Occupational Safety

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A garbage truck driver’s impairment was the likely cause of a deadly collision involving his vehicle and an Amtrak train at a crossing in Virginia, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The incident occurred on January 31, 2018, about 11:16 a.m., when a 2018 Freightliner refuse truck driven by 30-year-old Dana Naylor attempted to navigate a highway-railroad grade crossing in Crozet.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigations have shown that sufficient levels of work-related exposure to certain chemical vapors in flavorings can cause severe, irreversible lung disease. These chemicals, diacetyl and its closely related substitute 2,3-pentanedione, can be added to flavorings like the butter in microwave popcorn.

OSHA has filed a lawsuit against a Boston, Massachusetts-based contractor, alleging that the company retaliated against an injured employee by facilitating his arrest. The complaint filed last month with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Tara Construction Inc. and its chief executive officer, Pedro Pirez, states that the worker sustained a serious injury when he fell from a ladder on March 29, 2017. He reported his injury to his employers. OSHA found out about the fall and investigated.

Companies in two different states were cited by OSHA recently after workers suffered amputations at their facilities. In Iowa, an employee of O'Neal Manufacturing Services was injured while operating an unguarded press brake. In Texas, the injured employee of canned food company Bruce Foods Corporation had not been trained on lockout/tagout procedures. O'Neal Manufacturing Services was issued one repeat serious citation by Iowa OSHA, which assessed $64,670 in penalties.

Health and safety incidents have become the leading financial loss drivers for businesses around the globe, with cumulative losses now outstripping the costs of more high-profile disruptions such as cyber-attacks or IT outages, according to the latest research. The British Standards Institution (BSI) 2019 Horizon Scan analyzed the risks and threats recognized by 569 organizations worldwide, and compared these against the impact of actual disruptions over the past year.