FEDERAL OFFICIALS REJECT ARIZONA’S CONSTRUCTION WORKER SAFETY PLAN. RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION SITES MUST NOW FOLLOW OSHA SAFETY STANDARDS WHEN IT COMES TO FALL PROTECTION

MARCH 2, 2015

PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Federal officials have rejected an Arizona construction worker safety plan, saying it doesn't go far enough to protect employees.

Residential construction sites must now follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety standards when it comes to fall protection. The state can create new requirements of its own, but one federal official said that's not likely to happen.

One construction industry representative called the federal regulations unnecessary, and he said following those guidelines could cause more harm than good.

"We believe the employment of federal standards is not safe," said Spencer Kamps, vice president of legislative affairs for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona.

In 2012, legislators crafted fall guidelines for the state residential construction industry in response to the OSHA standards. They argued that the standards were too costly for home builders and wouldn't significantly increase safety.

On Feb. 6, OSHA rejected the statute. Among other provisions, workers must now wear a safety harness when working above 6 feet instead of the previous 15-foot requirement under the statute.

OSHA will monitor construction sites to make sure they follow federal standards, said Zachary Barnett, director at OSHA's Phoenix office.

"It baffles me. Why would an industry not want to provide the best protection for workers? I don't know," Barnett said.

But Kamps said one reason he thinks the federal regulations are more dangerous is because residential construction sites use wood, which doesn't make a strong anchor point for workers to tie off their harnesses.

Kamps, who lobbied for legislation outlining the state's plan, said Arizona's guidelines were effective.

"The safety record proves it," he said. "We've had these plans since the '90s."

Thirteen people died on construction sites in 2013, with five of those attributed to falls, slips or trips, according to Industrial Commission of Arizona records.

Joshua Welp, the safety director for Kitchell Contractors, said he's glad OSHA is enforcing the federal standards. He said it does cost more to follow the 6-foot rule, but some companies skimp on safety.

"They are trying to build as cheap as they can per square foot," Welp said. "Some companies say they are about safety and don't mean it."

But Welp said serious injuries or fatalities would cost much more money than equipment and training for workers.

Kamps agreed that safety should be a priority.

"We are always looking for opportunities to reduce money and time, but not in this issue," Kamps said.

UNION PACIFIC SAYS 2 TRAINS DERAIL IN OREGON. NO HAZARDOUS MATERIAL RELEASES HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED

MARCH 2, 2015

PORTLAND, OREGON (AP)

Union Pacific says two freight trains derailed in Oregon on Monday morning, one in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon, the other in the Cascade Range.

A total of 15 cars got off the tracks. Nobody was hurt.

Near Meacham in Umatilla County, a tank car carrying hazardous material rolled down a bank and came to rest near a creek.

Railroad spokesman Francisco Castillo says in an email that no release of hazardous material has been confirmed.

The material wasn't immediately identified.

Nine other cars derailed in a pile.

Near Oakridge in Lane County, five cars derailed, one remaining upright.

Castillo says there was no hazardous material aboard.

Court bans Mike Neri Sewer and Water Contractor from excavating work. Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based contractor refuses to abide by OSHA standards

March 2, 2015

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

A federal court has ordered that Mike Neri Sewer and Water Contractor of Elk Grove Village no longer engage in trenching, excavation, construction or related work after repeatedly exposing employees to trenching hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor announced. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit issued the order, which also permits the secretary to pursue a collection action against Mr. Neri to recover the $110,440 in penalties. 


"The court has sent a clear message that Mike Neri, like all businesses, has a legal and moral responsibility to protect workers on the job," said Nick Walters, regional administrator for OSHA in Chicago. "OSHA will pursue all avenues to ensure employers, such as Neri, who are recalcitrant and continue to violate safety standards, learn that the law will be upheld."


The department pursued coercive sanctions through the courts out of concern that Neri continued to violate OSHA trenching standards. After failing to comply with the court enforcement order, Neri was held in federal jail for 23 days in December 2014. He was released on Dec. 24, 2014, after posting a $10,000 recognizance bond. The court order and agreement vacates this bond. 


The April 2013 penalties were issued by OSHA for exposing workers to trenching hazards on a job site in Des Plaines on Oct. 3 and Oct. 11, 2012. OSHA also cited the company for trenching hazards in 2009 and 2011. 


During the inspections, Neri was uncooperative with inspectors and refused to acknowledge trenching violations had occurred, even when shown photographic evidence to the contrary. Neri has not paid the penalties assessed by OSHA in any of the inspections.


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 Chicago North Area Office at 847-803-4800.


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 fines US Minerals more than $113K for repeatedly exposing workers to dangerous machinery, falls and chemical hazards. Coal slag manufacturing facility receives 4 repeated, 3 serious violations

March 2, 2015

ROBERTS, WISCONSIN

Two years after pledging to address health and safety violations in a corporate settlement agreement after workers were exposed to serious machine, fall and respiratory hazards at its facilities around the country, U.S. Minerals Inc. employees in Roberts were faced with the same hazards, a September 2014 U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found. 


U.S. Minerals received four repeated, three serious and two other-than-serious violations at the coal slag facility and faces proposed penalties of $113,300.

"U.S. Minerals continues to demonstrate that the safety and health of its workers is not a corporate priority," said Mark Hysell, area director of OSHA's Eau Claire office. "This inspection demonstrates that the company has failed to meet the goals outlined in the 2012 agreement. This is a disheartening setback for worker safety at this company." 


OSHA's investigation found workers endangered by amputation and crushing hazards* at a conveyor and while clearing pallet jams and debris from a pallet elevator because proper safety mechanisms and procedures to power down machines fully during maintenance were not implemented. Workers were also expected to unclog a chute at a height of about 25 feet without adequate fall protection systems in place. This inspection resulted in four repeated violations. Fall and machine hazards are the most frequently cited OSHA standards. 


In addition, a known carcinogen, hexavalent chromium, was found in eating areas. Employees were not trained on hazardous chemicals in their workplace and their potential health effects, and protective measures to be taken to avoid overexposure. U.S. Minerals also failed to develop procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services and used fiberglass self-supporting ladders inappropriately. 


U.S. Minerals was cited for similar violations at its facilities in Baldwin, Illinois, and Harvey, Louisiana, in 2012. OSHA issues repeated violations if an employer was previously cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. 


A total of three serious violations were issued. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists. 


OSHA inspectors also noted exits were blocked by large pallets of materials and powered industrial trucks were left unattended while being filled with materials, exposing workers to struck-by hazards. Two other-than-serious violations were issued.


View the current citations at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/USMineralsInc993455_2-26-15.pdf*.


Headquartered in Dyer, Indiana, U.S. Minerals manufactures abrasive blasting and roofing materials from slag produced at coal-fired power plants. The company has been inspected by OSHA 18 times since 1983, resulting in the issuance of multiple safety and health violations, including 43 citations for exposing workers to dangerous machine hazards and lockout/tagout deficiencies

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. 


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 Eau Claire Area Office at 715-832-9019.


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.

# # #

Media Contacts:
Scott Allen, 312-353-6976, allen.scott@dol.gov
Rhonda Burke, 312-353-6976, burke.rhonda@dol.gov
Release Number: 15-297-CHI

---

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department's Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

---

* Accessibility Assistance Contact OSHA's Office of Communications at 202-693-1999 for assistance accessing PDF materials.

---

OSHA News Release - Table of Contents

Freedom of Information Act  |   Privacy & Security Statement  |   Disclaimers  |   Important Web Site Notices  |   International  |   Contact Us

U.S. Department of Labor  |  Occupational Safety & Health Administration  |  200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210
Telephone: 800-321-OSHA (6742)  |  TTY www.OSHA.gov

Employees avert explosion, fire and other dangers after solvent spill at freight terminal exposes employer's lack of readiness. R+L Carriers faces $86,900 in penalties for serious violations

March 2, 2015 

BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT

Employees at a Wallingford freight shipping terminal faced dangerous chemical, fire and explosion hazards on Oct. 6, 2014, as they tried to contain a highly flammable and explosive chemical spill without proper training and personal protective equipment, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators have determined.

As a result of these conditions, OSHA found two repeated and four serious violations of workplace safety standards by R+L Carriers Shared Services LLC. The company faces $86,900 in proposed fines. The repeated violations stem from similar hazards cited by OSHA during a 2011 inspection of an R+L terminal in Chicago.

"These workers were essentially defenseless. They did not know how to evaluate the hazards involved, what personal protective equipment to use and what steps to follow to contain the spill safely. Worse, no one present at the terminal did," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport. "These deficiencies in emergency response* by R+L Carriers put its employees at risk of death or serious injury."

The investigation determined a forklift was being used to move a pallet of tetrahydrofuran, a highly flammable liquid with a flash point of 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit, from one truck to another when a 55-gallon drum containing the liquid was punctured accidentally. The chemical began leaking through the truck bed to the ground. R+L employees attempted to contain the spill with sorbent material beneath the truck and by cordoning off the area. OSHA investigators found that Wallingford terminal's management lacked an emergency response plan and had not trained employees as first responders.

Management also did not evaluate the hazards associated with tetrahydrofuran; failed to provide the responding employees with appropriate respiratory protection and personal protective equipment; and did not have a qualified person on-site to oversee the response. The terminal's emergency action plan also did not include procedures for timely reporting of emergency events. It was also noted that employees had not been briefed on updates to the plan. Finally, the forklift that punctured the drum was not operated properly.

A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. A repeated violation exists when an employer has been cited previously for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

R+L Carriers is a nationwide freight shipping company of 9,000 employees headquartered in Wilmington, Ohio; 45 work at the Wallingford terminal. R+L has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet informally 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 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 Bridgeport Area Office at 203-579-5581.

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 cites Affordable Exteriors for 7th time in 10 years for failing to provide fall protection to roofers. Company has failed to address previously issued OSHA citations, pay penalties

March 2, 2015

Employer name: Affordable Exteriors Inc., 17118 Harney Street, Omaha, Nebraska


Investigation site: 20505 Taylor Street, Elkhorn, Nebraska


Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Oct. 1, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Omaha Area Office initiated an inspection under the Local Emphasis Program for falls. 


In 2013, there were 294 fall fatalities of the 796 total fatalities in the construction industry. Falls remain the leading cause of death in this industry. About half of America's 1.6 million construction employees work in residential construction.


Investigation findings: OSHA's investigation found three employees installing rafters, and two installing roof sheathing, on a residential home under construction in Elkhorn. All five employees were observed to be working more than 12 feet off the ground without adequate fall protection.

• OSHA cited two willful violations for exposing workers to fall hazards because the company failed to provide fall protection and train workers on the use of and requirement for fall protection equipment. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
• One repeated violation was issued for not securing elevated platforms to the rough terrain forklift on the site. The company was previously cited for this violation in May 2013 at a jobsite in Omaha. OSHA issues repeated violations if an employer was cited for a similar violation in the past five years.
• Three serious violations involved exposing workers to falls from unprotected sides and edges, improper use of ladders and not training workers on ladder safety. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exist.

Proposed Penalties: $75,240


Quote: "With everything we know about how to work safely, it's troubling to see how many workers are still injured every year in the construction trades, and particularly from falls," said Bonita Winingham, OSHA's area director in Omaha. "By refusing to correct these dangerous problems, Affordable Exteriors continues to expose employees to serious - and preventable - physical harm, and this is unacceptable." 


OSHA maintains a Web page with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures. OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection be in use when workers perform construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level. 


OSHA's ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign provides employers with lifesaving information and educational materials on how to create a plan to prevent falls, provide the right equipment for workers and train employees to use that equipment properly. The campaign launched in 2012. It was developed in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. 


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 Omaha Area Office at 402-553-0171.

DISHONEST BRITS? STATE OF OHIO ALLEGES THAT BP WRONGFULLY OBTAINED $33.3 MILLION IN REIMBURSEMENTS FROM THE UST SPILL FUND, SAYING IT HAD NO INSURANCE FOR THE LEAKS WHEN IT OFTEN ACCEPTED INSURANCE MONEY FOR THE SAME RELEASES.

MARCH 2, 2015

COLUMBUS, OHIO (AP)

Ohio is suing oil and gas company BP for more than $33 million, alleging it double dipped by taking state funds and money from insurers to clean up accidental leaks from underground storage tanks at hundreds of its gas stations around the state.

The state's attorney general and the Ohio Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Release Compensation Board filed the lawsuit Monday. The board administers a fund used as a last resort when tank owners lack coverage or don't accept insurance money.

The lawsuit alleges London-based BP wrongfully obtained $33.3 million in reimbursements from the fund, saying it had no insurance for the leaks when it often accepted insurance money for the same releases.

BP PLC spokesman Jason Ryan says the company acted in good faith and will defend itself against the lawsuit.