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Fifty percent of Americans have not discussed or developed an emergency plan for family members about where to go and what to do in the event of a local disaster, according to a 2014 national survey conducted by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“Telltale signs” of microbial activity were found by investigators in a storage tank that exploded earlier this year, killing a contract worker and severely injuring another. The July 28 incident at the the Omega Protein facility in Moss Point, Mississippi involved hot work being done on or near a tank containing eight inches of a slurry of water and fish matter known as “stickwater,” which was thought to be nonhazardous.

The food manufacturing industry includes animal slaughtering as well as the processing and packaging of meat, dairy, fruit, vegetable, grain, seafood, beverages, and bakery products.

Perry Fiberglass Products Inc. has been cited for four repeat and nine serious safety and health violations after OSHA received a complaint alleging unsafe handling of hazardous chemicals at the company's Avon Lake facility.

Two workers in St. Augustine, Fla. suffered injuries while cutting into a gas supply pipe with a torch when residual gas ignited inside the pipe and exploded due to the pressure. The March 2014 incident at Indianhead Explorations LLC, doing business as Indianhead Biomass Services, permanently disabling one employee and left the other with a leg injury.

With the fall school semester around the corner, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reminds students to be mindful of fire safety. September and October are peak months for fires in college housing, according to NFPA research, and the Center for Campus Safety has marked September as Campus Fire Safety Month.

McCleskey Mills Inc. has been cited by OSHA for 28 safety and health violations for exposing workers to amputations, falls and other safety hazards. The agency initiated the February 2014 inspection at the peanut processing plant in Rochelle after receiving a complaint. Proposed penalties total $72,553.

If you had $401 million, what would you buy? How about a satellite, a Picasso, and a roller coaster? Or space flights for you and 1600 of your closest friends? Maybe you could give a dollar to every man, woman, and child in the United States and then bankroll a movie about your generosity, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Approximately 84,000 pounds of sulfuric acid spilled from the Tesoro Refinery earlier this year because of insufficient tightening between a tube and a compression joint at a sulfuric acid sampling station, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which investigated the incident.

Hot work safety, Total Worker Health and an extension for OSHA’s controversial injury and illness tracking rule were among the top EHS-related stories featured on ISHN.com this week: