OSHA cited U-Haul Company of New York & Vermont, doing business as U-Haul Moving & Storage at Larkin District, for exposing its employees to asbestos and silica hazards while performing renovation work at its 665 Perry St. storage facility in Buffalo. The company faces $108,095 in proposed fines.

U.S. Department of Labor


April 27, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Cites Buffalo U-Haul Facility for Exposing
Employees to Asbestos and Silica During Building Renovation

BUFFALO, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited U-Haul Company of New York & Vermont, doing business as U-Haul Moving & Storage at Larkin District, for exposing its employees to asbestos and silica hazards while performing renovation work at its 665 Perry St. storage facility in Buffalo. The company faces $108,095 in proposed fines.

OSHA inspectors found that the U-Haul dealer did not monitor the work area to determine if asbestos and crystalline silica were present, and failed to provide employees with respiratory protection, protective clothing, and training on asbestos and silica hazards; properly dispose of asbestos-containing materials; have a competent person oversee renovation work; and provide a decontamination room.

“Employers must monitor the work area for the presence of these highly hazardous substances, and put in place effective controls to protect employees from exposure,” said Michael Scime, OSHA Buffalo Area Office Director.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

OSHA Issues Direct Final Rule Revising Beryllium Standard for General Industry; Delays Enforcement of Certain Provisions

OSHA Issues Direct Final Rule Revising Beryllium Standard for General Industry; Delays Enforcement of Certain Provisions



On May 4, OSHA issued a direct final rule clarifying aspects of the beryllium standard for general industry as it applies to processes, operations, and areas where workers may be exposed to materials containing less than 0.1% beryllium by weight. The direct final rule will go into effect on July 4 unless OSHA receives significant adverse comments by June 4. For details, see the news release.

OSHA also announced that it will begin enforcing certain requirements of the beryllium final rule, including the permissible exposure limits in the general industry, construction, and shipyard standards; and the exposure assessment, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, and medical removal provisions in the general industry standard.

The agency will delay enforcement of other ancillary provisions for general industry until June 25, 2018. The Agency plans to issue a proposal to further extend this compliance date for the ancillary provisions to Dec. 12, 2018. 

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OSHA Trade Release

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U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Office of Communications
Washington, D.C. www.osha.gov
For Immediate Release

May 4, 2018
Contact:  Office of Communications
Phone: 202-693-1999

OSHA Issues Direct Final Rule Revising Beryllium Standard
For General Industry

WASHINGTON, DC – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a direct final rule (DFR) clarifying aspects of the beryllium standard for general industry as it applies to processes, operations, or areas where workers may be exposed to materials containing less than 0.1% beryllium by weight.
The DFR clarifies the definitions of Beryllium Work Area, emergency, dermal contact, and beryllium contamination.  It also clarifies provisions for disposal and recycling, and provisions that the Agency intends to apply only where skin can be exposed to materials containing at least 0.1% beryllium by weight.
The direct final rule will become effective on July 6, 2018, unless the Agency receives significant adverse comments by June 6, 2018.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

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OSHA Trade Release

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U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Office of Communications
Washington, D.C. www.osha.gov
For Immediate Release

Date: May 10, 2018
Contact:  Office of Communications
Phone: 202-693-1999

OSHA Announces Delayed Enforcement
of Certain Provisions of the Beryllium Standard

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed in a memorandum today that it will begin enforcing certain requirements of the final rule on occupational exposure to beryllium in general industry, construction, and shipyards on May 11, 2018. Those requirements include the permissible exposure limits in the general industry, construction, and shipyard standards; and the exposure assessment, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, and medical removal provisions in the general industry standard.
Aside from these requirements, other ancillary provisions included in the beryllium standard for general industry will not be enforced until June 25, 2018. However, under the terms of settlement agreements with petitioners who challenged the rule, the Agency plans to issue a proposal to further extend this compliance date for the ancillary provisions to Dec. 12, 2018.
OSHA previously proposed to remove the ancillary requirements from the beryllium standards for the construction and maritime industries.  In accordance with that proposal, OSHA will enforce the permissible exposure limits, but will not enforce any other provisions for beryllium exposure in those standards unless it provides notice.
Certain compliance dates outlined in the rule remain unchanged. Enforcement of the general industry requirements for change rooms and showers will begin March 11, 2019; and requirements for engineering controls will begin March 10, 2020.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Pascual Gonzalez-Hernandez, 42, died after becoming trapped between a laundry conveyor belt and a dryer at the Ecodirect Laundry in north suburban Niles, Illinois

NILES, IL — 
 
Niles police opened a death investigation into what they said appears to be an accident at Ecodirect Laundry, an industrial-scale laundry facility in the 6900 block of N. Austin.

The victim was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as Pascual Gonzalez-Hernandez, 42, of the 5700 block of Ridge Avenue, Chicago. Police said the death appeared to be accidental, but the investigation remains open pending toxicology tests by the medical examiner.

Gonzalez-Hernandez was working alone just before 10 p.m. Tuesday (May 8) when police said video surveillance showed he attempted to retrieve a towel caught hanging on a dryer in front of a conveyor belt system. He apparently became trapped between the conveyor and dryers. Police said the conveyor system is seen in surveillance moving up then stopping after Gonzalez-Hernandez went to retrieve the towel.

Another employee discovered Gonzalez-Hernandez’s body shortly before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when checking to see why the washer and dryer system was not working.

Niles Fire Dept. Lt. Rich Scipioni was the commander of responding fire units at the scene. He described the conveyor system as moving wet clothing dropped in tight mounds on the belt (called “pods”) from the washer to the dryer. The conveyor belt is about three feet wide but can stand as tall as seven feet off the ground. The conveyor system itself can be moved by an operator both vertically and horizontally to move laundry between the appropriate machines, Scipioni said.

Police said officials with the medical examiner’s office responded to the scene and transported the man’s remains.



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A 42-year-old Chicago man died Tuesday night in an industrial accident after becoming trapped between a laundry conveyor belt and a dryer in north suburban Niles.

About 10:40 p.m., officers were sent to EcoDirect Laundry and Cleaners, 6977 N. Austin, for a report of a man stuck in a conveyor belt, Niles police said in a statement.

Pascual Gonzalez-Hernandez was found dead at the scene, according to police. Investigators believe he was trying to remove a towel that was hanging from the dryer in front of the conveyor belt when he became stuck about 10 p.m.

He was found by another employee when they noticed a washer and the dryer were not working, police said.

An autopsy Wednesday found Gonzalez-Hernandez died of head injuries in an industrial accident, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. He lived in the Ravenswood neighborhood.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Labor was not immediately available to comment.

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NILES, IL — 

The death of a man found trapped in an industrial laundry machine in Niles Tuesday night appears to have been an accident, according to police. Fire and police personnel were called around 10:41 p.m. to Ecodirect Laundry at 6977 N. Austin Ave. for a report that a man had gotten stuck in a conveyor belt used for wet laundry. They found a man stuck between a dryer and a conveyor in the main dryer area of the business, police said. Niles Fire Department paramedics were unable to find any signs of life.

Pascual Gonzalez-Hernandez, 42, of Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, was pronounced dead shortly after 11 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy Wednesday found he died as a result of head injuries and ruled his death an accident.


In interviews with police, fellow employees reported they had not seen Gonzalez-Hernandez since about 9:30 p.m., according to Niles Police Cmdr. Robert Tornabene.

A review of surveillance video showed that Gonzalez-Hernandez was working along around 9:56 p.m. when he tried to remove a towel that was hanging from a dryer in front of the conveyor mechanism, Tornabene said.

The video shows the system move upward and then stop, at which point police believe Gonzalez-Hernandez was stuck in the conveyor system and the dryer.

Another employee realized the washer and dryer had stopped working about 30 minutes later and discovered Gonzalez-Hernandez's body after checking on the machines, police learned.

All evidence at the scene indicates the death was accidental, Tornabene said, pending toxicology results from the medical examiner's office. The office determined "crainiocerebral injuries" from an industrial accident was the cause and manner of Gonzalez-Hernandez's death.

Founded in 2002, Ecodirect is an industrial laundry company specializing in cleaning linens for local hotels.

Josh Ellis, 38, died after a CO2 release at Smoky Mountain Opry in Pigeon Forge, TN after a CO2 valve used as a special smoke effect for the show had been left on.

Josh Ellis, 38, fell into a coma in March after walking into a gas-filled room at Smoky Mountain Opry.

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WATE) - An autopsy report released Monday shows the death of a worker at Smoky Mountain Opry in Pigeon Forge earlier this year has been ruled accidental.

Josh Ellis, 38, fell into a coma in March after walking into a gas-filled room at Smoky Mountain Opry. The Opry said a CO2 valve used as a special smoke effect for the show had been left on.

According to the autopsy report, Ellis died shortly after the incident because he was not able to get enough oxygen to his brain. Heart problems and a previous injury also led to his decline.

The medical examiner ruled his death accidental.



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Dad remembers victim of Smoky Mountain Opry CO2 poisoning



Updated: March 08, 2018

 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) - One of the three victims hospitalized after a CO2 release at Smoky Mountain Opry has died, according to his family.

Josh Ellis, 38, was in a medically-induced coma at UT Medical Center after a CO2 valve that's used as a special smoke effect for the show was left on and filled an isolated tech room with gas.

Josh's dad, Dale Ellis, says the theater was his dream.

"One of the things he often did in his growing up years in elementary school he was kind of the class clown and liked to be the center of attention and so drama kind of met a need for him," said Dale Ellis.

Dale says Josh worked at the Smoky Mountain Opry for one or two years.

"He loved being in the theater, that was his life, it was the thing that made his heart sing and he just loved his job at the Opry," said Dale Ellis.

Josh Ellis was an organ donor who has already benefited out-of-state patients in need.

"We were able to see that wish that he had made several years ago become fulfilled," said Dale Ellis. "It gave us a great sense of comfort and satisfaction knowing that he was able to do that and that other people would be blessed because of it."

His family thanked everyone who prayed for him and for their continued prayers.

"The thing I would want to leave with those who want to know about my son is that he loved life, he was doing what he loved, and that he loved people and he loved his family," said Dale.

Smoky Mountain Opry announced Thursday they are canceling the "Feel the Music" show until March 16 out of respect for Ellis' family. The "Magic Beyond Belief" show will resume on Friday.

In a statement over the weekend, Smoky Mountain Opry owner and CEO David Fee said a carbon dioxide gas release affected a technician in an isolated tech room. The gas is used for the shows' smoke effects.

"In the show, we use CO2 for a special effect," said General Manager Micheal Headla. "Down in this room there is a CO2 valve and the valve is only typically left on for a very very small time. Unfortunately, for reasons that we don't know at this time, it was left on for an extended period of time."

Fee said the CO2 valve being left on caused the room to fill with the gas.

"During this gas release, one of our employees was found unconscious. Two of his fellow technicians, in a heroic effort to solve the problem quickly, went to his rescue. They were also overcome by CO2 gas," said Fee.

Fee released a statement about Ellis' death on Thursday:


We are all heartbroken by the tragic loss of our friend and co-worker, Josh Ellis. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and fellow employees during this difficult time. The professional and personal relationships we had with Josh have been a source of enrichment and enjoyment to all of us. He was a wonderful employee and we shall miss him greatly. For all of us, this is devasting news. We ask for your prayers and support during this time.

Ellis' body will be sent for an autopsy. A memorial is tentatively scheduled for next week.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development says it is investigating.

Duke Energy employee, Clarence Silviking, 65, died at the Gallagher Station off Hwy. 111 in New Albany, Indiana

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- 

New Albany Police say a man died in a workplace accident Monday morning at a Duke Energy facility in southern Indiana.

The employee has been identified as 65-year-old Clarence Silviking.

Authorities say it happened at the Gallagher Station off Hwy. 111 in New Albany.

When emergency responders arrived at the scene, they provided aid to Silviking. He was taken to U of L Hospital, but died from his injuries.

A Duke Energy spokesperson released the following statement after Silviking's death:


It is with deep sadness that we confirm that this morning a Duke Energy employee sustained fatal injuries while working at Gallagher Station in New Albany, Ind. We don’t have other details to share at this time, but we will be doing a thorough investigation. We extend our deepest, heartfelt sympathies to the employee’s family and friends, including those with whom he worked.

The investigation into the accident is ongoing.