Authorities release name of Michigan oilfield worker who died Monday
Amy Dalrymple Forum News Service
Jun 24, 2016
ROSS, NORTH DAKOTA – The oilfield worker who died Monday after being struck by equipment has been identified as Paul William Green II, 36, of Alger, Mich., the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office said.
Green was pronounced dead at a well site about 4.5 miles northeast of Ross after a deputy responded to a 911 call about 11 p.m. Monday.
Deputy Duane Marmon indicated that it appears the operator of a boom crane, used to lift drill pipe onto pipe racks, had not seen Green enter an area known as the red zone -- an area workers are not supposed to enter while the drilling rig is operating.
“A blind spot was caused by the boom when the operator of the crane picked up a pipe with the boom and lowered it onto the pipe rack, striking Mr. Green,” Sheriff Ken Halvorson wrote in a news release.
Green was unresponsive when the deputy arrived.
State Forensic Medical Examiner William Massello III listed the cause of death as blunt chest injuries from being struck and crushed by the falling metal boom.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident. Green worked for Advanced Energy LLC of South Boardman, Mich. The oil well is owned by EOG Resources.
Green’s death was the second oilfield fatality in North Dakota in three days.
Advanced Energy has declined to comment on the incident.
Autopsy shows oil worker fell to his death after explosion
Amy Dalrymple Forum News Service
Jun 24, 2016
WATFORD CITY, ND -- An autopsy shows that an oilfield worker who died Saturday was killed as the result of a fall, the second time a worker for the same company has been hurt in a fall in the past eight months.
State Forensic Medical Examiner William Massello III listed the cause of death for 52-year-old Johnny Stassinos as blunt chest, abdominal and pelvic injuries that resulted from a falling from a height associated with a petroleum site explosion near Watford City.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to investigate the incident that killed Stassinos and injured three others who were on a workover rig when the oil well ignited.
Stassinos, a well operator for Most Wanted Well Service, died at Trinity Hospital in Minot later the same day. An obituary says Stassinos, of Rock Springs, Wyo., is survived by his wife, four children, two stepchildren and a grandchild.
The incident marks the second time in less than a year that a Most Wanted Well Service employee suffered injuries stemming from a fall while working on a North Dakota well site owned by XTO Energy, according to OSHA records.
OSHA issued a citation to Most Wanted Well Service after investigating a Nov. 23, 2015, incident that involved a worker who suffered fractures and lacerations from a fall while escaping from a “snubbing basket” on a workover rig without an adequate escape line. OSHA classified the citation as a serious violation, issuing a fine of $2,800.
In that case, the worker was in a basket 27 feet above ground and the means of escape available to him were a ladder and a nylon rope, according to OSHA records. A slide pole was installed, but the OSHA report said it was impossible to use because of a wind tarp wrapped around the snubbing basket.
A well blowout occurred, making the ladder impractical to use because the worker would have had to go through high-pressure crude and brine, the OSHA report says. The employee slid down the rope with his hands and arms and fell about 10 feet to a trailer. He rolled onto the ground after hitting the trailer, documents show.
Eric Brooks, area director of the Bismarck OSHA office, said the investigation into Saturday’s incident is still ongoing and he couldn’t comment on whether it involved a similar safety violation.
Both incidents involved crews working on the same type of well servicing operation.
Three other workers suffered serious injuries in Saturday’s explosion.
Daniel Montes, 28, Fruita, Colo., and Richard Maheu, 27, Rock Springs, Wyo., suffered severe burns and were being treated at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Maheu was listed in critical condition Friday. Regions Hospital did not have any information to release about Montes, but a fundraising site for him says he remained hospitalized Friday. Both suffered third-degree burns on 70 percent of their bodies.
Stasinos was the owner/operator of the workover rig. Here is his company's ad.
Coast Guard confirms body recovered in Kill Van Kull is missing barge worker
A barge worker near the International Matex Tank Terminals in Bayonne is the subject of a massive search. Jersey Journal file photo (EJA)
Jonathan Lin | The Jersey Journal
on October 18, 2015 at 3:16 PM, updated June 24, 2016 at 4:22 PM
BAYONNE - A spokeswoman for the US Coast Guard confirmed this afternoon that the body recovered yesterday in the Kill Van Kull is in fact Danny Peters, the 55-year-old barge worker who fell into the water Friday evening.
Around 7 p.m. Friday, Peters was working at Pier 1 of the International Matex Tank Terminal with an empty barge for loading, Bayonne Police Sgt. David Conte told The Jersey Journal.
Fifteen minutes later, Peters was descending a ladder to get off the barge when the ladder shifted, causing him to lose his balance and fall in the water, Conte said.
An IMTT employee who was standing on the pier saw what happened and went to get a life ring just a little further up the pier, but when he returned, Peters was gone, Conte said. Three or four other crew members were elsewhere on the tugboat and didn't see what had happened, he said.
The Coast Guard suspended the search for the body at 12:30 a.m. Saturday. State police resumed diving operations in the Kill Van Kull at 10:40 a.m. Saturday. Seven minutes later, the divers found a body "in the same general vicinity" Peters had entered the water the night before, Conte said.
"This would appear to be accidental at this point," Conte said. "This has been entitled as an industrial accident."
The Bayonne Police Department is the lead agency investigating the incident. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating, the Coast Guard spokeswoman said today.
Bayonne police officials refused to accept phone calls about the matter today. An IMTT worker said no one would be available to comment before tomorrow.
Searchers included a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium rescue crew from Coast Guard Station New York; the NYPD Aviation Division; the NYPD Harbor Division; the Bayonne Fire Department; the Bayonne Police Department; and the New Jersey State Police.
Conte said the recovered body would undergo an autopsy.
Who's responsible for a worker's fatal fall in Bayonne?
On Dec. 11, 2015, Enrique Maxia, 30, of Jersey City, suffered a fatal fall while removing siding from 75 East 21st St. in Bayonne, OSHA said on June 21, 2016. Photo taken June 24, 2016. Jonathan Lin | The Jersey Journal
Jonathan Lin | The Jersey Journal
By Jonathan Lin | The Jersey Journal June 24, 2016
BAYONNE -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a contractor for safety violations that led to a worker's fatal fall in Bayonne last year, but the contractor is saying the agency is blaming the wrong company.
On Dec. 11, Enrique Maxia, 30, of Jersey City fell about 25 feet from "a ladder that was part of scaffold" when he pulled on a piece of siding from the front of a three-story apartment building at 75 East 21st St. and it gave way, OSHA said this week.
Dan Roszkowski, who works at an auto shop and gas station across the street, said today that he was outside pumping gas at the time of the incident. His back was turned, but his customer alerted him to the fall.
When the 55-year-old ran over to Maxia, he found the worker bleeding from the nostrils and ears, and he rushed back to the auto shop to call 911.
"He looked like he was convulsing," Roszkowski said.
In a statement released along with investigation findings on Tuesday, OSHA said Maxia's death could have been prevented if Union City-based contractor Bolivar Enterprises had "properly protected workers from fall hazards."
But Bolivar Salto, owner of the company, told The Jersey Journal another Union City-based contractor -- which he named but who couldn't be reached for this report -- is to blame for the incident.
Salto said he subcontracted the other company to do some work at 75 East 21st St. but they did additional work on the site that he had no knowledge of, including the job in which Maxia died.
The worker was descending a ladder to get off the barge when he fell in the water, police said.
"I'm going to hire an attorney to take care of this," Salto said, adding that he has documentation to back up his account.
He said he would soon be sending The Jersey Journal copies of that documentation as well as a letter to OSHA that he is currently drafting.
Asked about Salto's remarks, OSHA spokeswoman Leni Uddyback-Fortson said the agency stands by its original accusations.
Meanwhile, a super for the building at 75 East 21st St., who only identified himself as Rick, said Bolivar Enterprises was the contractor in charge of the job at the time of Maxia's fall. The building's owner couldn't be reached.
The Jersey Journal has filed open public records requests with the city for any police reports regarding the incident, as well as any construction permits issued in connection to the job.
Maxia's family could not immediately be reached for this report.
OSHA cited Bolivar Enterprises for nine serious violations, including hazards such as failing to provide adequate fall protection; not erecting scaffolding that met OSHA's standards; using scaffolding improperly; and failing to providing scaffolding training to workers.
The proposed penalties for the citations total $57,000.
A tenant at the building said today that it remained vacant for about a year up until this month after being damaged by a fire next door.
That July 11, 2015 blaze at a three-story building at 77 East 21st St. killed a couple and left 19 homeless. The fire, whose cause has remained undetermined, resulted in the demolition of 77 East 21st St.
June 27, 2016
On March 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Fed OSHA), issued its long-awaited final rule on “Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica,” 29 CFR sections 1910, 1915 and 1926. The new regulations, which go into effect within the next 90 days, significantly reduce the permissible amount of silica dust that workers may be exposed to, and require employers to implement controls and practices that reduce silica exposure.
The new regulations also provide specific guidance for construction employers on what they must do to limit exposure during common construction tasks, such as use of a variety of saws, drills, jackhammers and handheld power chipping tools, machines, heavy equipment and utility vehicles. This article highlights key provisions of the new regulations to assist employers in preparing for compliance.
Who Does This Affect?
The new regulations will bring increased attention and enforcement efforts regarding silica dust exposure, particularly in the construction, maritime and hydraulic fracturing industries. All employers whose operations involve materials containing silica will need to take proactive stems to implement compliant exposure control plans, training and medical monitoring. The industries primarily affected by the new regulations include:
- Construction
- Glass Manufacturing
- Pottery Products
- Structural Clay Products
- Concrete products
- Foundries
- Dental laboratories
- Painting and coatings
- Jewelry production
- Refractory products
- Landscaping
- Ready-mix concrete
- Cut stone and stone products
- Abrasive blasting
- Refractory furnace installation and repair
- Railroads
- Hydraulic fracturing for gas and oil
- Asphalt products manufacturing
What Are the Requirements?
The standards applicable to general industry and the maritime industry require that employers:
- Measure the amount of silica that workers are exposed to if it may be at or above the“action level” of 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged over an eight hour day;
- Protect workers from exposure above the new permissible exposure limit (“PEL”) of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged over an eight hour day;
- Limit access to areas where workers could be exposed above the PEL;
- Use dust controls such as water or ventilation to protect workers from exposure above the PEL;
- Provide respirators to workers when silica dust controls cannot limit exposure to the PEL;
- Restrict housekeeping practices that expose workers to silica dust when there are feasible alternatives;
- Establish and implement written exposure control plans that identify exposure risks and methods used to protect workers;
- Offer medical exams, including chest X-rays and lung function tests, every three years for workers exposed at or above the“action level”;
- Train workers on operations that result in exposure and ways to limit exposure; and
- Keep records of exposure and medical exams.
How Should Companies Stay Compliant?
The standards applicable to the construction industry require that employers:
- Establish and implement written exposure control plans that identify methods used to protect workers, including restriction of access to areas of high exposure;
- Designate a competent person to implement the plan;
- Restrict housekeeping practices that expose workers to silica dust when there are feasible alternatives;
- Offer medical examinations, including chest X-rays and lung function tests, every three years for workers required by the new rule to wear a respirator for 30 or more days per year;
- Train workers on operations that result in exposure and ways to limit exposure; and
- Keep records of exposure and medical exams.
The new regulations provide specific guidance for construction employers on what they must do to limit exposure during common construction tasks, such a use handheld power saws and drills. Employers who do not follow the Fed OSHA recommended control methods must measure the amount of silica dust workers are exposed to whenever the exposure may be at or above the “action level,” protect workers from silica dust exposure above the PEL, and provide respirators when dust control methods cannot limit exposure to the PEL.
What Is The Timeline?
The new regulations become effective on June 23, 2016, after which employers will have one to five years to fully comply depending on the industry. Construction employers must comply by June 23, 2017. General industry and maritime employers must comply by June 23, 2018. Employers in the hydraulic fracturing industry must comply by June 23, 2018.
Why the Change?
According to Fed OSHA, 2.3 million workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in the workplace, including 2 million construction workers who“drill, cut, crush, or grind silica-containing materials such as concrete and stone.” Excessive exposure to respirable crystalline silica has been linked to silicosis, lung cancer, other respiratory diseases, and kidney disease. Fed OSHA estimates that the new rule will save over 600 lives and prevent over 900 new cases of silicosis each year.
Regulations promulgated by California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal OSHA”) also limit exposure to silica, as follows: respirable crystalline silica (quartz, fused, tripoli) -- 0.1 milligrams per cubic meter of air; total crystalline silica (quartz) -- 0.3 milligrams per cubic meter of air; and respirable cristobolite and tridymite -- 0.05 milligrams per cubic meter of air. Information about Cal OSHA’s silica dust exposure regulations is available at www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/etools/08-019/sources.htm.
To read more about the new Fed OSHA regulations, please visit: www.osha.gov/silica.
