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Two nurses fired recently by Community Health Systems (CHS) say they were terminated for speaking out about rampant patient safety problems at the chain’s healthcare facilities. RNs Veronica Poss and Tim Thomas have been prominent RN public advocates at their respective hospitals in exposing what they describe as serious problems with patient safety, and calling for improvements.

OSHA has cited StanChem Inc. for 13 serious violations of workplace safety standards at its East Berlin, Conn., manufacturing plant. The manufacturer of specialty coatings and polymers faces a total of $55,300 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA's Hartford Area Office.

Photoluminescent Exit Signs are non-electrical and non-radioactive. The signs are listed for high-location and floor proximity installation. Charged by 5 foot candles (54 Lux) of ambient lighting, they release their Code compliant luminance, should building lighting fail (power outages, natural disaster, building fire with smoke).

MFA Inc. has been cited for 13 serious safety violations by OSHA after a worker was fatally injured on Aug. 26 at the Aurora-based milling plant. The worker landed on a first floor concrete area after falling about 40 feet from a man lift used to transport materials in the facility.

In a scene eerily reminiscent of last year’s garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, the second and third floors of a Nebraska animal feed processing plant collapsed onto the first Monday, killing two workers and seriously injuring ten more.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has overturned a decision by an administrative law judge involving Wolf Run Mining Co.'s Sago Mine in Upshur County, W.Va., where 12 miners died in a massive explosion on Jan. 2, 2006.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced that it met the deadline for making changes recommended after the deadly April 2010 Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine tragedy.

A portable noise monitor and an explosion proof LED wall pack light fixture are this week’s top EHS-related products as featured on ISHN.com:

Do have your heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year. Do install a battery-operated or battery back-up CO detector in your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall.

The company responsible for the chemical spill that caused the loss of water service to thousands of West Virginia residents is the target of 18 lawsuits – so far – and a temporary restraining order that prohibits it from destroying or removing evidence from its facility.