The July 2010 explosion and fire at the former Horsehead zinc refinery in Monaca, Pennsylvania, likely resulted from a buildup of superheated liquid zinc inside a ceramic zinc distillation column, which then “explosively decompressed” and ignited, according to a technical analysis released by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB).
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) has filed a petition before the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), calling for greater worker and public participation in Commission proceedings.
Agency releases preliminary fatality data for 2014
January 12, 2015
Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration indicates that 40 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation’s mines in 2014, two fewer than in the previous year.
Despite an intensified focus on safety since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill, nearly 20 smaller oil companies continue to score poorly on safety inspections and have had their offshore platforms placed on a special watch list, according to data obtained by WWL-TV from the federal government.
OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels answers the questions that were asked most frequently during the agency's recent Twitter chat about the new severe incident reporting requirements that go into effect Jan. 1.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels signed a two-year alliance this week with the National Service, Transmission, Exploration & Production Safety Network (STEPS) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) aimed at improving safety in the oil and gas exploration and production sectors.
New video shows how 2010 Tesoro refinery accident happened
October 30, 2014
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a safety video into the fatal April 2, 2010, explosion and fire at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington. The accident occurred during startup of the refinery’s “naphtha hydrotreater unit” after a maintenance shut down.
Kathy Pierce expected her son, Chad Weller, to come home on March 19, 2014, at the end of his shift as a cell tower climber. But Weller, always ready with a smile for his mother, never came back. He was sent up alone to fix a communication signal on top of a water tower in the rain while wearing a harness two sizes too big - and he lost his life in a fatal fall.