U.S. Department of Labor
November 29, 2016
OSHA cites SSA Pacific, a Washington marine cargo handling company,
for willful safety violations after 48-year-old longshoreman's fatal fall.
Similar violations found at SSA Pacific facilities in Oregon, Florida
SEATTLE - For longshoremen who load and offload timber in the upper Northwest, every ship that sails into port carries a reminder of the litany of hazards they face at work. Loads of extremely heavy logs must be handled carefully to avoid serious and potentially fatal injuries. At the same time, employers must take all necessary steps to ensure the work area is free of avoidable hazards - a lesson apparently lost on a Seattle-based cargo handling company following the June 2016 death of a 48-year-old longshoreman.
Jim Meadows was employed by SSA Pacific when he suffered fatal injuries after he fell 10 feet onto the metal deck of the Forest Trader, a 21,000-ton bulk carrier cargo ship registered in Panama.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited his employer today for willfully failing to protect its workers from falls into hatches and cargo holds. The citations follow an OSHA investigation prompted by Meadows' death. Agency inspectors who boarded the vessel found numerous hazardous areas where no netting or fall protection measures existed.
"Jim Meadows death was preventable, if only a few commonsense measures had been taken to prevent his fall and to protect his coworkers," said Galen Blanton, OSHA regional administrator in Seattle. "OSHA has cited SSA Pacific for similar violations in Oregon and Florida in the past three years in the hopes of avoiding a tragedy like this. Every employer has a solemn duty to make sure its workers return home safely at the end of every shift."
Despite OSHA guidelines that clearly recommend fall protection measures, such as netting and temporary platforms, to protect workers, SSA management claimed the crews used "buddy systems" with spotters to warn one another when one of them was working too close to hatches or risked falling overboard when securing loads of logs. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union challenged the claim that a spotter system was in place.
View citations here
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
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.
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NOVEMBER 30, 2016
PINE ISLAND, New York (WABC) --
A woman climbed out of rubble to safety after the house she was in exploded around her Tuesday afternoon in New York's Hudson Valley.
The explosion happened just before 4 p.m. at a home on Walling Road in Pine Island.
State police said the woman was the only person home when it blew up. She was initially trapped inside, but was able to free herself and her dog.
The home then burst into flames and was destroyed.
The family's memories were scattered all over the neighborhood. The blast was deafening.
"All of a sudden there was this huge explosion. It was awful," said Noreen Quackenbush, a neighbor. "It shook the house, it shook the windows, it knocked two plaques off the wall. We didn't know what it was."
The explosion lead to a massive fire. One neighbor who did not want to appear on TV said she'd never seen anything like it.
"You see how tall our trees are, and I just walked to the driveway and the flames were higher than the trees, and it's quite shocking," the neighbor said.
"As soon as we got out my stomach dropped. I didn't really know how to react," said Colby Quackenbush, a neighbor.
The woman's children were on the school bus headed home when it happened, and their father was on his way home from work.
"If it had been 15 minutes later, they'd probably all of them been in the house," Noreen said.
Firefighters are looking into what caused the explosion.
A GoFundMe was set up for the family the local police station reported on Facebook.
Texas Universities Address Hazardous Waste Violations in EPA Settlement
Baylor, TCU, Texas A&M all correct violations
11/28/2016
Contact Information:
Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard (R6Press@epa.gov)
214 665-2200
DALLAS – (Nov. 28, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced settlements with three Texas universities over hazardous waste violations at university facilities. Under the settlements, Baylor University, Texas A&M University and Texas Christian University all agreed to correct violations and pay a civil penalty. EPA discovered the violations by analyzing data the facilities are required to submit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as well as analysis of additional records that the universities voluntarily provided.
Under RCRA, facilities producing hazardous waste are regulated as small- or large-quantity generators. From 2011 to 2014, while Baylor claimed to be a small-quantity generator, at times it generated more hazardous waste than is allowed under this criteria. The reason this is important is that large-quantity generators have much more stringent employee training requirements, and need to prepare detailed contingency plans for first responders. Baylor also at times generated hazardous wastes without identifying them as such. In addition to paying a civil penalty of $11,330, Baylor corrected existing violations and will revise its standard operating procedures to ensure the lab will comply with RCRA. Baylor will also purchase and donate equipment to the Waco Fire Department to aid in identifying explosives, narcotics, and toxic chemicals during emergency responses.
Similar violations were found at Texas Christian University (TCU) facilities in Fort Worth, Texas. TCU improperly operated as a large-quantity generator because it produced more than a kilogram per month of acutely hazardous waste, which are certain wastes that are more toxic in smaller quantities. During these incidents, TCU did not notify the state of Texas as required of large-quantity generators. Also, between 2011 to 2015, TCU did not make adequate or accurate hazardous waste determinations of its waste streams. TCU agreed to correct violations and pay a civil penalty of $30,591.
EPA discovered violations at four Texas A&M University campuses: Commerce; Kingsville Citrus Center in Weslaco, Texas; Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in Amarillo, Texas; and the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group in College Station, Texas. Violations included generating enough hazardous waste to qualify as a large-quantity generator but not registering as one, generating acutely hazardous waste without proper notification, and not filing required paperwork. Under four separate settlements, Texas A&M agreed to correct all violations and pay a combined penalty of $141,912.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, passed by Congress in 1976 gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from "cradle-to-grave." RCRA sets national goals for protecting human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal, conserving energy and natural resources, reducing the amount of waste generated, and ensuring wastes are managed in an environmentally sound manner.
Learn more about RCRA: https://www.epa.gov/rcra
Learn more about EPA’s work in Texas: https://www.epa.gov/tx
November 23, 2016
J.C. Stucco and Stone ordered to pay nearly $345K in fines after OSHA finds
company continued to expose workers to scaffolding hazards
'Severe violator' cited 41 times since 2011 for federal violation
LANSDOWNE, Pa. - An administrative law judge recently affirmed nine cited federal safety and health violations and assessed $344,960 in fines against Lansdowne masonry contractor, J.C. Stucco and Stone. This follows a March 2016, hearing regarding six willful and three repeat citations issued after two 2014 inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission adjudicates disputes between the U.S. Secretary of Labor and employers that contest OSHA violations. These disputes are heard in the first instance by an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") whose decisions are reviewable by the full Commission.
The company - which OSHA has cited 41 times since 2011 for exposing workers to life-threatening scaffolding hazards - sought and was given a hearing by the commission in March 2016. The parties entered into a partial settlement agreement prior to the hearing, whereby J.C. Stucco agreed to accept the willful and repeat citation items as issued. As such, the only issue before the ALJ was the appropriateness of the penalties proposed by OSHA in 2014.
"J.C. Stucco has a long history of leaving workers unprotected from incidents that can cause injuries and possible death and result from falls and unsafe scaffolding," said Theresa Downs, OSHA area director in Philadelphia. "Workers should not have to risk their lives for the sake of a paycheck."
In 2011, OSHA placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program for multiple instances of repeated, high-gravity violations.
"This action demonstrates our commitment to take aggressive action when an employer repeatedly ignores its responsibilities regarding the health and safety of its workers," said Oscar L. Hampton III, regional solicitor in Philadelphia.
The parties have until Nov. 27, 2016, to appeal the ALJ's decision, and the commission has until Dec. 7, 2016, to determine whether to review the judge's order.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Philadelphia Area Office at 215-597-4955.
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.
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Nov. 23, 2016
OSHA fines Hua Dua Construction, aPhiladelphia contractor, $72K for fall, trenching safety violations
Employer name: Dollar General, doing business as Dollar General Store #13229
Employer name:Hua Da Construction
917 Arch StPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Inspection site:934 Arch St.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Citations issued: On Nov. 9, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one repeat and one serious safety violations.
Inspection findings: An inspection began on June 10, 2016, after OSHA received a complaint alleging that Hua Dua Construction employees were exposed to fall hazards as high as 18 feet. An agency inspector arrived at the work site and found employees exposed to imminent danger fall and trenching hazards.
Inspectors cited the repeat violation for lack of fall protection. The company was previously cited for similar violations in March and May 2016. The serious violation involved exposing workers to cave-in hazards due to an inadequate protective system.
Quote: "Hua Da Construction continues exposing its workers to falls, the leading cause of death in the construction industry, and caught-in trenching hazards, one of the top four regularly cited construction violations," said Theresa Downs, director of OSHA's Philadelphia Area Office. "When construction contractors like Hua Da Construction repeatedly ignore safety standards, they jeopardize worker safety."
Proposed penalties: $72,511
The citations can be viewed at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/HuaDaConstructionInc_1154460.pdf
OSHA has a national emphasis program on trenching and excavations. Trenching standards require protective systems on trenches deeper than 5 feet, and soil and other materials kept at least two feet from the edge of trench.
The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Philadelphia office at 215-597-4955.
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.
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