Weekly news round-up
Electrical safety, grain bin and confined space fatalities and a black lung disease scandal at a leading hospital were among the week’s top EHS-related stories as featured on ISHN.com.
Five workers injured in blast at ammunition company
Process Safety Management standards violated at facility
An OSHA investigation at Crane Army Ammunitions Activity in Indiana following an explosion and fire that sent five workers to the hospital has resulted in 36 notices of unsafe or unhealthful working conditions at the company.
OSHA’s bid to go public with injury, illness data gets mixed reaction
Could lead to “unfair conclusions” about companies
OSHA’s proposal to require the electronic submission of workplace injury and illness data – and to make that data publicly available online – has predictably inspired a range of opinions.
Ark. temp worker dies in confined space
Penalties against company total $113,400
An Arkansas trucking company has been cited for asphyxiation hazards by OSHA following the death of a temporary employee in April. The worker, who was cleaning the inside of a tanker trailer without proper training, was found unconscious and later died from an oxygen-deficient atmosphere.
Electrical safety training Q&A
Ron Spataro, Director of Marketing, and Steve Foutch, Vice President sales and Operations, both of AVO Training Institute, Dallas, TX (www.avotraining.com) (877-594-3156; 214-330-3522) answer questions from ISHN magazine about electrical safety training.
All about OSHA’s electrical safety standards
Why should you be concerned about electrical hazards? Electricity has long been recognized as a serious workplace hazard, exposing employees to electric shock, electrocution, burns, fires, and explosions. In 1999, for example, 278 workers died from electrocutions at work, accounting for almost 5 percent of all on-the-job fatalities that year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Facility safety technologies now take workplace violence into account
New warning system represents new reality
Recent high-profile incidents of workplace violence have helped confirm its status as a significant hazard, one that can take its place among others that can threaten worker safety, such as vapor releases and fires.
United Ethanol LLC cited after worker suffocates in grain bin
“A terrible, preventable tragedy”
United Ethanol LLC has been cited for 15 health and safety violations by OSHA after a worker was fatally engulfed in corn inside a grain storage bin on April 19 at the company’s Milton, Wisc. ethanol manufacturing facility.
NETA presents premier electrical maintenance and safety event in 2014
Safety, reliability, equipment, transformers, and case studies, will be the focus on the first day of PowerTest 2014, Monday, March 3, 2014. PowerTest is an event hosted by NETA (InterNational Electrical Testing Association).
Most major events in bulk power systems stem from latent cultural weaknesses
Human error is often cited as the main cause for up to 80 percent of all incidents and accidents in complex high-risk systems that exist in the aviation, petrochemical, healthcare, construction, mining, and nuclear power industries, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (www.nerc.com).
Houston construction company gets safety training, technical assistance from OSHA
Strategic Partnership Program to help with safety goals
W.S. Bellows Construction Corp. will tackle its biggest project to date in partnership with OSHA, under a plan designed to reduce occupational fatalities, injuries and illnesses.
FAA issues long-awaited new pilot training rules
Some are based on decades-old NTSB recommendations
Better late than never seems to be the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) reaction to new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules regarding pilot training. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman commended the FAA for finalizing the long-awaited rule, “which addresses recommendations stemming from accidents dating back more than two decades.”
Penalties reach as high as $1 million per day for FERC violations
FERC is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (www.ferc.gov). In EPAct 2005 Congress granted the Commission enhanced authority to assess civil penalties for violations of the Federal Power Act (FPA), Natural Gas Act (NGA), and the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA). EPAct 2005 made three major changes to the Commission's civil penalty authority.
Nearly 70K firefighter injuries occurred in the line of duty in 2012
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released the latest edition of its U.S. Firefighter Injury Report, highlighting data on injuries sustained by firefighters on duty that was collected from fire departments responding to the 2012 National Fire Experience Survey.
Sick miners denied black lung benefits due to Johns Hopkins' x-ray findings
Doctor fails to find black lung disease in more than 1,500 cases
A physician at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions who is paid – by coal companies – ten times the amount to interpret x-rays that other doctors charge for the service has not found a single case of severe black lung disease in more than 1,500 x-rays – findings used to deny miners black lung benefits.
OSHA’s checklist for personal protection for electrical work
This checklist covers regulations issued by OSHA under the general industry standard 29 CFR 1910.335. It applies to persons who are at risk of electrical shock. This checklist does not apply to qualified persons working on generation, transmission, and distribution installations; communications installations; installations in vehicles; and railway installations.
NFPA launches refreshed older adult fire and fall safety program
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has produced a new version of Remembering When™: A Fire and Fall Prevention Program for Older Adults. Program materials, available for download at no cost, are widely used by fire departments and other safety educators interested in reaching older adults with fire and fall prevention messages developed especially for them.
New certified electrical safety compliance professional program introduced
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has announced the new Certified Electrical Safety Compliance Professional (CESCP) certification program, created to encourage electrical safety within the industry.
Workplace injuries, illnesses continue to decline
But more than half in 2012 were serious
Nearly 3.0 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported by private industry employers in 2012, resulting in an incidence rate of 3.4 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, according to estimates from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
NFPA announces release of new, free mobile app that provides news and updates on fire safety issues
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has announced the release of its new mobile application “NFPA News” for use with the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android operating systems.
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