OSHA cites Protech Environmental South Inc. with 46 serious safety and health violations

US Erosion Control Products exposed workers to combustible dust hazards
SAVANNAH, Ga. (MMD Newswire) February 8, 2011 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Protech Environmental South Inc., doing business as U.S. Erosion Control Products Inc., following an inspection that uncovered 46 alleged safety and health hazards including worker exposure to heavy accumulations of combustible dust. Proposed penalties total $55,250.

After receiving a complaint, OSHA began an inspection in August 2010 at the company's site in Willacoochee, Ga. Serious citations were issued for violations that included exposing workers to explosion hazards resulting from inadequate dust control, exposing workers to dust without respiratory protection, failing to clean up thick dust accumulations, using unapproved electrical equipment and forklifts in locations that may include flammable or combustible materials, absence of a fire extinguisher in a straw storage area and fire extinguishers missing from their mounts.

Additional serious citations included exposing workers to fall hazards, electrical hazards, obstructed exit routes, hazards related to the use of liquid propane gas, amputation hazards from a lack of machine guards, hazards from damaged forklifts, and hazards related to lack of eye protection and lack of a hearing conservation program. 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.

"Combustible dust is a major safety and health hazard, and employers must recognize and correct hazards that expose their employees to death or serious physical harm," said Robert Vazzi, OSHA's area director in Savannah.

OSHA initiated its Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program on Oct. 18, 2007, to inspect facilities that generate or handle combustible dust that poses a deflagration/explosion or other fire hazard. Following a massive sugar dust explosion at Imperial Sugar's Port Wentworth, Ga., facility on Feb. 7, 2008, that killed 14 workers and injured many more, OSHA revised the combustible dust program to include more inspections and to focus on industries with frequent and high consequence dust incidents. More information on combustible dust is available at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html.

After the inspection, the company moved to Pearson, Ga., where it continues to produce erosion control products using natural materials such as straw.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by OSHA's area office in Savannah; telephone 912-652-4393. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

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 assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

40 killed in fireworks accidents in China

By K J M Varma

Beijing, Feb 9 (PTI) At least 40 people have been killed in fireworks accidents during the Lunar New Year celebrations in China, which witnessed over 1.18 lakh cases of blaze.
As Chinese revellers celebrated the Lunar New Year from February 2 to February 8 with massive display of fireworks, the number of cases of fire jumped to 1.18 lakh from 7,480 during last year''s Spring Festival holidays which had caused losses worth 28.5 million yuan (USD 4.4 million), the official media reported today.

The incidents left 40 people dead, 37 injured and caused damage worth over 56 million yuan (USD 8.5 million), which is almost double of the figure last year.

However, these losses did not include a case in northeastern Liaoning Province where a five-star hotel in the city of Shenyang had been completely gutted due to a massive fire triggered by fireworks on February 3, Xinhua news agency said.

The hotel fire, which caused no casualties, is possibly the country''s biggest fireworks accident during this year''s celebrations.

According to an official statement, some 2.6 lakh police and fire fighters across the country were mobilised for 24,800 fire control missions.

They rescued more than 1,600 people and evacuated tens of thousands.

Fire departments have been monitoring high-rise buildings, shopping malls, markets, construction sites and other crowded or vulnerable locations, the statement said.

Also, a total of 173 companies were suspended from operating for failing to meet fire prevention and control standards.

Residents file suit to keep Bayer plant closed over safety

Sixteen residents have filed a lawsuit to stop Bayer CropScience from using a toxic chemical at a West Virginia plant where an explosion killed two workers in August 2008.

The lawsuit in federal court seeks an order barring Bayer from using or producing methyl isocyanate (MIC) until several conditions are met.

The residents want:

EPA and OSHA to conduct inspections at the plant and declare it safe
Bayer to adopt recommendations contained in a report from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), and
the National Academy of Sciences to complete its study of “inherent safety issues presented by the production of MIC in a major population center such as Kanawha County, WV.”
The suit claims using MIC at the plant could put up to 300,000 residents at risk.

The 2008 fatal explosion released toxic chemicals inside the plant, but not into the atmosphere. Thousands of Kanawha County residents were told to “shelter in place” (stay inside) in the hours after the mishap.

The CSB released findings of its investigation into the Bayer explosion earlier this year. The report criticized Bayer for not applying standard pre-startup safety reviews. It also listed pressure to resume production as a key factor in the explosion.

Bayer has had no comment on the lawsuit.

1 killed in Pa. natural gas explosion; 5 missing

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A natural gas explosion rocked a downtown neighborhood overnight, leveling two houses and spawning fires that burned for hours through an entire row of neighboring homes. One person was killed, and at least five others were unaccounted for Thursday.
The victim was found in a two-story row house in a downtown residential neighborhood that blew up about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, police Chief Roger MacClean said. A couple in their 70s lived in the home, but the condition of the body prevented positive identification, fire Chief Robert Scheirer said.
The cause of the explosion was unclear. The blaze was put out early Thursday, delayed by the difficulty of digging through packed layers of snow and ice to a ruptured underground gas line that was feeding the flames, Scheirer said. About 500 to 600 people who were evacuated were allowed to return home.
Scheirer predicted eight houses would be lost and another 16 damaged.
The blast was so powerful that it sent a flat-screen computer monitor sailing into the back of Antonio Arroyo, whose house was on the opposite end of the row from the explosion.
"I thought we were under attack," he recalled from a shelter where some 250 people took refuge in the hours after the blast.
Arroyo and his wife, Jill, both 43, lost their home in the fire.
Antonio said he ran outside and saw that an entire house had been leveled, a fireball now raging in the spot where it once stood.

"What I saw, I couldn't believe," said Arroyo, a community volunteer.
He and his wife, a nurse, fled their home with only the clothes on their back. They planned to return at daylight to see what they could salvage. Jill Arroyo broke down sobbing when she recalled her son's athletic memorabilia — likely lost in the blaze — including DVDs of his high school football games.
"The DVDs are gone. All his trophies are gone. All gone," she sobbed as her husband comforted her.
Tricia Aleski, who lives a few blocks away, said the explosion jangled her nerves.
"I was reading a book in the living room and it felt like a giant kicked the house. It all shook. Everything shook," she said. "I checked the stove and everything, (to) make sure everything's off."
Jason Soke was watching college basketball when he heard and felt the explosion. It rattled his windows. He went to the third floor and looked out and saw flames and smoke.
"Your senses kind of get stunned," he said. "It puts you on edge."

Some significant natural gas explosions in Allentown:

February 2007: Explosion and fire gut 1534 and 1536 Hottle Ave. in Bethlehem and render 1532 Hottle uninhabitable. At least nine people displaced. None injured.

December 2006: A natural gas explosion levels three homes and badly damages another on Mohawk Street in Allentown. No one was killed or seriously injured. A technician working on a gas meter in one of the homes removed the wrong fitting, allowing gas to escape unchecked.

December 2006: An explosion destroys an apartment building at 519 10th Ave. in Bethlehem. No one was hurt in the blast, believed to be caused by a gas leak.
August 1999: Blast destroys coin-operated laundry on Gordon Street, slightly injuring an employee.

February 1995: Explosion severely damages Auto Tune Center on Tilghman Street. None injured.

June 1994: Explosion and fire at Gross Towers high-rise for senior citizens kills William Kray, 73, injures 82 others and causes $1 million in damage.

January 1994: Explosion at home on Wyoming Street kills Charles DeBerardinis, 74.

August 1990: Early morning blast at a home on N. 5th Street kills Diane Lazer, 44, injures seven others and destroys three homes.

August 1976:Two Allentown firefighters killed and a third injured in two explosions on Oak Street.

No OSHA citation in fatal bear-mauling - Sam’s World Animal Studio

OSHA won’t cite the owner of a bear that killed another man at his wild animal compound last year.

Reason: Investigators weren’t able to determine if the man who was killed was an employee of the bear’s owner.

On Aug. 19, 2010, Brent Kandra was feeding Iroquois, a 400 lb. bear at Sam Mazzola’s compound in Columbia Township, OH. The bear attacked Kandra, who died in a hospital about six hours later from sharp and blunt force trauma to his body.

Mazzola admits that at one time, Kandra was his employee, but that on Aug. 19 Kandra was visiting him and his animals as just a friend.

Iroquois was euthanized at the request of Kendra’s family.

OSHA says there were problems on Mazzola’s property despite the fact that it didn’t issue any citations.

A letter OSHA sent to Mazzola stated, “Direct or free contact with dangerous animals, such as bears, is a recognized hazard that is likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees and others.”

OSHA recommended Mazzola prohibit free contact with dangerous and exotic animals and instead use holding areas when caregivers feed the animals, clean their cages or perform other activities within the animals’ living quarters.

Mazzola reportedly owns tigers, a lion, black bears, wolves, skunks, raccoons and foxes.

Local prosecutors are still investigating.

In Ohio, one is allowed to keep wild animals in their back yard. Very few people actually do, and Sam Mazzola is one who does. It's obvious Mazzola does where neighbors hear the howls and growls all day and night. However, questions arise as to whether Sam should? “I wrestle bears and tigers for a living, I’m not going to be afraid of a human.” Sam was also convicted with illegally carrying a firearm in 1997. He was spared by the judge who ordered him to seek counseling for his ‘anger’ issues. In 1990, Sam Mazzola went to prison for trafficking in cocaine and steroids according to court records. After a tussle with North Royalton police where one of his bears did over $1,000 in damage to a police cruiser, Sam moved his operation to a seventeen acre lot in Columbia Township which he shared with eight bears, assorted tigers and other exotic animals who live in and around a large barn and in cages. Mazzola’s notoriety goes back to 1986 when he kept his show bear ‘Caesar’, a seven hundred pound animal at the Creekside Condominiums in Brunswick Hills, Ohio.
Sam Mazzola made his money putting on exhibitions at flea markets, sportsman fairs and bars where he allowed people to wrestle his bears offering $1,000 for anyone who could pin one of his beasts via his World Animal Studios. There have been at least 27 known incidents where his bears have hurt individuals. He also ran two notorious “Animal Zone" pet shops in malls in North Olmsted and Elyria, Ohio.
After numerous complaints about selling sick and malnourished animals, management at Midway Mall in Elyria refused to renew his lease. A little while later, Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted refused to renew his lease there as well. Sam has been attempting to sell his Midway Mall operation on the internet. The Parma native says he got his love of animals from his mother. The problem with Sam Mazzola is while he loves his animals, he lacks the financial resources to care for them.
The USDA among his other critics say Sam should not be in business, whether selling pets nor exhibiting them. In a meeting between Sam Mazzola and Jed Mignano, Chief Humane Investigator with the Cleveland Animal Protective League, Mignano contends Sam was very angry and made several threats aimed at the inspector.
Perhaps the most stinging case against Sam Mazzola is the death of one of his ’caretakers’ recently at the paws of an enraged caged bear in Sam’s barn on Aug. 19. Twenty-four year-old Brent Kandra was mauled to death by one of Sam’s bears while he was attempting to feed it. According to Sam, “The food was already there. I mean the bear wasn’t even interested. He was interested in ‘playing’ with Brent. And when it was time for him (Brent) to leave, the bear didn’t want him to go and just grabbed him. This was his (Brent’s) choice.” In the autopsy report issued by the Cuyahoga County Coroners Office reported Brent died from “numerous sharp wounds and blunt injuries”, indicating those that could be received from an attack by a bear. According to Brent’s father, John Kandra, he had urged his son many times to quit working for Sam Mazzola, saying, “I really wish you wouldn’t work for him.” According to John, Brent felt ’shortchanged’ by Mazzola on paydays. Brent’s mother, Deirdre Herbert, and his father requested the bear be put to death - it now lays under a pile of dirt on Mazzola’s property. Brent had worked for Mazzola for six years.
Even with the death of Brent Kandra, Sam Mazzola plans no changes on his compound concerning safety, saying the mauling was an accident that could have happened to any of them. In a news video, Sam along with his caretakers could be seen playing with one of his bears. Mazzola exhibited little sorrow over the loss of Brent Kandra as he gave an interview with the press. Saying he would leave it up to the Kandra’s whether the bear should go on living or be euthanized. Sam says his methods are “up to code and up to specs.” In the interview with the press, he seemed detached from the reality of the situation.
Meanwhile neighbors are not pleased with Sam Mazzola’s animal menagerie on his Columbia Station property. With the howling of wolves and growls from the bears, Sam is thought of as the neighbor from hell. According to neighbor Tom Burrington, Sam’s animal farm is a pain in the neck, saying, “There are coyotes hollering at night, lions roaring at night, junkyard dogs barking all day.” According to Columbia Township trustee, Dale Rundle, one of the bears did indeed get away and ended up pinning a neighbor to the ground. When asked if the township was able to find ways to shut down Sam’s private zoo, the trustee said they had looked into it, and found there was nothing they could do. Mazzola does have up to date state permits and Ohio has no safety, cage or care requirements on private property. Sam’s lion and tigers do not require a permit under current Ohio law. Neighbor Margaret Dodge is hoping things will change and Mazzola will be required to get rid of the animals before something else happens - it was her husband who found himself pinned for twenty minutes by the wayward bear that got away from Mazzola. As it is, her husband had to be taken to the hospital because of the incident. She goes further to say, “have you ever listened to thirty wolves when one of them starts howling and the others join in? You grind your teeth and your hair falls out - he’s the neighbor from hell!” Neighbors around Mazzola’s property fear for the lives of their children if more of Sam’s animals make an escape. Columbia Township is surrounded by the more populous Greater Cleveland suburbs like Berea, Columbia Station, Olmsted Falls, Olmsted Township, Strongsville and Valley City. Mazolla’s property at 9978 North Marks Road is surrounded by suburban homes - and there are indeed some very deadly dangers whenever his animals escape.
PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals) has its eye on Sam Mazolla and his pets. The group feels Sam Mazolla has “left injured people and property damage in it’s wake.” PETA hopes Ohio revamps its laws and brings to an end the allowance of predator animals to roam the back yards of wild animal enthusiasts which if escaped presents a very real danger to people and property in the area. Even responsible private wild animal owners are in arms over Sam Mazzola’s operation because it casts a very bad shadow over them as well. This is not saying that everyone is displeased with Sam’s backyard animal collection. Jim Burnette who owns Burnette’s Farm & Educational Center in Olmsted Falls says Mazolla cried for three days when his dog Brandy died, further saying “His operation is clean. I know, because I’ve been there“. Steve Pistone, another business owner in Columbia Township believes Sam operates a legitimate and educational business, “You get to see wild animals up close - he loves those animals!”
Maybe Sam loves them, but according to patrons who viewed his World Animal Studio animal act at the IX Center during one of his exhibitions say he’s not afraid to whack them with baseball bats in getting them to perform. Sam at times is not sure of how to control his animals either, as witnessed by his panic-stricken call to 911 will attest when he watched Brent Kandra being mauled to death by the black bear he was trying to feed;
Sam Mazzola: “Get him to the cage”
911 Dispatch: “What do you need - police, fire or ambulance?”
Sam Mazzola: “Ambulance”
911 Dispatch: “What’s going on there, sir?”
Sam Mazzola: “I had someone get bit.”
911 Dispatch: “By what?”
Sam Mazzola: “By an animal!”
911 Dispatch: “What kind of animal?”
Sam Mazzola: “We have exotic animals here. Man, I need someone here right f..king now man! I need somebody here from Strongsville. I need somebody here”
911 Dispatch: “Where are his bites on his body?”
Sam Mazzola: On his arms and I think he’s got a collapsed lung. That‘s my fear.”
Sam Mazzola was understandably panicked. He had used a fire extinguisher to finally get the bear back in his cage.
However, it looks like Sam’s World Animal Studio is about to close - possibly even before Ohio laws on ownership of wild animals are in the process of change. Sam had filed for bankruptcy in March of this year and sheriffs deputies are now regularly seen outside his property. With his financial problems, Mazzola may soon be unable to pay his help - no matter how little their pay is. Since the caretakers may be part time, Sam most likely has not offered any health nor life insurance benefits for his ragtag workers - and I’m sure those workers are considering that the time has arrived to consider leaving the employ of World Animal Studio - Brent Kandra himself was in the very act of getting ready to call it quits with World Animal Studio when he accepted a sales position selling cell phones and accessories at Southpark Mall in Strongsville.
The nail in the coffin for Sam Mazzola’s World Animal Studio may be coming very soon. The president of the Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, has asked Ohio Governor Ted Strickland to issue an executive order to ban private ownership of dangerous animals. The new law will grandfather in those who currently own wild animals with one major exception - and that is to shut down Sam Mazzola immediately when the emergency order is signed. According to the Ohio Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, Spokesperson Amada Wurth says the committee has the power to change the rules, indicating that the emergency measure could be enacted by the end of the year. Mazzola had previously lost his USDA license to exhibit his bears and other wild animals due to Federal violations. However for Brent Kandra, the closing down of Sam Mazzola’s animal compound will come a little too late.
EVICTION
Sam Mazzola has been given his walking papers - the new owner has given him until September 27th to remove his animals, or they will be removed for him. William Arroyo was the successful bidder on Sam Mazzola’s property back in March of this year and agreed to allow Sam to continue to occupy the property. One of the contingencies was Sam was to carry adequate insurance for his wild animals. Sam told the new owner that he indeed did have the proper insurance, but it was discovered that Mazzola did not carry the insurance that he promised. According to Arroyo’s lawyer, Brian Kraig, it’s doubtful whether Sam will be able to get insurance now, nor will he be able to pay the three months back rent that is due his client.
Meanwhile there will be a Columbia Township trusties meeting held on September 7th to ask that Sam’s animal operation be shut down. According to Brian Kraig, if the eight black bears, twelve wolves, two Bengal tigers, two white tigers, a lion and six dogs are not removed by then, the authorities along with animal handlers from zoo’s and other animal groups will move in immediately to remove the animals for him. According to the lawyer, every attempt will be made to place the animals in a zoo or other appropriate avenues.
OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) is also moving in on Sam Mazzola. Jule Hovi, area director for OSHA, based in Toledo says they have begun investigations into Sam’s operation and are focusing on issues of health and safety violations. Sam Mazzola could face further citations and penalties from OSHA. Lorain County Sheriff’s Office are also investigating Sam Mazzola. The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is after Mazzola saying he let his BWC coverage lapse back in September 2005. If found that Sam Mazzola had been paying his employee’s “under the table”, he will be facing criminal charges. BWC said they would most likely pay for Brent Kendra’s medical and funeral costs, however, they will be going after Mazzola for reimbursement. As it is, Sam Mazzola owes Midway Mall $15,700 for unpaid rent and legal costs. As of May, Sam Mazzola is carrying over $340,000 in debt - and that figure continues to rise.

North Central Power Co. Inc. Cited in Worker's Fatal Electrocution

Northwestern Wisconsin Elec Co faces fines of $199,800 as a result of the investigation, which meets the requirements of OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

OSHA has cited North Central Power Co. Inc. of Radisson, Wis., following an investigation into the death of a lineman who was electrocuted while working to repair a 7,200-volt power line on Aug. 8, 2010, near Winter, Wis. The company has been issued citations for willful and serious safety violations.

"North Central Power has jeopardized the health and safety of its workers by failing to take proper safety precautions, such as requiring the use of personal protective gear and de-energizing power lines," said Mark Hysell, OSHA's area director in Eau Claire, Wis. "Employers are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their workplaces and ensuring that workers are not exposed to risks that could result in injury or death."

Four willful violations have been issued to North Central Power Co. Inc., an electrical power generation, transmission, and distribution company, for failing to ensure employees were protected from energized parts by wearing insulated gloves and sleeves, de-energize power lines, test lines and equipment, and install protective grounds on lines and equipment. 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.

The company also has been issued two serious citations for allowing employees to operate chainsaws without leg and foot protection and failing to conduct jobsite safety briefings. 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.

North Central Power Co. Inc. faces fines of $199,800 as a result of the investigation, which meets the requirements of OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program. Initiated in the spring of 2010, SVEP is intended to focus on recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. For more information on SVEP, go to http://www.osha.gov/dep/svep-directive.pdf.*

North Central Power operates and maintains approximately 550 miles of power lines in north central Wisconsin. The company is part of a three-way corporate structure along with Northwestern Wisconsin Electrical Co. and Dahlberg Light and Power Co. The three companies employ approximately 105 workers.

Whitaker Finishing LLC fined $15,000 by OSHA

Whitaker Finishing LLC, a company that does metal finishing has been fined $15,000 for safety violations found by federal inspectors during a visit Aug. 26 to the company’s operations in Northwood, OH.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Whitaker Finishing LLC, 2707 Tracy Rd., for five serious violations after finding employees were not using protective equipment when exposed to harmful substances and chemicals and that a railing on tanks containing caustic substances did not meet specifications.

The company either pay the fine and correct the violations or contest the citations.

UPDATE> Chemical plant burns in Mont Belvieu

Exxon Mobil Corp's (XOM.N) Baytown, Texas, petrochemical complex has sustained only minimal impact from Tuesday's fire at the nearby Enterprise Products Partners (EPD.N) Mont Belvieu, Texas, natural gas liquids and petrochemical complex, a spokesman said.

"Our Baytown Complex - which includes both refinery and the various chemical facilities - is operational and all units are running with minimal impacts," said Exxon spokesman Kevin Allexon. "We continue to closely monitor and assess the situation."

Exxon's Baytown refinery is the largest in the United States at 560,640 barrels per day (bpd). Adjoining the refinery are a chemical plant and an olefins plant.

The Enterprise Products Mont Belvieu complex includes plants for processing natural gas liquids into chemicals, some which increase octane in gasoline.

A massive fire broke out early on Tuesday afternoon at a natural gas liquids storage area of the complex. Main production facilities were not affected by the blast, an Enterprise spokesman said on Tuesday.

One worker remained unaccounted for following the fire. There were no injuries reported due to the blast and ensuing fire, which was visible in Houston, 35 miles (56 min) west.

Rick Rainey, public relations director for Enterprise Products, said there are normally eight to 10 workers in the facility located 35 miles east of Houston. All the workers got out safely, he said.

"As of right now our main concern is to make sure that we get this thing contained," Rainey said.
Hours after the explosion, the plant, which processes and stores liquids that are separated from natural gas, continues to burn. Nothing that is burning is toxic, Rainey said.
Pipelines to the plant were shut down so no new flows come into the facility. But the liquids in the pipe are continuing to burn.

Rainey said the pipelines weren’t near capacity so the fire won’t burn as long as it might have at full capacity.

There are no plans to try to extinguish the fire. Instead, the plan is to focus on letting it burn and cooling the area around it.

One nearby school has been evacuated. The main area of the plant where most of the equipment was located has not been affected by the explosion and blaze.

The facility in Chambers County is a natural gas fractionation facility, where natural gas liquids are separated into different components before being put into storage or injected into pipelines. It has a capacity of about 305,000 barrels of natural gas liquids per day. Recently, it has become an important hub to oil and gas producers in South Texas’ Eagle Ford shale formation, where large quantities of natural gas liquids are being extracted and processed for usage by Gulf Coast petrochemical plants and other customers.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the plant had recorded no major permit violations over the past five years.

A preliminary search of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data does not find any incidents reported on this Enterprise facility. In June 2005 a worker was killed at an Enterprise facility in Mirando City in South Texas near Nuevo Laredo when there was an unexpected release of pressurized flammable material from a production compressor.

Houston-based Enterprise is one of the country's largest shippers and processors of natural gas in, including 49,100 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines.

OSHA proposes $235,500 in fines to NER Construction Management Inc

US Department of Labor's OSHA proposes $235,500 in fines to Wilmington, Mass., contractor for fall and scaffold hazards at Boston's Rowes Wharf

BRAINTREE, Mass.-- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued willful and serious citations to NER Construction Management Inc. for exposing workers to fall, scaffolding and other hazards at a worksite at 20 Rowes Wharf in Boston, Mass. The Wilmington, Mass., building restoration and masonry contractor faces a total of $235,500 in proposed fines.

OSHA's inspection found NER employees exposed to falls of up to 17 feet due to a lack of fall protection while power washing the side of a building and while dismantling scaffolding. An additional fall hazard stemmed from the employer's failure to fully plank the scaffolding from which the employee performed the power washing.

"A fatal or disabling fall can end a life or a career in seconds," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. "Scaffolding is an essential tool - and fall protection a basic and required safeguard - for this type of work. There's no reason for an employer's failure to have proper and effective protections in place and in use at all times at all jobsites."

As a result of these conditions, OSHA has issued the company three willful citations with $210,000 in proposed fines. 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.

NER also has been issued six serious citations with $23,500 in fines for improper scaffold erection; missing guardrails; failure to certify that employees had been trained and evaluated to safely operate powered industrial trucks; lack of emergency eyewashing facilities; and failure to ensure the use of eye, face and head protection. Finally, NER has been issued two other-than-serious citations with $2,000 in fines for inadequate recordkeeping. 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. 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.

Detailed information on hazards and safeguards for scaffolds and falls in construction is available to workers and employers at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/scaffolding/index.html and http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/construction.html.

NER Construction Management has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA's Braintree Area Office; telephone 617-565-6924. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

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 assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Texas chemical plant ablaze - Enterprise Products

Fire follows explosion; 3 workers unaccounted for...

MONT BELVIEU, Texas — An explosion and fire ripped through a Houston-area chemical plant, leaving thee people unaccounted for Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Explosions were heard about 12:15 p.m. at Enterprise Products on Sun Oil Road in Mont Belvieu, about 35 miles east of Houston, NBC station KPRC reported.
Bright orange flames consumed a large part of the plant that produces octane-boosting gasoline additives. Thick black smoke filled the air as TV images showed flame-engulfed vehicles parked adjacent to the plant.
Mont Belvieu Mayor Nick Dixon told msnbc cable TV that flames could be seen for 7 miles.
Three people were unaccounted for at the plant, where 600 to 700 work, Dixon said.
The flames were not near homes, he said.
No evacuations or shelters were ordered, KPRC said.
Nearby streets were closed.

Houston-based Enterprise is one of the country's largest shippers and processors of natural gas in, including 49,100 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines.

Developing story, details to follow

Federal investigation of fatal accident at B&B Lumber in DeWitt likely to take months

DeWitt, NY – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s review of a fatal accident Monday at a DeWitt lumber company will take several months to complete, the federal agency’s Syracuse area director said today.

Thomas O. Pelton, 35, of Camden, died Monday while he was changing blades on a machine at B&B Lumber Co., 4800 Solvay Road, DeWitt. A co-worker started the machine without realizing it. He was unable to turn it off before Pelton was fatally injured, DeWitt police said.

OSHA’s review of the accident began Monday and could take up to six months to complete, Area Director Christopher Adams said. The examination will be painstaking because the accident resulted in a death, he said.
“We’re going to review the scene,” Adams said. “We’re going to conduct witness statements, we’re going take photos and review machineries and try to get an understanding of exactly what happened.”

The agency then will examine whether any OSHA standards are in place that could have prevented the accident. If officials believe they have sufficient evidence they can issue citations, Adams said.
Adams said the ongoing investigation prevented him from discussing details of the accident.

OSHA fines Georgoulis Construction Inc. $54,000 for Hazards at Tewksbury Site

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Georgoulis Construction Inc. for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards for fall hazards at a Tewksbury worksite. The Dracut roofing contractor faces a total of $53,900 in proposed fines.

The citations and penalties stem from an OSHA inspection opened Nov. 10, 2010. An OSHA inspector en route to his office observed employees exposed to apparent fall hazards while driving by 279 Chandler St. An inspection was opened on the spot. OSHA found Georgoulis employees exposed to falls while working atop a roof greater than 6 feet without any fall protection. They were exposed to an additional fall hazard while accessing the roof by using a ladder that did not extend at least 3 feet above the landing surface for required stability.

“The size of this penalty reflects the gravity of the hazard and the employer’s knowledge of its existence,” said Jeffery A. Erskine, OSHA’s area director for Middlesex and Essex counties. “A fall can occur in seconds but the resulting injuries can be permanent or end a life. There’s no reason for failing to provide this essential and legally required safeguard for workers.”

As a result of its inspection, OSHA has issued Georgoulis Construction one willful citation with a $49,000 fine for the lack of fall protection and one serious citation with a fine of $4,900 for the ladder hazard. 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. 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.

Detailed information for workers and employers on construction fall hazards and safeguards is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/construction.html.

Georgoulis Construction Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This latest inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Andover Area Office; telephone 978- 837-4460. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA(6742).

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 assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

EPA Exempts Refineries From Hazardous Waste Control Requirements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today tentatively denied a plea from citizens groups to reconsider a Bush-era loophole that allows petroleum refineries to burn more than 300,000 tons of hazardous waste every year without meeting the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's (RCRA) protective standards for storing and transporting hazardous waste and without meeting the Clean Air Act's requirements for burning it.

Because hazardous waste has the potential to cause serious harm to public health if it is released into the environment, RCRA specifies protective "cradle-to-grave" requirements for storing, handling and disposing of it. Additionally, the Clean Air Act requires protective emission standards for the air pollution generated by facilities that burn hazardous waste.

The Bush administration created the loophole in 2008. Based on the Obama administration's stated commitment to protect public health and respect the law, Earthjustice petitioned the EPA on behalf of Sierra Club and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and asked the agency to reconsider the loophole. But nearly two years after that request was made, the EPA has now proposed to reissue the Bush-era exemption word for word.

The loophole allows refineries to burn their hazardous wastes as fuel in incinerators that EPA euphemistically refers to as "gasification units." These units do not have to meet the protective Clean Air Act emission standards otherwise required for all facilities that burn hazardous wastes. As a result, the fenceline communities that are already overburdened by refineries' toxic pollution are also subjected to additional toxic emissions from the unregulated combustion of hazardous waste.

"Burning hazardous waste generates toxic pollution that is incredibly dangerous to those who breathe it," said Jane Williams of the Sierra Club. "Calling hazardous waste 'fuel' doesn't in any way change those toxic emissions, but it does mean that petroleum refineries don't have to comply with laws that were designed to protect people from such pollution. This is a favor to petroleum refiners, plain and simple, at the expense of communities who live near refineries."

"Communities in the Gulf region already suffer enough from refineries' toxic pollution," said Wilma Subra of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network. "The last thing we need is uncontrolled burning of their hazardous wastes."

Notwithstanding the text of RCRA, which makes clear that hazardous waste does not cease to be waste just because it is processed to produce a fuel, the loophole also allows refineries to avoid safe storage and transportation requirements under RCRA for the waste they plan to burn in gasification units.

"The EPA's decision to side with the Bush administration and polluting refineries is shocking," said Earthjustice's Khushi Desai. "The agency does not dispute that the exempted 300,000 tons of toxic material are, in fact, hazardous waste. And yet it is somehow willing to let refiners store and transport this harmful waste without taking safety measures that Congress enacted to protect people from just such a danger. It's unbelievable."

"This troubling decision could cause major environmental damage in California, which ranks third in the nation for refining capacity," said Denny Larson, Executive Director of Global Community Monitor, a group that works with refinery neighbors nationally. "This is extremely disappointing news coming from this EPA, which has promised so much."

"It's sad that the communities which need the most help, the most protection and the most attention from environmental agencies instead continue to shoulder an increasing burden on their health and quality of life," said Matthew Tejada, Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston. "The well-being of folks in areas like the Houston Ship Channel, which has a number of refineries, should be a priority for the EPA. This exemption must be eliminated."

"The EPA has a duty and an obligation, and that is to protect the health and well-being of people and the environment by upholding laws such as the Clean Air Act," said Hilton Kelley, Executive Director of Community In-power and Development, based in Port Arthur, TX. "This exemption does exactly the opposite. Children, the elderly, and other vulnerable members of our communities need the EPA to do everything that it can to protect those who have no other means of protection."

EPA will accept public comments on its tentative determination to deny the petition, 76 Fed. Reg. 5107 (January 28, 2011), until March 14, 2011.

OSHA proposes $49K fine for NorthWestern Energy

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations to NorthWestern Energy for one repeat and two serious safety violations after an employee was injured while working on high-voltage equipment.

Christine Webb, OSHA area director in Billings, explained, "An apprentice lineman came into contact with 7,200 volts and was seriously injured because this employer failed to implement safety standards, even though the company previously had been cited for similar violations at its Corwin Springs, Montana, facility."

The repeat citation was issued for failing to implement a minimum distance from high-voltage equipment.

A repeat citation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, or rule at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
NorthWestern Energy was cited with two serious violations for failing to train workers on equipment used to energize electrical lines, and to examine, clean and test electrical 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.

OSHA has proposed penalties totaling $49,000 for the citations.

NorthWestern Energy has 15 days from receiving notice of the citation to either comply or contest the action.

U.S. EPA to begin cleanup of former plating shop in Paw Paw, Michigan

Release date: 02/07/2011

Contact Information: Jayna Legg, 312-353-0562, legg.jayna@epa.gov

For Immediate Release
No. 11-OPA010

CHICAGO (Feb. 7, 2011) —U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 today will begin cleaning up hazardous materials at the site of Paw Paw Plating in Paw Paw, Mich.

An abandoned building on site contains chemicals used in the electroplating process. The EPA expects contractors to complete the cleanup within 90 days. Paw Paw Plating began custom electroplating in the 1950s and stopped operating in December 2009. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment referred the site to the EPA for cleanup.

Heavy metals including cadmium, chromium, copper and cyanide were used in the electroplating process. The company also performed metal processing such as machining, polishing and painting, using trichloroethylene (TCE) as a metal degreaser.

There are a variety of hazardous materials remaining in the building, including plating baths containing heavy metals, drums of plating feed stocks, drums of hazardous waste, and a number of different size containers with a wide variety of chemical compounds.

EPA will inventory and evaluate the hazardous substances on site; consolidate and package hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants and transport them off-site for disposal in accordance with EPA rules; and conduct a comprehensive assessment of the property for contamination.

Workers will be required to wear personal protective equipment in order to remove the hazardous materials. EPA will monitor the air during the cleanup to ensure there are no releases of hazardous materials. Chemicals will be segregated, characterized and placed into containers for transport to permitted treatment facilities and/or landfills.

For more information, look at http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/pawpawplating. Or visit the Paw Library, 609 West Michigan, in Paw Paw.

Fires from Ohio train tanker explosion are put out

ARCADIA, Ohio—Emergency workers in Ohio say they have put out fires that erupted after tanker cars carrying ethanol derailed over the weekend.

Witnesses say they felt the ground shake every time one of the tankers exploded, and amateur videos show fireballs shooting into the sky over rural Ohio south of Toledo.

Hancock County Emergency Management Director Garry Valentine said Monday that firefighters had most of the flames under control by late Sunday. Crews are starting to remove some of the debris.

Authorities estimate that at least eight cars carrying more than 30,000 gallons of ethanol exploded after they tumbled off the tracks early Sunday. No one was injured, but homes within two miles were evacuated.

Valentine says residents have been allowed to go back home.

Iran oil spill hits Gulf coast

TEHRAN (AFP) – An aging oil pipeline has ruptured in southern Iran, contaminating vast patches of the coast and farmland near the town of Deylam on the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
"Over 20 kilometres (12 miles) of Deylam coast and 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of farmland have been contaminated by the oil spill," said Behrouz Atabakzadeh, the environmental protection chief in Bushehr province.
Atabakzadeh said the breakage in the pipeline between Aghajari and Deylam had happened last week, and described the damage caused by the oil spill as "irreversible."
Mohammad Baqer Nabavi, a deputy head of the Environmental Protection Organisation, said an operation to clean up the coast was under way but admitted that it could take at least two months to be completed.
"If weather conditions are favourable, it will take at least two months to clean up the contaminated areas," Nabavi was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying.
A storm has hampered the operation, a senior environmental official told Mehr news agency. "All equipment is ready to clean up the spill but the work is being slowed down by the storm," Omid Sadighi said.
Iran is the second largest crude producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

OSHA Fines New York Manufacturer $220K

OSHA has fined an Upstate New York manufacturer $2200,000 for a range of workplace safety violations.

Syracuse-based Oberdorfer — which manufactures aluminum castings —had 28 alleged violations of workplace health and safety standards, including failing to correct some hazards cited during a previous OSHA inspection, the federal agency said.

OSHA previously cited the company for a variety of violations involving employee overexposure to airborne concentrations of silica, which has been classified as a carcinogen. This newest inspection found the company failed to implement engineering controls to reduce workers' exposure to silica. In addition, the inspection found that an employee who was overexposed to silica lacked a respirator.

"This company was given the time and opportunity to take effective corrective action, yet our latest inspections identified silica-related hazards that either went uncorrected or were allowed to recur. This is unacceptable," said Christopher Adams, OSHA's area director in Syracuse. "The sizable fines levied here reflect the severity and recurring nature of these conditions. They must be corrected - once and for all - to help ensure the health and safety of the workers at this plant."

As a result of its latest inspections, OSHA issued the company two failure-to-abate notices carrying $75,000 in fines for the uncorrected conditions and one willful citation with a $70,000 fine for the lack of respiratory protection. A failure-to-abate notice is issued, and additional fines proposed, when an employer fails to correct previously cited hazards. 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.

The company also was issued 21 serious citations with $72,000 in fines for fall, electrical and machine guarding hazards; a locked exit door; lack of a permit-required confined space program and training; failure to develop specific lockout/tagout procedures to prevent the unintended start up of machinery; lack of an eyewash station; and failing to provide training on silica. Finally, the company was issued four other-than-serious citations with $3,000 in fines for inadequate recording of workplace injuries and illnesses.

The company has 15 days to respond to fines and allegations.

Summit Co. tip: Don't warm the engine with lit charcoal

By Kieran Nicholson

Workers using an alternative heating method in abominably cold weather this morning sparked a fire at a mountain landfill.

The fire broke out about 9:40 a.m. at the Summit County landfill, just off of U.S. Highway 6 between Keystone and Dillon, said Steve Lipsher, a Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue spokesman.

Workers at the landfill put a pan with lit charcoal in it under a semi-tractor's oil pan, in an attempt to help heat the engine in minus 30 degree weather, and the tractor caught fire.

"This is one of those things that is directly related to the weather," Lipsher said. "They had a unique adaptation for handling it."

No one was injured in the fire.

Two engines and seven firefighters raced to the dump to douse the fire. The tractor and two trailers, which are used to move refuse around the landfill, were damaged.

"It was an accidental fire," Lipsher said. "They clearly didn't mean to torch the truck."

It took firefighters about an hour to put out the fire and mop up.

Four toxic settling ponds behind Honeywell Plant

BY D.W. NORRIS AND ROB CROW THE SOUTHERN

METROPOLIS - At the Honeywell plant in town, temporary workers convert uranium, a process that deals with some of the most dangerous chemicals of any plant in the nation.
Just outside the plant's boundaries, on U.S. 45, unionized workers stand and protest in shifts. Because of a bargaining dispute between Honeywell and the United Steel Workers union, more than 200 employees have been locked out since the end of June. It's a situation that's bad and only gets worse with each passing day, as bitterness between the company and the union continues to grow.
But the biggest problem at the plant may not be the labor dispute. It may not be those picketing, locked-out employees that draw honks along U.S. 45.
Instead, it may lie in four toxic settling ponds behind the plant.
Honeywell plans to fill those ponds with cement, locking in toxic chemicals for years to come, but that plan does not sit well with some people living near the Honeywell complex. They view the ponds and Honeywell's plans to stabilize and cover them as sus-pect.
The project
Honeywell's in-situ, or "in-place" solidification and stabilization project has multiple steps and is expected to be finished sometime in 2016. Among the chemicals to be encased in cement are calcium fluoride, which may be toxic, and uranium, which is highly toxic.
The process officially began Nov. 29, when the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency received a request to change Honeywell's RCRA hazardous waste permit. Construction is expected to start in 2013.
Before construction begins, Honeywell will perform optimization tests to select the final mix design of the cement and/or addi-tives such as fly ash, lime or other materials and demonstrate its performance. The ponds will then be filled with the final mixture.
Once the ponds are solidified, low-permeability cover systems will be constructed over the materials in each pond. Each cover system will include additional fill soil, a geosynthetic clay liner, a geomembrane or rubber-like barrier, a surface water drainage layer and a protective soil cover.
Honeywell spokesman Peter Dalpe said the company will conduct quality assurance tests during construction to show that the "solidified materials satisfy the design requirements."
Dalpe said solidification and stabilization is not new. It has been used at more than 160 badly contaminated sites since 1982, ac-cording to the EPA. At least two of those sites were polluted by uranium. Most of the sites met government standards after the projects were completed.
Still, at least one question persists for the people who live within miles of Honeywell's four settling ponds.
Is it safe?
The plan has outraged several people in Southern Illinois, as they are concerned about the possibility of the ponds leaking and creating a disaster in the region.
Don Lowery, a retired judge who unsuccessfully ran for the Illinois' Republican U.S. Senate nomination last year, said he be-lieves the plan has major flaws and could put Massac County in the national news for all the wrong reasons.
"We don't need another Love Canal - people died, birth defects were rampant. We don't need another Three-Mile Island," he said, referencing a pair of infamous environmental disasters in the late 1970s. "The materials in those ponds are dangerous."
State Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, agreed. Last week, Phelps urged agencies to step in and shut down the Honeywell plant while union workers are locked out, saying the current staffing creates unnecessary health risks for those in the community.
But the ponds, he said, could be a bigger risk, as he believes the risk of the ponds starting to liquefy and create massive problems is too great to ignore.
If liquefaction occurs, Phelps said, "it'll leak into the ground and into our water system, and it is going to be a catastrophe. We don't want this to turn into Three-Mile Island."
Honeywell assured all proper steps will be taken to make sure no such leak occurs, and that testing will take place to make sure the solidification happens without a hitch. But during a public meeting earlier this month with engineers and Honeywell executives, Lowery was told there is no contingency plan in place should there be a leak.
"It is a concern; (the waste) is there," said Mike Riley, a former longtime Honeywell employee who is now the USW's health and local safety representative. "I don't see how putting concrete with it is going to get rid of the problem.
"I think people need to be educated on the hazards at that sight - the hydrofluoric acid, the ammonia, sulfuric acid, what those things can do, and the quantities that are out there. We're not talking about a 55-gallon drum; we're talking about thousands of pounds of these chemicals."
Honeywell's past
Several people, Lowery included, said they simply don't trust Honeywell on matters of safety and transparency. And the plant has had issues.
In December, a small leak of hydrofluoric acid occurred at the Metropolis plant, although there were no injuries and NRC offi-cials said it was properly handled within the plant.
In April, Honeywell's quarterly financial report stated that the EPA and Department of Justice were investigating whether sludge produced at the plant had been properly stored, and that a grand jury was convened to investigate the matter.
In 2009, the NRC gave Honeywell a violation for not reporting 37 contamination events at the Metropolis plant. A uranium hexafluoride leak in December 2003 resulted in the plant being shut down for three months.
However, during inspections throughout the end of last year, the NRC said there were no significant safety concerns with the Metropolis plant.
"We take our regulatory responsibilities very seriously and will continue our oversight to ensure the Honeywell facility is operated in a way that protects workers, people living nearby and the environment," said Tony Gody, NRC Region II director of the Division of Fuel Facility Inspection.
The region's future
In 2000, an EPA report on stabilization and solidification projects at badly polluted sites across the country found that concen-trations of toxins at those sites were reduced enough to generally meet government standards.
Unfortunately, the EPA also noted in the same report that the long-term effectiveness of solidification and stabilization is un-known.
The EPA quoted various studies showing that "cement-based stabilized wastes are vulnerable to the same physical and chemical degradation processes as concrete and other cement-based materials," which means they have the "potential to disintegrate over a period of 50 to 100 years."
That timeframe is what concerns Metropolis Mayor Billy McDaniel. But, McDaniel said, there also comes a time when citizens have to rely on "the people you're paying to keep you safe."
"I want it where, 50 years from now in our community, we don't have an issue at Honeywell or at any other plant, that could be taking lives or having babies born with deformities," McDaniel said. "We want things done right, and in the right way, the first time."