Construction Industry Safety and Health

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A Boston-based contractor faces $161,000 in fines after an OSHA inspector saw one of its employees exposed to both cave-in and struck-by hazards while installing a watermain.

A South Florida contracting company apparently didn't learn its lesson the first time around, in 2010, when it was cited by OSHA for having an employee work in a 10-foot-deep trench at a Miami site with no cave-in protection.

OSHA has published new and revised information that explains workers' and employers' rights, as well as how to protect workers from hazards in the construction, general and maritime industries.

St. Louis-area homebuilders are pressing their case that new rules to prevent workers from falling from roofs could add thousands of dollars to new home prices and threaten contractors struggling in a hard-pressed industry.

With the United Steelworkers (USW) currently voting local-by-local on adoption of a US National Oil Bargaining Policy, one thing is certain when talks with oil refiners get underway early in 2012: union-initiated process safety improvements will lead the agenda.
 

Statement of David Michaels, Ph.D, MPH, Assistant Secretary, OSHA before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, Oct. 5:

At this week's hearing of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.) vigorously criticized the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), David Michaels, over a directive requiring fall protection equipment for workers on residential roofing projects.

OSHA has released three new guidance products to educate workers and employers about the hazards workers face in trenching operations.

A Rochester, NY contractor who disposed of asbestos illegally, exposed untrained workers to the substance and lied to an OSHA inspector has been sentenced to six years in prison.

OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have developed new guidance, Nail Gun Safety – A Guide for Construction Contractors*, to help construction employers and workers prevent work-related nail gun injuries.