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On May 28, 2013, OSHA cited Massachusetts contractor Twin Pines Construction Inc. for alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards at its Durham, NH, work site. The wood framing contractor, based in Everett, Mass., faces a total of $290,700 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA's Concord Area Office.

The increase in grain bin deaths – despite a corresponding increase in official efforts to stop them – shows an “unconscionable” failure on the part of employers, according to the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), a coalition dedicated to safe work conditions.

It’s 4:18 a.m. and the strip mall is deserted. But tucked in back, next to a closed-down video store, an employment agency is already filling up. Rosa Ramirez walks in, as she has done nearly every morning for the past six months. She signs in and sits down in one of the 100 or so blue plastic chairs that fill the office.

On June 3, 2013, OSHA cited South River, NJ-based Mr. Concrete Corp. with four repeat and five serious safety violations, including scaffold and fall hazards, found at a Maywood, NJ, work site. OSHA's February inspection was initiated in response to imminent fall hazards observed by an OSHA compliance officer.

Last May, 28-year-old Adrien Zamora fell 40 feet from a scaffold while restoring an 11-story building in New York. It was his first day on the job, and he had not been given a fall protection harness or the necessary safety training. He left behind a wife and their two young daughters.

With ISHN Editor Dave Johnson’ reports from ASSE’s Safety 2013, this was a HUGE week for EHS-related news on ISHN.com. Whether you went to the convention and couldn’t make every session (who could?) or whether you didn’t make it to Vegas, you can catch up here on all the hot topics that were talked about at Safety 2013 and also review the breaking EHS news from around the world.

A report released by the the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) shows that the number of fatalities per 100 million hours worked -- the Fatal Accident Rate -- has fallen in the last ten years.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) has launched a new Risk Assessment Institute to facilitate occupational safety, health and environmental (SH&E) risk assessment's inclusion into the organizational risk management process, allowing businesses to "proactively prioritize, resource, and mitigate risk in advance of injuries or catastrophe."

CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso testified yesterday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Chairman Boxer, Senator Vitter, and distinguished Committee members – thank you for inviting me today. The two explosions we are discussing today – West Fertilizer and Williams Olefins – are tragedies of the kind that should be prevented. 

Officials in Wyoming were caught flat-footed when residents outside the town of Pavillion began asking tough questions about hydraulic fracturing and a sudden change in the quality of their drinking water, leading to nasty fights between residents, oil and gas operators, the state and federal agencies.