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OSHA has cited Arlington Metals Corp. for 38 safety and health violations, which carry proposed penalties of $117,000. The agency initiated a safety and health investigation in June in response to a complaint filed by the United Steel Workers Union alleging unsafe working conditions at the Franklin Park metal strip and coil processing facility.

An explosion in June at a Louisiana gas company that killed two workers and injured 80 people has resulted in $99,000 in fines for the company. Williams Olefins LLC in Geismar, La. was cited for six process safety management standard violations, including one willful.

In a recently released draft report, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) proposes recommendations for substantial changes to the way refineries are regulated in California. Entitled “Regulatory Report: Chevron Richmond Refinery Pipe Rupture and Fire,” the CSB draft calls on California to replace the current patchwork of largely reactive and activity-based regulations with a more rigorous, performance-based regulatory regime – similar to those successfully adopted overseas in regions such as the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia – known as the “safety case” system.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released, “After the Rainbow,” a video safety message focused on potential dangers in high school chemistry laboratories. The message features Calais Weber, an accident survivor, who on January 23, 2006, at age 15 was burned over 40 per cent of her body during a chemistry demonstration performed by her teacher at a prestigious boarding school she attended in Ohio.

OSHA has cited Welco Acetylene Corp. for 19 serious safety violations following an inspection of its repackaging facility in Newark. The inspection began in May under OSHA's national emphasis program for process safety management for covered chemical facilities. Proposed fines total $49,200.

It’s difficult to imagine undertaking a remediation project without wireless monitoring. Australia’s leading remediation specialist Thiess has deployed wireless-connected systems for remote gas-detection monitoring at large toxic-cleanup projects since 2007.

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) has developed a 4 Seasons of Safety campaign to educate the public about basic fire and electricity concepts and provide critical information to help identify and prevent the unique fire and electrical safety hazards that exist during each season of the year.

OSHA has announced a request for information seeking public comment on potential revisions to its Process Safety Management standard and related standards, as well as other policy options to prevent major chemical incidents.

OSHA has cited Coastal Plating Co. with 16 safety violations at its Corpus Christi facility. In May, an employee learning how to operate a blast cabinet was struck by a gas compressor power cylinder when it exited a cabinet. The worker died from his injuries.