Since the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico on April 22, 2010, EPA has mobilized resources to support the U.S. Coast Guard and protect public health and the environment, according to an agency press release. EPA’s Emergency Operations Center at headquarters has been activated, trained EPA responders are working on the scene, and special mobile equipment has been sent to the Gulf area, according to the agency. EPA has several online resources available:
OSHA requests information and comment on occupational exposure to infectious agents in settings where health care is provided, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, school clinics and correctional facilities, and settings such as laboratories that handle potentially infectious biological materials, medical examiner offices and mortuaries, according to an agency press release.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced in a recent press release that six underground coal mines in Kentucky received numerous citations and closure orders by federal inspectors as a result of the nationwide impact inspections that took place last month.
OSHA has cited Pineville Lumber Inc. with five failure-to-abate violations for workplace hazards identified during two previous inspections, the agency announced in a recent press release. Proposed penalties total $189,730.
Millions of toys have been recalled around the world because of hazardous levels of lead or cadmium, choking hazards, dangerous magnets and other safety hazards. According to a press release from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), two new standards in the ISO 8124 toy safety series aim to reduce the risk of a child being injured by unsafe equipment or dangerous substances.
OSHA has cited ERA Valdivia Contractors Inc., an industrial painting and sandblasting company in Chicago, with $130,300 in proposed penalties for exposing workers to dangerous lead materials.
OSHA has cited FAST-Houston with one alleged willful, two alleged serious and two alleged other-than-serious violations for failing to protect workers from energized machinery hazards at its facility in Humble. Proposed penalties total $72,900.
OSHA will hold two meetings to gather information from stakeholders to help modify its current injury and illness recordkeeping regulation and develop a modernized recordkeeping system.
In addition to the decisions and actions of the flight crewmembers, overwater safety equipment likely saved lives that might have otherwise been lost to drowning, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a recent press release.