Southbury, Connecticut residential home builder exposes workers to potentially fatal fall hazards. OSHA proposes $52,360 in fines for Rock Hard Homes, Inc.

April 10, 2015

Employer name: Rock Hard Homes, Inc., residential home builder, Southbury, CT

Inspection site: 13 Pembroke Road, Danbury, CT 06811

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration's Bridgeport Area Office began an inspection on Nov. 7, 2014, after OSHA inspectors driving by the worksite observed fall protection hazards and immediately opened an inspection.

Investigation findings: Rock Hard Homes, Inc., was cited by OSHA for four repeat and one serious violation of workplace fall safety standards. These include: failure to equip employees with an adequate fall protection system while they worked on a pitched roof approximately 28 feet above the ground; 

allowing employees to walk and work on surfaces without fall protection and exposing them to falls through holes, including skylights; improperly using portable ladders to access upper landings in which the ladders did not extend beyond the landings by the required three feet; and use of defective equipment.

Falls are the leading cause of death among construction workers, with 294 fatalities in the nation and 5 in Connecticut in the most recent figures from 2013. To help combat this deadly trend, OSHA is hosting a National Safety Stand-Down from May 4 to 15 in which employers will talk to their employees about safety practices and procedures on the job sites. 

The repeat citations stem from this employer's history of similar fall protection violations cited by OSHA in August 2011 in Brookfield, CT, as well as May and June of 2013 in Norwalk, CT. 

Proposed Penalties: $52,360. 

Quote: "While an accident did not prompt this inspection, the penalties proposed in this case demonstrate the severe nature of the cited hazards and the employer's lack of concern for its workers," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA area director in Bridgeport. "Fall hazards can and should be prevented through the use of proper equipment, training and safeguards for workers."

Next Steps: Rock Hard Homes, Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet 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.

Metal fabricator cited for exposing workers to amputation hazards. OSHA cites M&M Manufacturing Co. LLC in Houston for three serious and one repeat violation, proposes $55K in fines

April 16, 2015

Employer name: M&M Manufacturing Co. LLC 


Site: Houston, Texas


Date initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the March 2015 inspection after receiving a report of an amputation at the facility under the new OSHA recordkeeping and reporting requirements that became effective January 1, 2015.


Investigation findings: OSHA's Houston North Area Office cited the employer for three serious violations for failing to disable potentially hazardous machinery* and not guarding machine parts, which exposed workers to amputation hazards*. The employer was also cited for one repeat violation for failing to guard equipment in which workers might get caught and injured.


Proposed Penalties: $55,000


Quote: "Any time a worker is exposed to machinery without proper guarding is one more time that worker is in jeopardy of losing a limb or even a life. Such negligence over a commonsense safety requirement will not be tolerated," said Joann Figueroa, OSHA's acting area director in the Houston North office. "It is the employer's responsibility to find and fix hazards in the workplace."


Citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/MM_ManufacturingCoLLC_1044326_0416_15.pdf*


Information: M&M Manufacturing, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, has manufacturing facilities in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, Austin and Little Rock, Arkansas. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties 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.

Johnson Controls Battery Group again fails to monitor workers for lead exposure, faces OSHA penalties of $61K

April 16, 2015

Employer name: Johnson Controls Battery Group Inc. 

Investigation site: 10300 Industrial St., Holland, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Nov. 25, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated a follow-up inspection at Johnson Controls Battery Group. The wet and dry battery manufacturer was previously inspected by OSHA in April 2012.

Investigation findings: Investigators found Johnson Controls Battery Group Inc. failed to conduct additional monitoring for lead exposure when employees worked 12-hour shifts and failed to keep surfaces free from accumulations of lead. OSHA issued two repeated safety violations.

Exposure to lead can cause impaired kidney function, high blood pressure, nervous system and neurobehavioral effects.

"Companies that work with lead have a responsibility to monitor worker's exposure and keep facilities clean," said Chad Positano, OSHA's assistant area director in Toledo. "Johnson Controls Battery Group needs to make immediate changes to its safety and health programs. Being cited for repeated violations demonstrates a lack of commitment to employee safety and health." 

OSHA issues repeated violations when an employer has been previously cited for the same or a similar violation in the past five years.

A serious violation was noted for failing to protect workers from rotating parts of machinery by installing guards.

Proposed Penalties: $61,600

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 Toledo Area Office at 419-259-7542.

Worker electrocuted because his employer, Duke Energy Florida Inc., did not ensure safety procedures were followed. A preventable incident, OSHA report reveals

April 17, 2015

REDDICK, FLORIDA

Electrician's apprentice and lifelong Oxford resident Christopher Lee Dasher was testing and repairing electrical transformers at a substation in Reddick when he was electrocuted by more than 10,000 volts. Dasher, a 36-year-old husband and Duke Energy Florida Inc. worker, was a person who lived to make others happy.

Electrical substation

On Oct. 15, 2014, Dasher used a circuit testing technique that bypassed safety protocols designed to protect workers from electrical currents. He contacted an energized circuit and later died from injuries he sustained. Duke Energy knew workers bypassed safety protocols to conduct testing, but it did not enforce safety standards. Due to this practice, the company has a history of nonfatal shock injuries.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected the utility company after learning of Dasher's injury. OSHA found Duke Energy responsible for one willful and five serious safety violations. Proposed penalties total $90,000.

"Duke Energy is aware of the fatal hazards that Dasher and other workers are exposed to, but failed to implement control measures its safety team developed to protect employees," said Brian Sturtecky, director of OSHA's Jacksonville Area Office. "This tragedy could have been prevented had management not delayed in making the workplace safe."

A willful citation was issued to Duke Energy for failure to have a qualified observer present during testing that could immediately de-energize circuits. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. 

OSHA issued serious citations for failure to ensure that transformers were grounded and safety checked between each test and to provide training to workers who assisted with transformer testing. Another citation included failure to ensure controlled access to the test area to protect workers from electrical shock hazards. 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.

OSHA has created resources to protect workers from electrical hazards and proposes that Duke Energy be placed in the agency's Severe Violator Enforcement Program for demonstrating indifference to its OSH Act obligations to provide a safe and healthful workplace for employees.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the preliminary Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries shows fatal work injuries in Florida accounted for 218 of the 4,405 fatal work injuries reported nationally in 2013. Additional details are available at http://www.bls.gov. 

Duke Energy 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 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 Jacksonville Area Office at 904-232-2895. 

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/.

Alleged Safety Breach at Shell St Fergus Gas Terminal

Published in Oil Industry News on Thursday, 16 April 2015

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued further improvement notices to Shell for the second time in just 18 months, the offshore giant has been accused of breaking yet further safety rules at its St Fergus Gas Terminal in Buchan, North of Peterhead.

The HSE raised further concerns that Shell are not doing enough to prevent ‘major incidents’ at the Gas Terminal, accusing the company of failing to take “all measures necessary” to identify tasks which had the potential to cause a “critical” situation.

The company was told by an HSE representative: “You have failed to adequately identify the safety critical tasks which have potential to initiate, escalate, recover from, or mitigate the consequences of, a major accident at the St Fergus gas plant.”

A spokeswoman for Shell said: “Shell can confirm that it was issued with an improvement notice in relation to the management of safety critical tasks at our gas plant at St Fergus near Peterhead.

“Action is being taken to address the issues raised. The safety of our people and surrounding community remains our primary concern.”

Shell was heavily criticised by safety chiefs in 2013 over fears a major incident could occur and that not enough was being done to protect staff or the environment over methods used to lift materials in areas near equipment filled with gas.

St Fergus Gas Terminal has created tens of thousands of jobs locally since its opening three decades ago, the terminal receives gas from more than 20 fields in the North Sea and processes an average of 20% of the UK’s gas requirements, the first gas at the terminal was received in 1977

25,000-GALLONS OF PHILLIPS 66 DIESEL FUEL PIPELINE LEAK INTO MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN ROXANA, ILLINOIS

APRIL 17, 2015

ROXANA, IL (KMOV.COM)

Diesel fuel has been found in the Mississippi River following a pipeline leak at a product terminal owned by Phillips 66. 

Around 8:45am Friday, a leak was found in a pipeline that runs between the company’s Hartford, Illinois, terminal and the terminal’s barge dock.  

According to the company, the diesel fuel leaked into the Cahokia Canal, which empties into the Mississippi River, and the fuel has reached the river.

The pipeline has been shut down and the source of the leak has been isolated and boomed. The U.S. Coast Guard, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Illinois EPA are on scene with Phillips 66 working to contain and clean up the spill.

The amount of diesel spilled is estimated at 25,000 gallons. River water in-take system operators have been notified.

1 CONSTRUCTION WORKER DIES AFTER 80 FOOT FALL IN UNIVERSITY CITY IN PHILADELPHIA, PA AT THE EVO APARTMENT CONSTRUCTION SITE

APRIL 17, 2015

UNIVERSITY CITY, PHILA., PA (WPVI)

A worker is dead after an approximate 80 foot fall at a construction site in Philadelphia's University City section, near the city’s main railroad station and at the EVO apartment construction site.
The incident occurred around 8:10 Friday morning in the 2900 block of Chestnut Street, near the 30th Street Station.
That's when police say a 42-year-old man fell about 80 feet while doing construction work above.
The victim was taken to Presbyterian Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:43 this morning, according to police.
Authorities have not yet released information about what may have caused the man to fall.
The victim's identity has not yet been released.

Source: myfoxphilly.com

1 INJURED IN CESSNA 421B TWIN-ENGINE PLANE CRASH IN US-59 MEDIAN SOUTH OF DIBOLL, TEXAS

APRIL 17, 2015

DIBOLL, TEXAS

 

A Houston man has been flown to a Houston hospital for injuries he suffered in a twin-engine plane crash on US 59 south of Diboll Friday morning.

 "To see it actually come down and land right there beside you, it was like, 'Wow," but I've never actually seen it," said Jared Swenson, a motorist who witnessed the plane crash. "As I got closer, I realized his propellers weren't spinning."

Officials from FAA are investigating the crash.

DPS had to shut down part of the northbound lane, as part of a wing was on the highway. The scene was cleared by 4:15 p.m.

According to DPS, the Cessna 421B twin-engine took off from the Angelina County airport and was on its way to Houston. After takeoff, the plane experienced some type of mechanical issue and went down into the inside southbound lane of US 59, then skidded into the grassy median. 

"How many times do you see a plane descend, see the whole process, as the fuselage and the plane actually takes the load, bounces right next to you, and skids to a stop in the middle of 59? Not very often," Swenson said.

Swenson said the pilot was both blessed and skilled. He added that it looked as though the pilot made a decision about where to land as the plane was going down. 

The pilot and his passengers were stunned but coherent when Swenson approached them. Swenson explained that one passenger kept thanking him and trying to hand him a business card. He told the man to just lie down.

Swenson said it wasn't like any other drive to the office.

The pilot is Edd Campbell Hendee. He and his two passengers were taken to a Lufkin hospital for treatment.

According to CHI St. Luke's Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Yana Ogletree, Hendee was flown to a Houston hospital. He is in stable condition. 

Hendee is the owner of Taste of Texas, a well-known Houston restaurant.

Date:	17-APR-2015
Time:	07:47 a.m.
Type:	Cessna 421B
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	N421PK
C/n / msn:	421B0830
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Substantial
Location:	half-mile south of Diboll -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Angelina County airport
Destination airport:	Houston

Narrative:
 

After takeoff, the plane developed a mechanical issue. The pilot landed the plane besides a highway. 

The three occupants were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

Sources: http://www.ktre.com/story/28829743/plane-crashes-in-us-59-median-south-of-diboll

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=175479