

OSHA began an investigation in July following the death of an employee working from a scissor lift who was crushed by a nearby crane. The employer is being cited with one willful, three serious and one other-than-serious citation.  

"A worker's life was needlessly lost because the employer failed to identify and eliminate the hazards prior to allowing this employee to perform the work," said Tom Deutscher, OSHA's area office director in Bismarck. "It's critical for employers to assess conditions before letting work begin." 

The alleged willful violation is for failing to ensure employees were adequately protected against struck-by and/or crushing hazards from a nearby crane. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or plain indifference to worker safety and health. 

The three violations involve failing to use a body belt while on an aerial lift, climbing the guardrails of a scissor lift without fall protection and failing to safely position cranes for maintenance operations.  

OSHA says a serious citation is issued 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. 

The other-than-serious violation is for failing to provide adequate warning or "out of order" signs. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a relationship to job safety and health but would not directly cause death or serious physical harm. 

Proposed penalties total $92,000.  

When reached for comment, Helle Larsen Andersen, senior manager for communication at LM Wind Power, declined comment other than to say, "The safety of our workers is our prime concern."  

LM Wind Power has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Prior to contesting, they may request an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Bismarck, N.D. 

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.  

SOURCE: Occupational Safety and Health Administration