Five people, including a child, were injured in a crash involving a Philadelphia police vehicle.

Multiple injuries in crash involving police vehicle in Olney





A crash involving a police vehicle in Olney has sent several people to an area hospital. (WPVI)





Wednesday, June 15, 2016 01:06PM

OLNEY (WPVI) -- Five people, including a child, were injured in a crash involving a Philadelphia police vehicle.

The crash happened shortly after noon Wednesday at 3rd and Tabor in the Olney section.

Authorities say two officers were responding to an assist call when their vehicle collided with a car.

Two officers were among those hurt.

Medics say the injured include a man in his 50's, a 10-year-old girl, two women in their 40's and a 29-year-old woman.

The view from Chopper 6 shows a white police SUV off the road and up against a church.

A dark-colored car was also off the road around the corner.

An investigation into the crash continues.

The all clear has been given at the site of an explosion at the Veolia plant in South Philadelphia

All clear given after plant explosion in South Philadelphia






Updated 6 mins ago

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA -- The all clear has been given at the site of an explosion at the Veolia plant in South Philadelphia.

Residents had been briefly told to stay indoors.





It happened at the Veolia plant at 26th and Christian shortly after 3 p.m.

One person suffered a minor injury after being hit by flying glass outside the building.

All employees are accounted for and are okay, officials said.

Veolia officials said in a statement the incident was contained to the facility and there was no fire.

The statement goes on to say that thermal energy services are uninterrupted.

"The company will conduct a full investigation to determine what happened," the statement continued.

Initial reports were that the explosion was at the PECO plant.


Stay with Action News and 6abc.com as this story develops.

2 dead, child critical after exiting vehicle following Wantagh State Parkway crash

Diana Rocco reporting live in Levittown





Eyewitness News
Updated 8 mins ago
LEVITTOWN, Long Island (WABC) -- Two people died and a child is in critical condition after they exited their vehicle following a multi-car crash on the Wantagh State Parkway late Tuesday.

Police say five vehicles were involved in the accidents, which happened southbound lanes of the parkway between exits W3 and W4 just after 11 p.m.

Authorities say the incident began when a Nissan Murano driven by 33-year-old Reina Olivera rear-ended a Honda CRV driven by 50-year-old Ana Ramirez, and both vehicles came to rest in the left lane. A passenger in the Honda, identified as 61-year-old Nicolas Ramirez, and Olivera -- who was holding her 3-year-old daughter -- exited their vehicles and were standing in the left lane, apparently exchanging information.

It was then that a Toyota Corolla driven by 41-year-old Michael Martino came upon the vehicles stopped in the left lane, and police say when he began to slow down, he was rear-ended by a Honda Accord driven by 20-year-old Marbin Velasquez. The Accord then struck Olivera, Ramirez and the girl

Ramirez was thrown into the northbound lanes, where he was subsequently struck by a Jeep Wrangler operated by 48-year-old James Maney. Ramirez was pronounced dead at the scene, while Olivera died a short time later at Nassau University Medical Center. The child was taken to NUMC in critical condition.

Maney suffered facial lacerations.

There appears to be no criminal liability involved in the incident, and the investigation is ongoing.

This is not the first time a similar incident has happened in our area, and experts say that if you must get out of your car after an accident, it is imperative that you get out of harm's way.

"Each situation is different," said Steven Rajczyk, of AAA North Jersey. "There is no one, hard, fast rule, except this: Try to get away from the vehicle, as far as possible."

Monmouth Beach is alerting residents that potentially dangerous clinging jellyfish have been found in the Shrewsbury River.

More dangerous clinging jellyfish found along the Jersey Shore





Anthony Johnson has the story. (WABC)





Eyewitness News
Updated 52 mins ago
MONMOUTH BEACH, New Jersey (WABC) -- Monmouth Beach is alerting residents that potentially dangerous clinging jellyfish have been found in the Shrewsbury River.

Three dime-sized clinging jellyfish were found in the river on Wednesday, officials said.

In addition, a Middletown man swimming in the Shrewsbury River was hospitalized after being stung by one.

This news comes on the heels of a report last week that a fisherman recently caught the tiny jellyfish in the Barnegat Bay just south of Point Pleasant Inlet.

The discovery of this tiny jellyfish in the waters of New Jersey has come as quite a surprise.

The clinging jellyfish usually inhabits the Pacific Ocean.

A brush with multiple clinging jellyfish could possibly lead the victim to a hospital emergency room visit with kidney failure.

"Small things can pack a powerful punch affiliated with their venom and their toxin," said Paul Bologna, the Director of Aquatic Science, Montclair State University.

Scientists aren't sure how the clinging jellyfish have gotten to this area, but they do have a theory.

"A species like this probably was transported via some ship at some point and the larvae came into the system," Bologna said.

The jellyfish have also been spotted in the waters of Cape Cod and Long Island Sound.

Clinging jellyfish hang on to eelgrass or seaweed and usually remain in deep water during the day and surface at night to feed.

They also usually live in bay water.

Searchers have recovered the body of a 2-year-old Nebraska boy snatched by an alligator at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Body of boy recovered after dragged away by alligator at Disney resort in Florida





Diana Williams reporting live (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)





Updated 19 mins ago

BAY LAKE, Florida -- Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings says searchers have recovered the body of a 2-year-old Nebraska boy snatched by an alligator at Walt Disney World in Florida.

The boy was attacked Tuesday night as he waded in shallow water at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian resort.

Demings identified the boy as Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska. The boy's body was underwater and found by divers. Officials said the boy's body was fully intact.

Wildlife officials said they have captured five different alligators that were in the area, and they're going to determine if one of them dragged the child.

The search team grew to 50 people Wednesday as trappers and divers searched Disney's network of man-made canals, ponds and lakes. At least five other alligators were caught and cut open before they found the killer.









Law enforcement officials search the Seven Seas Lagoon outside the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Keep checking abc7NY for the latest on this developing story.

The EPA will ask more than 150 companies and other groups to foot the $746 million bill to clean up the Portland Harbor Superfund Site.

Companies will Pay $746 Million to Clean Up Superfund Site
Posted on June 14, 2016 by Sheryl Barr

Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com, June 10, 2016
By: Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

The EPA will ask more than 150 companies and other groups to foot the $746 million bill to clean up the Portland Harbor Superfund Site.

The proposed plan to remove 65 contaminants along the 10-mile stretch of Oregon’s Willamette River will take 30 years, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. The agency says the hazardous substances found at the site include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins/furans, pesticides and heavy metals, which can harm people and the environment.

The pollution at the superfund site stems from a variety of industries, including shipbuilding, wood treatment and lumber milling, storage of bulk fuels and manufactured gas production, chemical manufacturing and storage, municipal sewer overflows and industrial storm water.

Of the 150 potentially responsible parties identified by the EPA, 10 have already agreed to help with the cleanup process. The 10, which call themselves the Lower Willamette Group, include Arkema, Bayer CropScience, BNSF Railway Company, Chevron, Phillips 66, Union Pacific Railway and the city of Portland.

Lower Willamette Group spokesperson Barbara Smith told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the group is happy to see a cleanup plan for the river.

“This complex river system can be cleaned up efficiently and within a reasonable time by focusing on areas where contaminant levels present the greatest potential risk to humans, fish and wildlife,” Smith said. “Our hope is that the Proposed Plan and subsequent Record of Decision will lead to implementation of a health protective, timely, and cost-efficient cleanup of the Portland Harbor.”

The proposal starts with seven years of dredging and covering more than 200 acres of contaminated soil at the bottom of the river, storing some of the polluted sediment in a confined disposal facility to be built in the river. It would also remove soil and cap highly contaminated areas along the banks of the river.

At the end of this first seven years, the EPA says health risks from the site’s pollution will drop as much as 100 times below the current levels.

Two cases of Legionnaires’ Disease have forced the closure of Wyndham Resorts in Kauai.

Confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ Disease close Kauai resort
Posted on June 14, 2016 by Sheryl Barr

Source: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com, June 13, 2016

Two cases of Legionnaires’ Disease have forced the closure of Wyndham Resorts in Kauai.

Wyndham Resorts confirms that it has closed the WorldMark Kapaa Shore Resort as a precaution, after the cases were confirmed by the state Health Department.

Guests were moved to other hotels in the area.

“Recently, the Kapaa Shore Resort received confirmation that the presence of Legionella bacteria was found in two units at the resort,” the resort said, in an emailed statement.

“As a precautionary measure, we are temporarily closing the resort and relocating owners and guests to nearby properties so that we can properly remediate and get the resort back in operation quickly.”

Legionnaires’ Disease is a severe form of pneumonia. Most people get the disease from inhaling the bacteria.

The two people confirmed to have the disease have recovered in their home states and a third possible case is still being investigated, said DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo.

She said the two people who were confirmed to have the disease stayed at the resort in late April to early May.

The Health Department was told about the cases in mid-May, and reached out to the resort, which brought on an environment consultant.

It’s not clear where the people who got sick picked up the bacteria. Both were older adults.

Douglas Corp., a metal-plating company in St. Louis Park must eliminate ongoing pollution that’s contaminating Lake Calhoun and its fish within two years or face daily fines.

Pollution officials set deadline to curb Lake Calhoun contamination
Posted on June 15, 2016 by Sheryl Barr

Source: http://www.startribune.com, June 14, 2016
By: Hannah Covington
Douglas Corp. ordered to find a solution to PFOS in the lake or face daily fines.

A metal-plating company in St. Louis Park must eliminate ongoing pollution that’s contaminating Lake Calhoun and its fish within two years or face daily fines.

Last month, Douglas Corp. signed an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to address pollutants in stormwater runoff reaching the lake from a manufacturing facility about a mile away.

The chemicals, known as PFOS, were used by the company as recently as 2010 and had accumulated on the roof, according to the MPCA. Rain and snowmelt then carried the PFOS into the stormwater system, which eventually flowed into the lake. Since being identified as the source of pollution in 2010, the company has been working with the MPCA to get rid of sources of contamination by replacing the roof, roof vents, tanks and other structures.

“They were cooperative,” said Scot Sokola, a water quality compliance coordinator at the MPCA. “We had many meetings with the company and gave them instructions in what we would like to see them do, and they carried them out throughout the process.”

But the contaminants, from a family of man-made chemicals known as perfluorochemicals (PFCs), are still present, albeit in lower quantities.

Douglas Corp. officials said they will continue to address the issue. The company first became aware of PFOS in a product they used in 2007, said John Fudala, vice president of the plating division.

“As soon as we realized that, we sought out and found alternatives that didn’t contain PFOS,” Fudala said, noting they had stopped using the product completely by 2010.

According to the MPCA agreement, the company must decide how to address its contaminated stormwater within six months, either by capturing the runoff before it leaves the facility or by treating it. It must put to use its solution by May 4, 2018. Failure to do so will incur daily fines of $500 per violation, Sokola said.

Near the company’s St. Louis Park facility, shallow groundwater has also been contaminated, but state pollution officials haven’t found any PFOS in surrounding drinking-water supplies. The agreement also calls for the company to investigate the extent of the contamination.

“The document is designed to remedy Calhoun and protect the groundwater,” Sokola said.
Contaminated fish

While most Lake Calhoun visitors would not notice the PFOS contamination, it is present in the lake’s fish and may cause harm if eaten repeatedly over a long period of time.

The chemical was first discovered in Lake Calhoun by a University of Minnesota researcher in 2004.

The Minnesota Department of Health has had an advisory in place since April 2006, cautioning people against eating fish contaminated by PFOS, said Pat McCann, fish advisory program manager at the health department.

With other contaminants, such as mercury, smaller fish have lower amounts of pollutants. But PFOS contamination is trickier.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t follow that rule,” McCann said. “It’s more difficult to predict which fish would have higher levels.”

Currently, largemouth bass tissue holds the highest levels of PFOS, despite decreasing by more than half since 2008.

Health officials caution against eating more than one meal per month of bass from Lake Calhoun. Other fish types — such as bluegills, crappies and northern pike — also contain elevated levels of the chemical but can be eaten more often.

The health threats posed by PFOS range from liver issues to immune system problems, which have been observed in animal studies, McCann said.

The lake, however, has no advisories against boating or swimming, and the MPCA hopes that contaminant levels will decrease enough for the fish advisories to end.

Minneapolis park officials said the lake is busier than ever and view the recent agreement between the MPCA and the company as a positive step forward.

“It’s been a long process,” said Rachael Crabb, water resources supervisor for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. “We’re just really pleased that they’ve been able to come to an agreement that benefits Lake Calhoun.”

North Carolina OSHA issued $39,200 in penalties to Crawford Tree Service and Stump Grinding Company of Belmont following the death of a 19-year-old worker

The North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Division issued $39,200 in penalties to Crawford Tree Service and Stump Grinding Company of Belmont following the death of a 19-year-old worker who was pulled into a wood chipper during his first day on the job.



NC OSH inspectors issued one willful and four serious violations after determining that a stop bar on the machine had been disabled and that the worker had not been properly trained or provided adequate personal protective equipment.



///////////////-----------------------/////////////////


State investigating tree business after worker’s death in wood chipper accident



Department of Labor checking whether safety standards violated



By Joe Marusak


The N.C. Department of Labor has begun investigating the death of a worker who was pulled into a wood chipper at a Kings Mountain home.

Mason Scott Cox, 19, of Gastonia, was pronounced dead Saturday at a Hawthorne Road home where he had been working. Police determined Cox’s death was accidental.

Inspectors with the Department of Labor are investigating whether any safety and heath standards were violated by Belmont-based Crawford's Tree & Stump Grinding Service, spokesman Neal O’Briant said Tuesday.

Inquiries involving a death typically take three or four months, he said.

Inspectors looking into deaths involving tree trimming and related services examine whether employees received proper training, whether they were wearing appropriate protective equipment and whether the machinery was being operated according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, O’Briant said. That includes whether any of the machine’s guarding had been circumvented, he said.

The maximum penalty for a serious violation is $7,000. The department considers the gravity of the violation, the size of the business, the company’s good faith as evidenced by its safety and health program, and previous violations, O’Briant said.

“We can cite a company for multiple violations,” he said. “The maximum penalty for a violation can also be multiplied by 10 if we cite the company for willful violations.”

Crawford’s has no previous safety violations, according to federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration records.

But a check on the company found it has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau for failing to respond to five customer complaints. Most focus on business transactions, not safety concerns.

However, a June complaint focuses on a tree that fell on a house. A homeowner said a Crawford’s crew was halfway through removing a tree from a neighbor’s yard when the person had the workers come over to remove a tree.

As workers cut the person’s tree, it fell onto the roof of the house, the homeowner said.

The company’s owner, John Crawford, didn’t return a call from the Observer on Tuesday.

Cox’s mother, Debra Sisk, said that the teen had very limited experience in the tree removal industry, but he had worked on cell towers before. She questioned whether he was being supervised when the accident happened, reports WBTV, the Observer’s media partner.

She said it was horrifying to learn how her son had died.

“I just started screaming,” Sisk told WBTV. “It’s bad enough that he’s gone.”

Cal/OSHA Cites Big & Deep Ag Development Company after Explosion Kills Worker, Burns Resident and Home

News Release No.: 2016-57 Date: May 25, 2016

Cal/OSHA Cites Big & Deep Ag Development Company after Explosion Kills Worker, Burns Resident and Home

Bakersfield—Cal/OSHA has cited Big & Deep Ag Development Company for serious safety violations following an investigation into a November 13, 2015 explosion in Bakersfield that killed a bulldozer operator and destroyed a nearby residence, resulting in injuries to the occupants including serious burns and smoke inhalation.

Big & Deep had been hired to prepare land near Wible Road for planting almond trees, an activity known as “soil ripping.” In this case, the field was being ripped to a depth of 5.5 feet. PG&E had previously placed flags in the ground to identify an underground high pressure pipeline in the area in response to Big & Deep alerting the utility to the planned dig.

Cal/OSHA’s inspectors found that Big & Deep, also known as Jeff Alexander Farming, had not trained the bulldozer operator on the hazards of underground utilities or warned him about the location of a natural gas pipeline near the area he was working. During soil ripping operations, the bulldozer's attached shank pierced the "high priority" pipeline resulting in ignition of natural gas under pressure.

“Employers are required to train workers to recognize and avoid hazards that could endanger their lives,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. “Big & Deep Ag Development was aware of the pipeline’s location and failed to protect their employee and nearby residents from the danger.”

Cal/OSHA issued a total of three workplace safety citations to Big & Deep Ag Development Company, with proposed penalties of $40,250. Two of the citations are serious, with one being serious and accident-related. These involved Big & Deep’s failure to train the bulldozer operator, or to correct unsafe workplace conditions. This employer had pierced the same gas line on a different piece of property in October 2014. That incident did not result in any injuries. A third citation, classified as willful, was issued because the permit to conduct this work had expired.


A serious violation is cited when there is a realistic possibility that death or serious harm could result from the actual hazardous condition. A willful violation is cited when the employer is aware of the law and violates it nevertheless, or when the employer is aware of the hazardous condition and takes no reasonable steps to address it.

Cal/OSHA helps protect workers from health and safety hazards on the job in almost every workplace in California. Cal/OSHA’s Consultation Services Branch provides free and voluntary assistance to employers to improve their health and safety programs. Employers should call (800) 963-9424 for assistance from Cal/OSHA Consultation Services.

OSHA fines Alstom Transportation Inc., a rail equipment manufacturer, $105K for exposing workers to several cancer-causing chemicals, other hazards

OSHA fines Alstom Transportation Inc., a rail equipment manufacturer, $105K for exposing workers to several cancer-causing chemicals, other hazards
Alstom Transportation Inc. cited for 17 serious violations


SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Federal workplace safety and health inspectors have cited a Steuben County rail manufacturing and repair service facility for 17 serious violations, including exposing employees to unsafe levels of known cancer-causing chemicals such as cadmium, lead, nickel and silica.

Responding to a complaint, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection of Alstom Transportation Inc. in Hornell and found the employer: 

• Exposed employees to cadmium, lead, nickel and silica beyond permissible exposure limits.
• Failed to provide changing and shower areas to employees who worked with cadmium and lead, significantly increasing the likelihood of contamination outside the immediate work area – such as the lunchroom and break areas – and causing exposure to the chemicals while eating or drinking.
• Failed to provide employees exposed to lead and cadmium with required medical surveillance.
• Allowed chromium, copper fume, iron oxide and silica exposure among employees in sandblasting and welding operations to exceed permissible exposure limits.
• Did not train painters to properly use or store respirators.

In addition, inspectors found Alstom failed to ensure workers cleaned or removed lead-contaminated protective equipment before entering eating areas. Poor housekeeping caused contamination from silica residue and left dining tables contaminated with lead. OSHA also cited the company for violations related to noise, respiratory combustible materials, operating machine, welding, electrical and blood borne pathogen hazards.

The company citations carry proposed penalties totaling $105,000.

“Employers who work with hazardous materials like these need to first determine if the materials can be removed by replacing them with something less hazardous,” said Chris Adams, Syracuse OSHA area director. “If not, employers must use the correct ventilation to reduce airborne exposure levels to below the OSHA limits. These hazards are preventable when employers ensure safety guidelines are followed.”

A subsidiary of Alstom SA based in France, Alstom Transportation Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment for the railway market. Founded in 1997, the company employs more than 5,500 employees in the U.S., 550 of them work in Syracuse. The company operates the largest passenger rail manufacturing facility in North America producing more than 8,000 new or refurbished rail vehicles to customers across the northeastern U.S., including 1,000 subway cars to the New York City transit system. Its U.S. headquarters are in New York City.

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 Syracuse office at (315) 451-0808.

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 https://www.osha.gov.

Construction Company Owner Indicted for Manslaughter; Failed to Secure Building Site, Leaving Worker to Fall to His Death

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 6, 2016


Construction Company Owner Indicted for Manslaughter;
Failed to Secure Building Site, Leaving Worker to Fall to His Death

Defendant Failed to Adhere to Regulations and Correct Unsafe Conditions;
Neglected to Obtain Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Or to Contribute to Unemployment Insurance Fund


Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, together with New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters, today announced that the owner of a Bensonhurst construction company and his businesses have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges stemming from an incident at a Coney Island construction site in April 2015 that left a 50-year-old construction worker dead.

District Attorney Thompson said, “A hardworking man died tragically and unnecessarily because proper safety measures were not taken to protect his life. As buildings go up all over Brooklyn, we owe it to every construction worker to make sure that they don’t lose their lives due to short cuts on safety. This indictment for manslaughter reflects that commitment.”

Commissioner Peters said, “As charged, these defendants recklessly cut corners and ignored standard safety procedures resulting in another tragic and preventable death on a construction site. This indictment is the latest result from a series of systemic criminal investigations DOI has conducted into fatalities in the construction industry leading to significant arrests, including the 2015 East Village gas explosion and a trench collapse in 2014 that killed a worker in the Meatpacking District. DOI will continue to aggressively investigate safety practices on construction sites and collaborate with its law enforcement partners, including the Brooklyn District Attorney, in calling to account those individuals who endanger construction safety.”

OSHA Regional Administrator Robert Kulick said, “The deaths of Mr. Sanchez and the seven other New York City construction workers in falls in 2015 were all needless and preventable. These were people, not numbers. This indictment sends a strong message to those employers who would neglect their legal responsibility to provide their employees with safe workplaces and working conditions. We thank District Attorney Thompson and Commissioner Peters and their staffs for their efforts.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Salvatore Schirripa, 66, and his companies, J & M Metro General Contracting Corp., located on 63rd Street, and Metrotech Development Corp., located on 64th Street, both in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an eight-count indictment in which he and his companies are variously charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree falsifying business records, offering a false instrument for filing, second-degree criminal possession of a false instrument, violation of the workers’ compensation law, and willful failure to pay contributions to the unemployment insurance fund. Schirripa was ordered held on $35,000 bail and to return to court on September 7, 2016. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

The District Attorney said that, according to the indictment, on April 1, 2015, Salvatore Schirripa and employees from J & M Metro General Contracting Corp., were pouring and smoothing concrete on the sixth floor of a construction worksite at 360 Neptune Avenue, in Coney Island. At approximately 11 a.m., three of Schirripa’s employees were smoothing the concrete along one edge of the building, outside a wire cable protective fence, without harnesses or any fall protection as required by the New York City Building Code and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. While walking backwards, using a rake-like instrument to smooth the concrete in front of him, one of the workers, Vidal Sanchez-Ramon, 50, reached the edge and fell six floors to his death.

On four different occasions, in September 2011, December 2011, April 2013 and August 2014, New York City Department of Buildings inspectors served Schirripa and Metrotech Development Corp., at three separate worksites in Brooklyn, with Notices of Violations, ordering them to immediately provide guardrail systems and handrails to protect workers from falls.

In October 2011, January 2012 and June 2013, after hearings on three of the Notices of Violations, the Environmental Control Board issued decisions to Schirripa and Metrotech Development Corp., reaffirming those obligations. Also, in 2011 and 2012, at a worksite in Brooklyn, OSHA safety compliance officers ordered Schirripa and Metrotech Development Corp. to provide fall protection to their employees in compliance with OSHA regulations.

From August 2014 to April 1, 2015, J & M Metro General Contracting Corp. was the concrete subcontractor on the construction of a six-story commercial building, with a steel frame and concrete floors, at 360 Neptune Avenue. As the employer and foreman, the defendant was responsible for ensuring his workers’ safety, including providing fall protection when they worked on any unprotected work area at a height of six feet or more above the level below.

It is alleged that beginning in early 2015, Schirripa and his employees poured the concrete floors, from the bottom up, pouring one floor approximately every other week, after the steel subcontractor installed the steel deck and a wire cable fence at the perimeter of the work area, around steel supporting columns, as fall protection. On several locations on the third, fourth and fifth floors, Schirripa saw that the wire cable fence installed by the steel subcontractor was set in several feet from the edge, leaving an unprotected work surface between the fence and the edge. Schirripa knew that his workers would have to step outside the protective fence to install wire mesh prior to the concrete pour and to smooth the concrete once poured. Yet Schirripa did not provide harnesses or other fall protection to his employees.

It is further alleged that several days prior to April 1, 2015, Schirripa visited the worksite and saw that the wire cable fence was positioned several feet in from the edge, along one entire side of the floor. Nevertheless, on April 1, 2015, Schirripa directed that his workers pour and smooth the concrete. This required the workers to step outside the wire cable fence without harnesses.

Furthermore, according to the indictment, Schirripa failed to maintain workers’ compensation insurance coverage for his employees, submitting a false certificate of coverage to the NYC DOB when renewing his general contractor’s license on March 30, 2015 for Metrotech Development Corp. He never had workers’ compensation coverage for J & M Metro General Contracting Corp. employees.

Finally, it is alleged, Schirripa failed to contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, as required by law, for the second quarter of 2015.

The case was investigated by Detective Investigators Jennifer Burgos and Ismael Zayas, under the supervision of Supervising Detective Investigator Robert Addonizio, and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Edwin Murphy, of the District Attorney’s Investigations Bureau. Financial Investigator Deborah Wey assisted in the investigation, under the supervision of Chief Financial Investigator Michael Campi.

Also assisting in the investigation were Deputy Chief Investigator Robert Miller, under the supervision of Gregory Cho, Inspector General and Jay Flaherty, Associate Commissioner, of the New York City Department of Investigation; the Manhattan Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); and the New York City Police Department’s 60th Precinct Detective Squad.

The District Attorney thanked the New York City Department of Buildings, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, the New York State Department of Labor, the New York State Insurance Fund, and American International Group (AIG) for their assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by Meredith McGowan, Deputy Chief of the Labor Frauds Unit, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Pamela Murray Bilfield, under the supervision of Felice Sontupe, Chief of the District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney William E. Schaeffer, Chief of the Investigations Division, and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief.

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An indictment is merely an accusation and not proof of a defendant’s guilt

10 people die every day during the summer from a crash involving a teen driver

10 people die every day during the summer from a crash involving a teen driver
Teen crash deaths historically climb during the ‘100 Deadliest Days’ — the period starting at Memorial Day



Jun 08, 2016 | By Jayleen R. Heft, PropertyCasualty360.com


Investigators stand at the site of an accident, June 14, 2007, in Adelanto, Calif. A speeding car ran a stop sign, upending a school bus carrying young children and killing the car's passenger and critically injuring the teen driver, authorities said. (Photo: Dan Elliott/AP Photo)

Sadly, crashes for teen drivers increase significantly during the summer months because teens drive more during this time of year.

Just in time for summer and increased teen driving, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has released a study confirming that nearly 60% of teen crashes involve distractions behind the wheel. The research also finds a disturbing trend showing that texting and social media use are on the rise amongst teen drivers.

.

“Every day during the summer driving season, an average of 10 people die as a result of injuries from a crash involving a teen driver,” said Jurek Grabowski, research director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “This new research shows that distraction continues to be one of the leading causes of crashes for teen drivers. By better understanding how teens are distracted on the road, we can better prevent deaths throughout the 100 Deadliest Days and the rest of the year.”
Trends in teen driver crashes


The AAA Foundation analyzed the moments leading up to a crash in more than 2,200 videos captured from in-car dash cameras. The latest report compared new crash videos with those captured from 2007 -2012.

You might be surprised to learn that the No. 1 distraction for teens is not related to their cell phone use. Keep reading for an overview of the latest AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety findings on trends in teen driver crashes:




Nearly 60% of teen crashes involve distractions behind the wheel. (Photo: iStock) 


Top distractions


The AAA Foundation study found the following to be the top three distractions for teens when behind the wheel in the moments leading up to a crash:
Talking or attending to other passengers in the vehicle (15% of crashes).
Talking, texting or operating a cell phone (12% of crashes).
Attending to or looking at something inside the vehicle: (11% of crashes).

Between 2007 and 2015 an average of 59% of crashes contained some type of potentially distracting behavior during the six seconds leading up to a crash.

The latest government statistics indicate that, in 2014, 10% of teen drivers involved in a fatal crash were reported to have been distracted at the time of the crash. Proportionally, this is more than any other age group.

The AAA Foundation report notes that experts believe that the government statistics substantially underestimate the prevalence of driver distraction. Data suggests that the true proportion of crashes that can be attributed to distraction and inattention is likely much higher.

Related: 10 best and worst states for teen drivers




In the moments leading up to a crash, teens were more likely to be texting or looking down at the phone than talking on it. (Photo: iStock)
Cellphones, texting and social media


Researchers found that how teens use their cellphone when behind the wheel changed significantly over the course of the study. In the moments leading up to a crash, teens were more likely to be texting or looking down at the phone than talking on it. This supports findings by the Pew Research Center, which shows text messaging has become a key component in day-to-day interactions amongst teenagers.

“It’s no secret that teens are extremely connected to their cell phones,” said Jennifer Ryan, AAA director of state relations. “Many teens are texting or using social media behind the wheel more often than in the past, which is making an unsafe situation even worse.”

Research by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that texting creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. A recent AAA Foundation survey shows that nearly 50% of teen drivers admitted they had read a text message or e-mail while driving in the past 30 days. NHTSA’s National Occupant Protection Use Survey also shows that from 2007 to 2014, the percentage of young drivers seen visibly manipulating a hand-held device quadrupled (see chart below).



(Source: NHTSA Driver Electronic Device Use in 2014)

Keeping cellphones out of the hands of teen drivers is a top priority for AAA. The association’s advocacy efforts are helping to protect teens by working to pass graduated driver licensing laws and teen wireless bans in states across the country.

Related: New technology prevents cell phone use while driving




Mobile County Sheriff Deputies examine a car involved in an early morning accident that killed 16-year-old LaDonna Perryman, who was driving on Old Pascagoula Road in Grand Bay, Alabama. (Photo: Michelle Rolls/Press-Register via AP Photo)
Increase in rear-end crashes for teens


From 2007 to 2015, there was a significant increase in the proportion of teen driver crashes in this study that were rear-end collisions. Rear-end crashes most often involve a driver who is following too closely and/or responding too slowly due to inattention or distraction.

While it's possible that teens have started following more closely, it seems more likely that distraction has led to an increase in eyes off road time, slower reaction times and therefore, an increase in the proportion of crashes that are rear-end crashes.

A in-depth examination of rear-end crashes showed there was a significant increase in the proportion of crashes in which the driver was operating/looking at a cellphone, from 15.3% in 2008 to 27.9% in 2014.



Police and firefighters work at a crash scene, Aug. 19, 2014, in Freehold, N.J. Authorities say they are investigating the crash in Freehold that left three people dead and another person in critical condition. (Photo: Mel Evans/AP Photo)
Deaths linked to teen drivers


“Nearly two-thirds of people injured or killed in crashes involving a teen driver are people other than the teen themselves,” according to Ryan. “This shows that teen drivers can be a risk to everyone on the road and it is important to regulate their actions when behind the wheel.”

Over the past five years during the summer 100 Deadliest Days: 

• An average of 1,022 people died each year in crashes involving teen drivers.
• The average number of deaths from crashes involving teen drivers ages 16-19 increased by 16% per day compared to other days of the year.

Summertime is peak season for household property crimes

25 ways to keep your auto and home safe from thieves this summer
Criminals don't take a summer break




Summertime is peak season for household property crimes. (Photo: iStock)

One of the best ways to save on Auto and Homeowners' insurance is to stay claims-free. Securing your vehicle and house will help prevent theft, save you money along with the hassle of dealing with unexpected property losses this summer.

In 2014, there were an estimated 8,277,829 property crimes (burglaries, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts) reported by law enforcement, according to the latest FBI annual report on "Crime in the United States, 2014." Financial losses suffered by victims of these crimes were calculated at approximately $14.3 billion.

.
Peak season for home burglaries


Summertime is peak season for household property crimes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Open windows and open garages along with extended absences from your home for travel and outdoor activities, demand extra vigilance.

The average homeowner's losses for theft from 2010-2014 was $3,786, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.). Data also reveals that about one in 215 insured homes has a property damage claim due to theft each year. 

Car thieves


Motor vehicle thefts, on the other hand, do not exhibit the same seasonal patterns. However, it would be especially devastating to have your car stolen while on a summer road trip. Car thieves are becoming increasing organized and, in less than a minute, your car can disappear, requiring you to file an insurance claim.


In 2014, there were 689,527 vehicle reported stolen in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The I.I.I. notes that a motor vehicle was stolen in the U.S. every 46 seconds in 2014. Nearly 45% of stolen vehicles are never recovered.

Here are handy tips to help ensure that your residence and car are less of a target for thieves, especially during the summer vacation season:




A dog can be a great deterrent against crime. Burglars don't like dogs. (Photo: iStock)
Home


1. Don’t post your travel plans on social media. Some burglars use social networking sites to find victims.

2. Pushbutton locks on doorknobs are easy for burglars to open. Install deadbolt locks on all your outside doors.

3. Trim your bushes, shrubs and trees to avoid providing a place for an intruder to hide.

4. Have adequate exterior lighting. One of the best deterrents against a burglar is to install motion-sensing lights.

5. Be sure to lock up ladders and tools which could be used to break into your home.

6. Burglars don't like dogs. Even small dogs make a home a less attractive to criminals.





Garages are a common entry point for burglars. Keep your garage door(s) closed. (Photo: iStock)

7. Get to know your neighbors — it's a great deterrent to crime. Neighbors are extra sets of eyes keeping a watch on your property, reporting suspicious activity, and helping keep you safe. Be sure and return the favor and keep an eye on their home, too.

8. Consider an alarm system. Many insurance companies offer discounts for alarms, and some systems also monitor for fire.

9. Think like a burglar. Ask yourself, “what would a burglar find when he looks at my house that would be inviting?”

10. Many break-ins occur during the day when people are at work. For that reason, when you leave the house, create an illusion that someone's still there. Consider leaving a radio on all day so that would-be burglars think that someone is at home.

11. Garages are a common entry point for burglars. Keep your garage door closed.

12. Don't keep valuables in your bedroom. Crooks normally go straight to the bedroom because they know people tend to keep cash and jewelry there. Keep your valuables in an unlikely place, but not in the linen closet or the freezer (too common).




Leaving the window open even one inch can be just what it takes for a car thief to easily steal your car. (Photo: iStock)
Auto


Auto theft is covered under the comprehensive section of an Auto insurance policy. Theft coverage applies to the loss of the vehicles, as well as parts of the car such as airbags.

Premium rates for comprehensive insurance are affected by the risk of loss — meaning the likelihood that an insured car will be stolen or damage — and also the car’s value at the time of the loss.

The dollar size of claims has been going up, reflecting the higher value of new cars on the road, the value of the cars that are targets for theft or are damaged and the cost of vehicle bodywork, according to the I.I.I.

13. Always roll up your windows, close the sunroof and lock the car, even if it is parked in front of your home. Leaving the window open even one inch can be just what it takes for a car thief to easily steal your car.

14. Never leave your car running unattended, even to dash into your home, a convenience store, ATM, etc.

15. Never mark your keys with your name and address.

Related: Be smart: These are the top 10 states for vehicle thefts when the keys are left inside




A car protected against theft with the use of a Stoplock steering lock attached to the steering wheel. (Photo: iStock)

16. Try to park the vehicle with the front facing an obstacle. Turn the wheels toward the curb, recommends Interpol. This makes it harder for thieves to tow your vehicle.

17. Have the vehicle identification number etched on the glass and other parts of the vehicle. This discourages chop shops.

18. Remove registration papers from your motor vehicle to make it difficult for the thief to sell it on the black market.

19. Do not hide a spare set of keys anywhere on or near the car itself — criminals may either see you hiding the key or look in the common locations people use.

20. Install an anti-theft system in your vehicle if it doesn’t have one. Thieves are reluctant to steal vehicles if they know the cars can be recovered quickly. Many insurers offer discounts for anti-theft devices, according to Geico.



Be aware of your surroundings, especially at night and in parking garages. (Photo: iStock)

21. Thieves prefer to work in the dark. Be particularly cautious at night about where you park your car. Park it in a well-lit area if possible. According to the Seattle Police Department, more than two-thirds of all auto thefts occur at night.

22. Don't tempt car thieves. Keep valuables out of plain sight. Take them with you or store them in the trunk

23. Look around. Be aware of your surroundings, especially in garages, parking lots and gas stations.

24. Remember, no matter how old and beat up your car is, you can never completely rule out the possibility of theft. Many times old cars are easier to break into and these models are stolen for parts, because they are easy to sell on the stolen parts market. And in some cases, criminals don't care about the value of the car they're stealing. They simply need temporary transportation.

25. When you're at home, don't leave your keys near an open window. Car security systems have advanced so far now that the easiest way for a thief to steal the car is often to steal the keys themselves. This can mean picking them from your pocket, or even stealing them from your house.

PADEP Assesses Civil Penalty against CL&W, Inc. for Fuel Oil Leak into Lackawanna River

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
06/14/2016


CONTACT:

Colleen Connolly, DEP

570-826-2035


Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has entered into a consent assessment of a civil penalty in the amount of $42,666.77 with CL&W, Inc. of Dunmore, Lackawanna County, for violations associated with a fuel oil release into the Lackawanna River in July of 2014. The leak, at a Scranton property owned by the company, caused an undetermined amount of fuel to enter the river and coat the riverbank and vegetation for more than a mile downstream.

“This penalty aims to further the efforts by DEP and local citizen’s groups to keep the Lackawanna River clean and healthy,” said Mike Bedrin, Director of DEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilkes-Barre. “Companies must be aware of their responsibilities to the river.”

The spill at the property on North Washington Avenue generated from an inactive 508,000-gallon capacity above-ground storage tank containing No. 6 fuel oil, which at one time powered on-site boilers used for steam generation throughout the city when the property was operating as Community Central Energy Corporation. The property was purchased by CL&W, Inc. in 1997.

DEP determined a piping valve at the base of the tank was damaged, which released fuel into an emergency containment area around the tank. The product escaped the containment area through underground sewer piping and entered the combined sewer and storm water collection system. Heavy rains pushed the fuel through the system where it discharged to both the sewage treatment plant and the Lackawanna River. A subsequent investigation by a consultant hired by CL&W determined the tank had either been vandalized or tampered with prior to the leak.

CL&W took action to address the contamination along the Lackawanna River and remediate contamination at the storage tank location. The final reports submitted to the department to demonstrate the completion of the environmental cleanup were approved on May 28, 2015. The release is a violation of both the Clean Streams Law and Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act. The civil penalty will be distributed between DEP’s Clean Water Fund and the Storage Tank Fund for programs responsible for release prevention and environmental cleanup. Nearly $9,000 of the money is being recouped by DEP for emergency response costs related to the spill incident.

A big rig crash and a hazmat spill shut down I-45 North in Montgomery County, TX

Big rig crash, hazmat spill shut down I-45 North
KHOU.com Staff , KHOU 1:24 PM. EST June 15, 2016




(Photo: Stephanie Smith-Collins/ Facebook)



MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TEXAS - A big rig crash and a hazmat spill shut down I-45 North in Montgomery County on Wednesday.

The crash was reported before 11 a.m. Wednesday near FM-1488.

All northbound mainlanes approaching the Conroe area were blocked before noontime. Southbound lanes were also slow due to rubbernecking.

At least two vehicles were in the wreck, Houston TranStar reports. There was no early word on injuries involved.

As of 1:25 p.m. only two northbound lanes were getting by the wreck with delays still reported in the area.

I-45 crash (Photo: Stephanie Smith-Collins/ Facebook)

A firefighter was critically injured in a rough water training accident off Diamond Head in Honolulu

Honolulu firefighter critically injured in training accident Tuesday, June 14th 2016, 5:55 pm EDTWednesday, June 15th 2016, 3:40 pm EDT
By HNN Staff


By Chelsea Davis, Reporter















(image: Facebook/Cliff Rigsbee)

(Image: Hawaii News Now)

(Image: Hawaii News Now)

(Image: Hawaii News Now)

(Image: Hawaii News Now) HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

A firefighter was critically injured Tuesday in a rough water training accident off Diamond Head. A second firefighter was taken to the hospital for evaluation, and was subsequently released. The two were apparently training on Jet Skis in rough surf and police sources say they were knocked down by a large wave. Cliff Rigsbee, 63, was knocked off his feet and became unconscious, officials confirm.

Friends of Rigsbee are shocked that the veteran fireman and accomplished athlete ran into trouble at the surf break known as "Suicides." They say Rigsbee is a nationally-ranked triathlete who is now a triathlon coach and a firefighter engineer.

A HFD spokesman said the accident happened about 10:45 a.m.

"We have great concern for both of those involved," said Fire Capt. David Jenkins. "There is an inherent danger in firefighting. Although, we do take all appropriate, necessary precautions to keep ourselves safe."

The two were from the Waikiki fire station.

"On behalf of the members of the Honolulu Fire Department, our thoughts and prayers are with the injured firefighter," said Honolulu Fire Chief Manuel Neves, in a news release.

Witnesses said they spotted the firefighters struggling in the waves, but weren't sure what happened.

"One of the other surfers started paddling over cause the guy had his face down the water. He was looking kind of limp," said witness Drew Farwell.

"All of a sudden you see the helicopter coming around and all the fire trucks coming in so it looked heavy. Everyone in the line up right now kinda spooked," he said.

"I saw a jet ski floating around and I saw a couple people in the water and the guy waved to me so I just started paddling over there...he was kind of in pain like shouting," said Matt Batchelder.

Neves said in a news conference Wednesday that Rigsbee was on the sled as an attendant. That's when the operator looked back and noticed Rigsbee was unconscious in the water.

As of Wednesday morning, Rigsbee remained in critical condition, Neves added.

The Honolulu Fire Department is continuing to investigate and will provide more information as soon as it becomes available. This story will be updated

One person is dead and the driver of a tractor-trailer has been arrested following an eight-vehicle crash in Westmoreland County, PA

Salem Township man dead after 8-vehicle accident on Route 22
Driver charged with homicide by vehicle, says brakes failed
UPDATED 3:05 PM EDT Jun 15, 2016





SALEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. —One person is dead and the driver of a tractor-trailer has been arrested following an eight-vehicle crash that kept Route 22 closed for hours Tuesday in Westmoreland County.


The medical examiner identified the victim as Albert Tomasino, 67, of Salem Township. An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday.

The accident happened near The Lamplighter restaurant, not far from where the highway connects with Route 66.


State police interviewed the truck driver while they investigated at the scene. Troopers later charged the driver, identified as 26-year-old Cruz Humberto Guzman-Nieves, with homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, failure to stop at a red light, careless driving and driving at a safe speed.



Guzman-Nieves, of Illinois, was arraigned via video from the Westmoreland County Prison, where he remained in lieu of posting $500,000 bail.

Police said Guzman-Nieves told them he tried to brake the tractor-trailer but that the truck, which was hauling Coca-Cola products, was too heavy. He told police the truck didn't have an engine brake. Guzman-Nieves said he saw the traffic light at Mark Drive and Route 22 turn yellow, so he tried to slow down.

"Accused related that when it turned red, he tried to gear down the truck and did not want to brake because the brakes were already hot," troopers wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. "Accused said that he checked the brakes about 50 minutes prior and stopped for approximately 35 minutes because they were smoking."

Three people were taken to hospitals. Tomasino was among them and was pronounced dead at UPMC Presbyterian around 2:30 p.m. The two other patients suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to fire officials at the scene.


Guzman-Nieves' truck hit seven other vehicles. Traffic remained closed on Route 22 for hours.

"I just kind of saw a truck coming across the median, pushing several cars. It hit the front of my car, spun around and hit this white car," witness Matthew Shollar said. "The truck went across the median and plowed into those several cars over there."

Tomasino was described by neighbors as a kind man who cared for his wife, who was living with an illness that required constant care.

"He was a very loving, kind, hard-working fellow with a good sense of humor," Hilda Aspden said. "The neighborhood is extremely close so they'll take care of Karen (Tomasino). She is a very sweet lady and our hearts are with her."

A Hess Corp storage facility in North Dakota leaked about 32,000 gallons of produced water

Hess storage facility in North Dakota leaks 32,000 gallons




June 15, 2015


A Hess Corp storage facility in North Dakota leaked about 32,000 gallons of produced water on Tuesday, although the liquid has been recovered on site, state regulators said.

A transfer pump failed at a tank battery in Mountrail County in the state's northwest corner, causing storage tanks to overflow, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources said on Wednesday.

A state inspector has been sent to the scene to monitor remediation, the department said.

Hess said it was working with state officials. The facility services legacy wells in North Dakota, not those in the state's prolific Bakken shale formation.

"All liquids have been recovered and contained on site," Hess spokesman John Roper said.

OSHA attributes worker fatality, injury at Kroger distribution center to a failure to inspect, recognize visible hazards

June 15, 2016

OSHA attributes worker fatality, injury at Kroger distribution center
to a failure to inspect, recognize visible hazards
Reich Installation Services issued willful and serious citations

FOREST PARK, Ga. - A 27-year-old laborer's life ended suddenly because his employer failed to have a competent person inspect the rail supporting a scaffold system nearly 80 feet off the ground for visible defects, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

On Dec. 8, 2015, Leonardo De Jesus and a co-worker were on a "swing-stage" suspended scaffold installing a high-bay pallet storage system for a new Kroger distribution center in Forest Park. The men were half way up the scaffold system attempting to realign sections of the rail to move the scaffold. Suddenly, the rollers supporting the scaffold came off the rail causing the scaffold to fall approximately 40 feet to the ground. While both workers were wearing fall protection, De Jesus's fall protection came off the rail and he fell nearly four stories. His co-worker was left suspended by his fall protection and was recovered with minor injuries.

OSHA issued Reich Installation Services Inc. two willful and two serious safety citations on June 13, after the agency investigated De Jesus's death and a worker's injury.

"Reich Installation's disregard for the scaffold's installation specifications and the lack of an inspection, after encountering problems, caused this preventable death," said Keith Hass, OSHA's acting director of the Atlanta-West Office. "Reich management was advised by a third-party of proper scaffold methods and should not have put these workers at risk."

One willful citation relates to the fatality for not having a competent person inspect for visible defects in the support system such as rail sections not being connected and gaps between the joints that caused the rollers to come off and the scaffold to fall. The second willful was issued for exceeding the scaffold's maximum intended load.

The serious violations involve the employerâ¿¿s failure to ensure employees operating a swing-stage scaffold were trained by a competent person to recognize hazards such as design criteria and maximum load capacity and not ensuring the anchor points used for fall protection were capable of supporting 5,000 pounds.

Proposed penalties total $121,800. View citations here:
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/ReichInstallationServices_1114358.pdf

OSHA is considering placement of Reich Installation Services in its Severe Violators Enforcement Program. The program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer's facilities if it has reasonable grounds to believe there are similar violations.

Based in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Reich Installation employs approximately 100 workers and specializes in custom design and installation of warehouse distribution systems. The company 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 Atlanta-West Area Office at 678-903-7301.

OSHA reminds Texas employers to protect workers from heat illness

June 15, 2016

OSHA reminds Texas employers to protect workers from heat illness
Agency offers free Heat Safety Tool app to provide real-time safety tips

DALLAS - With sweltering temperatures baking Texas this week, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminds employers to protect their workers from heat illness.

As part of its Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers, OSHA offers a free Heat Safety Tool - a downloadable app that calculates a worksite's heat index and displays a risk level to outdoor workers. With a simple click, users can get reminders about protective measures that should be taken at that risk level to protect workers from heat-related illness. The tool is available in English and Spanish.

Water, Rest and Shade: three simple words can mean the difference between life and death when temperatures soar. Remember, protecting workers from rising temperatures is about more than their comfort.

To prevent heat related illness and fatalities: 

• Drink water every 15 minutes, even if you are not thirsty.
• Rest in the shade to cool down.
• Wear a hat and light-colored clothing.
• Learn the signs of heat illness and what to do in an emergency.
• Keep an eye on fellow workers.
• "Easy does it" on your first days of work in the heat. You need to get used to it.

For more information about OSHA's Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers, visit www.osha.gov/heat

Very hot drinks probably increase the risk of cancer

Very hot drinks 'probably' cause cancer: UN agency 

Mariette Le Roux,AFP 54 minutes ago




Paris (AFP) - Very hot drinks probably increase the risk of cancer, a UN agency said Wednesday, but coffee -- once feared to be a carcinogen -- is safe if enjoyed at "normal" temperatures.

Tea and mate, a popular South American herbal infusion, may also be harmful if drunk hotter than 65 degrees Celsius (150 degrees Fahrenheit), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported.

"It doesn't matter what the liquid is," said epidemiologist Dana Loomis, who took part in a review of the world's most popular hot beverages. "What matters is the temperature."

With more than 1.1 billion cups of coffee consumed around the world every day, the industry welcomed the beverage's removal from the list of "possibly cancerogenic" substances.

"Today we can brew or buy a cup with even more confidence thanks to science," said Bill Murray, president of the US-based National Coffee Association.

The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, which closely tracks research in this field, said coffee is typically consumed below 60 C.

"IARC's assessment on very hot beverages is therefore not associated with normal coffee consumption," secretary general Roel Vaessen said in a statement.

The IARC amassed all the available scientific literature -- more than 1,000 studies -- on cancer and coffee or mate, also popular in the Middle East.

- Good news for coffee -

Both drinks had been classified as "possibly cancerogenic to humans" since 1991, when the last evaluation was done.

But evidence gathered since then could not link either drink -- at "normal serving temperature" -- to an elevated cancer risk, said the IARC, an agency of the UN's World Health Organization (WHO).

For some types of cancer, there are clues that coffee may even be beneficial.

A few studies, the agency said, showed a positive association with a lower risk of cancer of the uterus, liver and breast.

Taken together, the available data suggested "there is inadequate evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of coffee drinking," it concluded.

As for mate -- typically drunk piping hot -- the IARC found that high temperature, not the drink itself, was probably behind an observed link with cancer of the gullet -- the pipe that transports food and fluids from the throat to the stomach.

Mate is often sipped through a metal straw that delivers the infusion directly to the throat.

"The single study that examined cold mate drinking showed no association with oesophageal cancer," the agency said.

This prompted the reviewers to look at research into cancer and hot beverages other than mate.


- Some like it (very) hot -

In places such as China, Iran, Turkey and South America, tea or mate is traditionally drunk at about 70 C, as are milky teas in parts of Africa and central Asia. Many of these regions have elevated gullet cancer rates.

The data pointed to "significantly increased relative risks for drinking very hot tea and very hot beverages," the agency found.

And in lab studies, water at 65-70 C boosted oesophageal tumours in mice and rats.

The analysis concluded that "very hot" beverages were "probably cancerogenic to humans".

Partly due to a lack of research, the IARC could not make any finding for drinking very hot water.

"It is too speculative at this point," Loomis told journalists prior to the report's release.

The research had taken account of lifestyle factors that could have skewed the data, such as participants' alcohol or tobacco use -- high risk factors for oesophageal cancer.

The analysis does not measure the degree of risk associated with drinking very hot tea or coffee.

According to the WHO, cancer of the food pipe accounts for about 400,000 deaths out of eight million total cancer deaths every year.

Outside experts pointed out that most people in Europe and the United States contracted a different type of oesophageal cancer to those in Asia and South America.

"Besides, most people in the UK drink tea with milk, which lowers the temperature of the drink to a safe level," Tim Underwood, a professor in surgery at the University of Southampton, said via the Science Media Centre.

For Colin Berry, a pathologist from the Queen Mary University of London, the report said nothing about how many hot drinks would have to be consumed to raise cancer risk.

"Without knowing what exposure and for what time, the information does not give you any useful information about which group might be at risk of what..." he said.

Male driver killed in head-on collision with construction truck in Germantwon, WI

Germantown, WI: Man dies in head-on collision near Willow Creek Road & Appleton Avenue
Posted 5:57 pm, June 14, 2016, by FOX6 News, Updated at 09:29pm, June 14, 2016



GERMANTOWN, WI — A 28-year-old man has died following a crash near the intersection of Willow Creek Road and Appleton Avenue (Hwy 175).

The crash occurred Tuesday afternoon, June 14th.

According to Germantown police, the crash was a head-on collision between a four-door sedan traveling northbound on Appleton Avenue, and a large construction truck driving southbound on Appleton Avenue.

Authorities say the sedan crossed the center line for an unknown reason.

The 28-year-old driver of the sedan was pronounced dead at the scene.

  

The name of the victim involved in this crash will be released pending family notification.

There is no indication alcohol or drugs were a factor.

No other details have been released at this time.