Machine guarding solutions, a chemical tank cover and work boots for women in the trades were the top occupational safety and health products featured this week on ISHN.com.
As defined by OSHA, combustible dust is “a solid material composed of distinct particles or pieces, regardless of size, shape or chemical composition, which can present a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in air or some other oxidizing medium over a range of concentrations.”
CSB report details how spilled chemical spill explosion killed four workers
December 19, 2019
On May 3, 2019, at a chemical manufacturing facility in Waukegan, Illinois, the operator of a tank in which a silicon hydride emulsion was being made suddenly yelled a warning. Alerted by the “unusual activity,” another operator and the Shift Supervisor – fellow employees of AB Specialty Silicones – ran over to the emulsions area. By the time they got there, the tank was overflowing with foam.
There is no way now to know exactly what chemicals were present in two pieces of equipment that were being decommissioned at the Midland Resource Recovery (MRR) Facility in Phillippi, West Virginia on May 24, 2017. What is known, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, is that dangerous chemical reactions occurred, leading to violent explosions that left workers dead and injured.
Dynatect introduces the ChemTank Cover™, a corrosion-resistant chemical tank cover developed in response to the demand for convenient and space-saving options. The cover is designed to accommodate a wide range of tank applications including chemical and surface finishing, anodizing, etching, plating, cleaning and more. The cover system helps reduce heat-loss and evaporation.
Recent media reports have put a spotlight on machine shop injuries. A newly released study completed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) regarding injuries in the workplace found over 34,000 people sustain a lost-time injury in the workplace annually due to machine accidents.
Although sales of artificial trees have risen from 11.9 million in 2012 to 23.6 in 2018, sales of real trees have remained stable. Approximately 32.8 million real trees were sold in the U.S. last year.
Lovers of real Christmas trees appreciate their scent and authenticity. However, without a simple maintenance measure, a real Christmas tree can pose a significant fire danger in a home.
The family of a Kentucky man killed in a workplace incident has filed a lawsuit against his employer, GE Appliances, and other parties. Steve Herring, who’d worked for the company for more than two decades, died in February after being pinned by machinery while working on a refrigerator-building assembly line. News sources are reporting that the state OSHA’s investigation into the fatality found that it could have been caused by an inadvertent activation of an improperly positioned gate interlock control.
After two separate inspections, OSHA has cited ArcelorMittal Cleveland LLC for exposing employees to falls. The agency has proposed $222,579 in penalties.
OSHA inspected the steel plant after an employee suffered multiple fractures and a partial amputation of his right leg from a fall in June 2019.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's (CSB) is inviting comment on its just-issued Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding accidental release reporting.
The proposed rule describes when an owner or operator is required to file a report of an accidental release and the required content of such a report and is intended to ensure that the CSB receives rapid, accurate reports of any accidental release that meets established statutory criteria.