This week in OSHA enforcement

A forklift fatality, amputations and fall hazards

A contract worker was seriously injured when a trolley struck and crushed him inside the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Brundidge, Ala. OSHA cited Wal-Mart and the worker’s employer, Swisslog Logistics Inc., for serious and willful violations for exposing workers to caught-between, struck-by and crushing hazards and for failing to implement lockout/tagout procedures.

Still time to participate in National Safety Stand-Down

OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction takes place next week, May 8-12. It’s a voluntary event during which employers are asked to take a break – or “stand down” – and have a conversations with their workers about fall hazards and fall prevention. It can also be an opportunity for employees to talk to management about fall hazards they see on the job.

A FairWarning story

Open burning at U.S. military sites inflames activists in nearby towns

Dan Ross

Soon after Erin Card moved to within two miles of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia two years ago, she began to notice threads of smoke that occasionally rose above the heavily wooded site. She started asking about the source, and eventually was stunned by what she learned: Toxic explosives were being burned in the open air.

Texas kids may learn workplace safety in schools

Readin', writin' and...staying safe on the job

A Texas measure that would encourage school districts and educators to include workplace health and safety training information in the curricula of grades 7-12 schoolkids got a boost from AIHA President Steven E. Lacey, PhD, CIH, CSP, who traveled to the state to testify in support of the bill at a House Public Education Committee hearing.

New ISO standard for climate action framework under development

Greenhouse gases (GHG) are identified as the principal cause of climate change and managing them is crucial to help us adapt to its consequences. To address the issue, initiatives are being developed on an international, regional, national and local scale to limit GHG concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere.

CSB IDs cause of 2015 ExxonMobil refinery explosion

Process safety management (PSM) failures were behind the 2015 explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, California – an event that raised gas prices in California and cost drivers in the state an estimated $2.4 billion.

Political talk causing stress in the workplace

American workers are more likely to say they are feeling stressed and cynical because of political discussions at work now than before the 2016 presidential election, according to survey results released today by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Santa Fe votes down tax on sugary drinks

Voters in Santa Fe, New Mexico have defeated a measure that would have levied a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The revenues raised by the tax would have gone toward making pre-kindergarten education available to approximately 1,000 children and funded nearly 200 jobs in early education.

Workplace violence claims two lives at Fla. gym

A recently fired trainer at an upscale Coral Gables gym returned to his former workplace a short time later and shot two supervisors to death. News sources say 33-year-old Abeku Wilson walked into the exclusive Equinox club last month and shot 35-year-old General Manager Janine Ackerman and 42-year-old Fitness Manager Marios Hortis before turning the gun on himself.