The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Justice Department, and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York yesterday announced that Chemtura Corporation has agreed to resolve its liabilities at contaminated sites across the U.S. for approximately $26 million. The agreement settles Chemtura’s environmental liabilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly known as Superfund), and for violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
OSHA has issued citations to E.N. Range Inc. in Miami, Fla., alleging the company knowingly neglected to protect employees who clean gun ranges from serious overexposure to lead. It also provided, without medical supervision, non-FDA-approved treatments for lead exposure. The company was cited for more than 50 violations of the lead standard and others, with total proposed penalties of $2,099,600.
OSHA has cited SeaWorld of Florida LLC for three safety violations, including one classified as willful, following the death of an animal trainer in February, an agency press release states. The total penalty is $75,000.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced in a recent press release that the agency will launch a 90-day pilot program aimed at addressing the backlog of contested citations and the agency's conferencing procedures.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) extends its condolences to the families of the 4,340 people who lost their lives last year due to on-the-job injuries, according to statistics just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting the public to comment on the agency’s draft strategy to protect and restore our nation’s lakes, streams and coastal waters, says an EPA press release. The strategy, “Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy for Achieving Clean Water,” is designed to chart EPA’s path in furthering EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s key priority of protecting America’s waters.
OSHA has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma alleging that Shawnee, Okla.-based Modern Oil Co. Inc., doing business as Kwick Stop Convenience Stores, illegally terminated an employee because of complaints about workplace safety issues.
OSHA has cited the U.S. Postal Service with three alleged willful and six alleged serious violations at its Dayton, Ohio, processing center. The Postal Service faces a total of $225,000 in fines for electrical and equipment hazards following an OSHA inspection conducted in response to employee complaints.
OSHA has proposed $114,750 in additional fines against Pierce Industries, a Rochester, N.Y., machine shop, chiefly for failing to correct hazards cited during a previous OSHA inspection. The company was fined $30,000 in December 2009 for a variety of hazards, including failing to test its piping system to ensure it was gas-tight under pressure and to adequately train its workers in the safe operation of forklifts.
Preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released yesterday show a decline in workplace fatalities in 2009 compared with 2008.
RSS