Facility Safety

RSS

OSHA cited O'Connell Electric Co. Inc. of Victor, N.Y., for 14 alleged serious violations of safety standards after a company employee was burned in an electrical arc flash on the North Campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo. The electrical contractor faces a total of $88,200 in proposed fines.

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy development, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson announced that the BSSE will establish an independent Ocean Energy Safety Institute (Institute) to further enhance safe and responsible operations across the offshore oil and gas industry.

Christopher Cantu, a 22-year-old worker in Corpus Christi, Texas, was killed Tuesday when a 2,600-pound metal tank fell on him. Sources say it was Cantu’s third day on the job.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA), the Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) and AIHA Registry Programs, LLC, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will lead the way toward joint development of a registry for qualified indoor air quality (IAQ) practitioners.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) says a turf war is hindering its investigation into the April 17 West, Texas fertilizer plant blast. In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.), CSB chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso accused the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) of destroying and  withholding evidence and refusing to permit CSB investigators access to the site.

The large penalties levied against an Albany, NY manufacturer “reflect the breadth and severity” of the hazardous conditions found at its plant, according to OSHA’s Kimberly Castillon. "The fact that a catastrophic incident has not occurred does not absolve this employer of its responsibility to reduce and prevent risk and eliminate hazards that could injure or kill its workers."

OSHA has cited A & B Foundry & Machining LLC with 33 health and safety violations, including four repeat. The Nov. 15, 2012, inspection was initiated under the national emphasis program targeting the primary metals industry. Proposed fines total $170,107.

Walmart and an industry group representing many U.S. retailers say they will not join an international pact intended to improve factory conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry – although many global retailers have signed the agreement.

Nearly a month after the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that killed 14 people and injured another 200, investigators are still unable to determine the cause of the tragedy.

An OSHA inspection prompted by three workers being hospitalized for serious burns from a flash fire has resulted in $60,000 in fines against two government contractors.