Posted: Sep 20, 2016 10:22 AM EST Updated: Sep 20, 2016 10:35 AM EST
By Marcus Green
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The companies building an eastern Ohio River bridge have challenged the penalties issued last month in connection with a February crane collapse.
Walsh Construction Co. and Vinci Construction are facing $21,379 in fines from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which alleges managers knew a wind gauge was broken when a crane buckled in high winds earlier this year. No one was injured.
The workplace safety agency issued citations to Walsh and Vinci for not using a wind speed indicator and failing to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for operating the crane. OSHA found that the crane’s indicator had been broken for months.
Dan Hartlage, a spokesman for the companies, said a statement on Aug. 19 that wind gauges “were on site and in use as required by OSHA.” He has declined to specifically say whether the crane that collapsed had a working gauge, as alleged by OSHA.
Walsh and Vinci contested the proposed penalties on Sept. 6, according to OSHA’s online database. The case remains open.
The violations are “serious,” meaning a “workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.”
Wind speeds of up to 50 miles per hour were reported when the crane collapsed on Feb. 19. The crane folded back on itself when a “gust of wind” hit its boom, causing one worker on a construction barge to jump into the river before swimming ashore, according to the federal investigation.
A flag waves in the wind on top of a grain storage bin, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, near Dedham, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
By Associated Press; Nick Viviani |
Posted: Tue 11:27 AM, Sep 20, 2016
ELLSWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Federal workplace safety officials are investigating a Kansas grain bin accident in which a worker's leg got caught in a running auger and was later amputated.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday that the 28-year-old Ellsworth Co-op worker had his left leg surgically removed Monday after the accident.
OSHA says in a statement that the unidentified worker stepped into an open auger well inside a steel grain bin while the auger was operational.
As OSHA's regional chief in Wichita, Judy Freeman says workers should never enter such bins when an auger is running.
The co-op's general manager and president, Larry Sheridan, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that OSHA investigators haven't been to that site since the accident and that he had no comment.
====
OSHA has opened an investigation at the grain handling facility.
“Workers should never enter grain bins while augers are operating,” said ”
OSHA says it has identified six major hazards in the grain-handling industry including engulfment, falls, auger entanglement, struck-by, combustible dust explosions and electrocution hazards.
-----
A man is in the hospital after getting his leg stuck in an auger.
The Ellsworth County Sheriff says it happened at the Ellsworth County Co-op just before 10:30 a.m. on Monday.
A medical helicopter was called in to transport the man to the hospital.
Eyewitness News reached out to several agencies but were not been able to confirm the man's condition.
Queensbury wood-shaving plant cited by OSHA catches fire
By Emily Masters
Updated 1:25 pm, Tuesday, September 20, 2016
QUEENSBURY— A wood-shavings plant caught fire Tuesday morning, two months after federal workplace safety officials cited the company for failing to correct "potential fire and explosion hazards."
Fire crews from four towns responded to reports of a structure fire about 7:15 a.m. at RWS Manufacturing, 22 Ferguson Lane. The blaze extended from an outside conveyor that moved wood shavings to an inside storage facility, Kingsbury Fire Chief Butch Chase said. "Something may have malfunctioned," he said.
Investigators do not consider the fire suspicious and no one was injured, Chase said. The fire was extinguished by 8 a.m.
"It's the nature of their business," Chase said.
RWS — which makes animal bedding from wood shavings for Quebec-based Royal Wood Shavings — said in July it would shut down if it is not successful in appealing $197,820 in fines from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA claims the plant is exposing its employees to "potential fire and explosion hazards."
The equipment cited by OSHA was not involved in the blaze, Chase said. A county fire inspection of the plant last month did not identify any problems, he said.
"They are on good order with us," Chase said. He said he has toured the facility in the past and responded to three other fires on the property in the past six years.
The wood shavings produced there smoke and smolder a lot, Chase said, "but seldom burst into flames." The building itself was aflame Tuesday, he said.
RWS was operating when the fire started. Staff had safely evacuated the building and started to suppress the fire with hose lines when firefighters arrived, Chase said. The buildings' sprinkler system stayed on as the fire crews extinguished the blaze.
"They have an extensive clean-up," Chase said. RWS will undergo a town code inspection and fire chief walkthrough before opening again, he said.
In July, OSHA cited RWS for half a dozen violations totaling about $50,000 and levied an additional $147,000 in penalties after the company failed to fix previously identified violations.
The Queensbury plant, which operates in the Warren-Washington County Industrial Park, was cited for 28 violations in 2013 and fined more than $233,000 for workplace safety violations related to fire, fall and explosion risk. Two of those violations were deemed as "willful," meaning the company ignored federal safety rules.
"RWS Manufacturing has disregarded its employees' safety in failing to correct an obvious fire and explosion hazard and in allowing the existence of new and recurring hazards," said Robert Garvey, OSHA's area director in Albany in a July press release. "Especially disturbing is the fact that, since OSHA's last inspection, a significant fire occurred in the plant's production area in December 2015."
=====
KINGSBURY, NY — Firefighters from five departments were called Tuesday morning to RWS Manufacturing for a fire that burned for nearly an hour inside the Ferguson Lane factory.
No injuries were reported in the blaze, which was called in at about 7:15 a.m. A dozen or so workers who evacuated stood on the road in front of the business, watching as firefighters put out the blaze.
The company converts wood into animal bedding, and wood shavings and dust in the factory have caught fire at least six times over the past six years, leading to an enforcement action earlier this year by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
The fire was reported knocked down at about 8 a.m., but firefighters had to remove burned material and ventilate the building. At one point, they cut a hole in a metal wall on the east side of the building.
Kingsbury Fire Chief Butch Chase said an area around a conveyor belt caught fire, but it was unclear how.
“The sprinkler system kept it in check until we got here,” Chase said.
Humid weather was also credited for helping keep the fire from spreading quickly. The area was socked in with fog early Tuesday.
Plant manager Don Student said Tuesday afternoon that an electrical problem in a junction box appeared to have caused the fire. He said cleanup of wet material was being performed Tuesday and it was hoped that manufacturing would restart Wednesday.
Chase said the cause of the fire was under investigation by Washington County fire investigators, but it was not deemed suspicious and seemed to follow a pattern of other fires there, in which sparks from equipment ignite dust or materials.
“It’s the nature of the business. You can only go so far,” he said.
Chase said the town code enforcement office inspected the plant in recent months and found no problems.
“Everything at that time was good,” he said.
Firefighters from Kingsbury, Hudson Falls, Bay Ridge, South Queensbury and Queensbury Central responded to the scene.
As firefighters battled the blaze, a house fire was reported on Elm Street in Hudson Falls, and Fort Edward firefighters quickly knocked it down, finding that a couch had caught fire. Hudson Falls Police arrived to find 21 Elm St. full of smoke, and the resident had gotten out on his own.
OSHA cited RWS in July for “failing to remedy workplace conditions that could lead to fires or explosions.” That action came after the last fire there, which occurred Dec. 22.
“RWS Manufacturing has disregarded its employees’ safety in failing to correct an obvious fire and explosion hazard and in allowing the existence of new and recurring hazards,” said Robert Garvey, OSHA’s area director in Albany, in a July 13 statement announcing the OSHA citations.
The citations, which carry potential fines of up to $197,820, came out of a Jan. 13 follow-up inspection at the plant, which at that point had at least five fires requiring emergency response since 2010. OSHA also cited the company in 2013.
Student said the company was negotiating a potential settlement with OSHA.
“We expect that to wash out positively for us,” he said.
The plant is owned by Royal Wood Shavings, based in Quebec, Canada.
2 dead in Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee small plane crash at Lee's Summit Municipal Airport in Missouri
Victims' names not yet released
UPDATED 8:02 PM CDT Sep 20, 2016
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Two people have died in a small plane crash at the Lee's Summit Municipal Airport.
The plane crashed about 6:10 p.m. while apparently trying to land at the airport in the 2700 block of Northeast Douglas Street.
Investigators said crews found the plane at rest on the tarmac, but aerial video from Newschopper 9 appears to show an impact on the edge of the grass.
Sgt. Chris Depue of the Lee's Summit Police Department said there was no indication that the plane made any mayday calls or reported any other kinds of trouble.
"Right now, we're working along with the FAA, as well as our criminal investigation division, just to conduct a thorough investigation just to gather those facts, so we have a full understanding of what happened," Depue said.
The names of the two people who died and where the flight originated have not been released.
Records suggest the plane is a Piper PA-28-235 registered to a company in Des Moines, Iowa.
Crash investigators will be heading to the scene to determine what happened.
===============
Both occupants of a single-engine plane died when the plane crashed Tuesday at Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport, according to police.
The crash was reported shortly after 6 p.m. at the airport, located in the 2700 block of Northeast Douglas Street in northern Lee’s Summit.
When emergency crews arrived, they found the single-engine Piper 28 airplane wrecked on the tarmac on the west side of the airport, according to Sgt. Chris Depue of the Lee’s Summit Police Department. They found the two occupants of the plane dead. No other injuries were reported.
Lee’s Summit police are working with investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration to learn from where the flight originated and what may have caused the crash.
The plane was registered to Teko Air LLC in Des Moines, Iowa. Calls to a number listed for Teko Air were not answered immediately Tuesday night.
The Lee’s Summit airport is a non-towered airport. The airport remains open for operation as the runways were not affected, police aid.
===============
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article103060777.html#storylink=cpy
Date:
20-SEP-2016
Time: -18:30
Type: 
Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee
Owner/operator:
Registration: N8983W
C/n / msn:
Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Substantial
Location: Lee's Summit Municipal Airport (KLXT), Lee's Summit, MO - 
United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature: Unknown
Departure airport:
Destination airport: Lee's Summit Muni (KLXT)
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted airport terrain during an apparent landing attempt at Lee's Summit Municipal Airport (KLXT), Lee's Summit, Missouri. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the two occupants onboard received fatal injuries.
Sources:
http://m.kmbc.com/news/plane-crash-reported-at-lees-summit-municipal-airport/41754196
http://www.kshb.com/news/region-missouri/lees-summit/two-people-dead-after-plane-crash-at-lees-summit-municipal-airport
M. Fuda Contracting fined $60,000 following worker's trench death in 2014 in Barrie in Ontario, Canada
By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner
Tuesday, September 20, 2016 6:21:34 EDT PM
A local contractor pleaded guilty to a workplace accident that took a man’s life in 2014.
M. Fuda Contracting pleaded guilty to Ministry of Labour Occupational Health and Safety Act charges and was fined $60,000 relating to the death of a Woodville man who died in a trench on Feb. 4, 2014.
The incident occurred when workers were dismantling trench boxes from a 20-foot deep excavation site at Bayview Drive and Churchill Drive in Barrie’s south end.
Two workers were removing pins connecting two trench boxes that were stacked on top of each other. One worker stood on a ladder to reach the pin, but when the last pin was removed, the upper trench box shifted and the worker on the ladder fell.
Fuda Contracting management was not available for comment on Tuesday.
Steven Mitchell, 53, suffered head injuries and was initially taken to the Huronia Urgent Care Clinic but was soon sent to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. He was later transported to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto where he died of his injuries.
Ministry investigators determined the upper trench box was not stabilized during the removal of the pins, and that the workers had not received any training on how to safely removed trench boxes from an excavation site.
Justice of the Peace Susan Hilton fined M. Fuda Contracting $60,000 in the provincial offences court on Tuesday. An additional 25% victim fine surcharges was levied against the Barrie contracting company as well.
Sept. 20, 2016
OSHA again finds Dollar General jeopardizing worker, customer safety
Pattern of blocked exits continues in Ohio store; more than 100 violations since 2010
BOLIVAR, Ohio - One of the nation's largest discount retailers continues to ignore federal workplace safety inspectors who have found repeated instances where the company endangers workers and customers alike by blocking exit routes with stacked merchandise.
Once again, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found exits blocked with merchandise at a store operated by Dollar General Corporation. In the latest instance, agency investigators found this and other hazards existed after an Aug. 4, 2016, inspection of the company's store in Bolivar in central Ohio.
As a result, OSHA issued three repeated safety citations to Dollar General on Sept. 8, 2016, and assessed $156,772 in proposed fines to the Bolivar store. In addition to the recurring issue with blocked exits, inspectors found fire extinguisher locations not marked and rapid access to them blocked. They also found electrical panels blocked.
Since 2010, OSHA has recorded more than 100 safety and health violations at Dollar General stores nationwide, and assessed more than $1 million in proposed fines.
"In an emergency, no one should have to struggle to get out of a store safely, grab a fire extinguisher or shut down the power quickly, but these dangerous hazards are exactly what our inspectors found at the Dollar General store in Bolivar," said Larry Johnson, OSHA's area director in Columbus. "Finding these conditions in one company location is bad enough, but Dollar General's willingness to ignore its immediate responsibility to protect employees and shoppers in all of its stores is cause for real concern."
Headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, the company operates more than 12,500 stores in 43 states and employs about 100,000 workers. In fiscal 2015, the retailer recorded sales of $20.4 billion.
View current citations here.
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 proposed penalties 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 Columbus Area Office at Columbus at 614-469-5582.
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.
# # #
September 19, 2016
Extreme August flooding in Louisiana and the Midwest took its toll in August, causing between $10 billion and $15 billion in economic losses, according to Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting.
Public and private insured losses should be much less, in the low-digit single billions, Impact Forecasting’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report said.
Why would insured losses be so low? That’s because of “regionally low participation” in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP, Impact Forecasting said. Because of this trend, more than 80 percent of damaged homes in the region don’t have flood insurance, according to the report.
Heavy rains across parts of the United States Gulf Coast and Midwest caused catastrophic flood damage in several communities during the month, killing at least 13 people.
The Louisiana and Midwest floods weren’t the only major August weather event. Impact Forecasting notes the others in its report:
Italy earthquake. Asevere magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck central Italy, killing 296 people and causing catastrophic damage in the hardest-hit towns of Amatrice, Accumoli, Pescara del Tronto, Arquata del Tronto, and Posta.
Total economic damage was estimated to reach into the billions of dollars. But insured loss portion was expected to be a fraction of the overall cost, due to low insurance market penetration.
India Flooding. In India, continued flooding brought the death toll for the season to 600 as more than 100,000 homes and other structures were destroyed. Total economic losses were estimated at $462 million.
Major Global Flooding. China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Sudan, South Sudan, and Macedonia all cited major flood events during the month.
More earthquakes. Notable earthquake events were reported in Myanmar and Peru.
Hurricane Earl. Hurricane Earl made separate landfalls in Belize and Mexico after first tracking through the Caribbean Sea, killing at least 67 people. Total economic losses were estimated at $250 million, including in Mexico ($132 million) and Belize ($110 million).
Tropical storms. Tropical cyclone impacts Typhoon Nida (Philippines, China, Vietnam), Tropical Storm Dianmu (China, Vietnam), Tropical Storm Mindulle (Japan), and Typhoon Lionrock (Japan, China, Korean Peninsula).
Wildfires in France. Wildfires burning in southern France, mainland Portugal, and on the islands of Madeira (Portugal) and La Palma (Spain) claimed at least five lives. In Portugal alone, the fires charred 115,000 hectares (284,000 acres) of land as total economic damage was listed at EUR200 million ($226 million).
California Wildfires. Major California wildfires prompted evacuations and destroyed hundreds of homes. Economic losses were forecast at above $100 million; the cost to fight the fires was more than $50 million alone.
Source: Impact Forecasting/Aon Benfield
Updated 1 hr 46 mins ago
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- City Attorney Dennis Herrera has formally subpoenaed Millennium Partners as part of his office's investigation into whether the developer complied with state law by disclosing known structural sinking issues to purchasers of more than 400 residential units in the Millennium Tower.
The exclusive residential Millennium Tower sits at the corner of Mission and Fremont streets in San Francisco. The 58-story building is sinking and titling. The foundation of the tower is supported by piles deep into dense sand but not into bedrock like many other buildings here. It turns out, some of the city's best known skyscrapers are also built the same way including the Embarcardero Center, the SF MOMA and the Marriott and 101 California.
The Millennium's Homeowners Association has launched its own investigation. ABC7 News has learned they've hired consultants, who'll begin seismic testing and sample drilling on their building September 26.
Now the residential tower is sinking 16 inches and perhaps more concerning, its tilting almost two inches.
Click here to read the subpoena.
Verdigris company’s employees evacuated after chemical spill
By DIANA DICKINSON ddickinson@claremoreprogress.com
23 hrs ago
A hydrochloric acid spill at a galvanizing plant east of the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, which caused some of the plant’s employees to be evacuated, has been contained, according to the Verdigris Fire Department.
VFD Chief Mike Shaffer said no injuries were reported after a tank breach occurred at the Valmont Coatings-Oklahoma Galvanizing plant located in the Riverview Industrial Park in Verdigris Monday afternoon.
Shaffer said some of the plant’s employees were evacuated to a nearby plant as a precautionary measure while trained Valmont employees and a private mitigation company worked to make the area safe.
The chemical was contained thanks to a system in place at the plant.
Shaffer said a truck service was performing a “pump transfer from one tank to another” when a vacuum on one of the tanks caused the tank to implode, tearing welded seams and leaking the chemical onto the floor.
The spilled substance contained only 10 percent hydrochloric acid.
“While it is not 100 percent hydrochloric acid, it is still hazardous material because of its nature,” Shaffer said. There is no current danger to the public or environment from the chemical, he added.
Shaffer said the fire department was on standby in case they are needed, but the cleanup was being managed by Valmont. The Claremore Fire Department will deploy a HazMat Team to “put their stamp of approval” on the situation once the cleanup has been completed, Shaffer said.
Rogers County Emergency Management and other agencies also responded to the spill.
High Levels of ‘Erin Brockovich’ Toxin in Many NJ Water Systems, Study Says
Jon Hurdle | September 20, 2016
Cancer-causing metal found in drinking water across N.J.
Chromium-6, a chemical compound that can cause liver damage, reproductive and developmental problems and cancer, was found in water systems in every county in New Jersey, according to a study. (Michael Mancuso)
By Justin Zaremba | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author
on September 21, 2016 at 9:14 AM, updated September 21, 2016 at 5:04 PM
Nearly 200 million Americans, including many in New Jersey, have tap water that contains a toxin that can cause cancer even from minute exposures, according to a report by an advocacy group.
Chromium-6, a chemical compound that can cause liver damage, reproductive and developmental problems and cancer, was found in water systems in every New Jersey county, Environmental Working Group said in its report.
The compound, also known as hexavalent chromium, was the pollutant that gained notoriety in the 2000 movie, "Erin Brockovich."
An interactive map compiled by Environmental Working Group based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency provides a breakdown of its findings, which show the presence of chromium-6 in water systems in all 50 states.
While chromium-6 was repeatedly found in New Jersey drinking water, the levels were significantly below the current standard used by the Garden State. The levels were also below the most stringent threshold of 10 parts per billion — the equivalent of 10 drops of water in an Olympic-sized pool — set by California.
However, Environmental Working Group said the safe drinking water standard for chromium-6 is too high.
The former dean of Seton Hall Law School has been appointed as the new site administrator for a section of land contaminated by chromium, officials announced.
The group relied on California's public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion in tap water to reach the 200-million figure, about two-thirds of the U.S. population. California's actual legal standard is 10 parts per billion, and the federal limit is 100 parts per billion of combined chromium.
The Garden State has not yet set a legal limit for chromium-6 in tap water, but it does use the federal limit of 100 parts per billion of combined chromium, which includes chromium-3, chromium-5 and chromium-6.
More than 60,000 drinking water samples were collected nationwide by utilities between 2013 and 2015, and 75 percent of them were found to have the presence of chromium-6.
As noted in the report, "New Jersey's Drinking Water Quality Institute, a state agency comprised of scientists, utility officials and citizen experts, calculated (in 2010) a health-based maximum contaminant level — what California calls a public health goal – of 0.06 parts per billion, just slightly higher than California's."
===========
Chromium 6 has been linked to several types of cancer; environmental group says it is unsafe even at low levels
Drinking water in more than 150 New Jersey water systems contained the carcinogenic chemical chromium 6 at levels that exceeded a health limit recommended by California scientists when the local systems were tested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a national analysis published on Tuesday.
The study by the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy nonprofit, concluded that 218 million Americans in all 50 states, or some two-thirds of the population, are drinking water that contains the chemical at levels that are above the proposed California health limit but below current limits adopted by both that state and the federal government.
The chemical, best known for having been exposed as a threat to public health by the environmental campaigner Erin Brockovich, a battle depicted in the movie starring Julia Roberts, was found in different concentrations around New Jersey when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tested water systems in 1,370 counties across the country from 2013 to 2015.
The EWG combined the previously published the EPA data with a health limit proposed by the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment to calculate the national population that is exposed to the chemical in drinking water at above a limit of 0.02 parts per billion (ppb) recommended by the California panel.
The recommended standard was far stricter than a 10 ppb level that is now set as a legal limit in California, the only state to regulate the chemical so far, EWG said. It argued that the much less-rigorous limit reflected commercial and political pressures that were exerted on regulators in California and other states.
“Federal regulations are stalled by a chemical industry challenge that could mean no national regulation of a chemical state scientists in California and elsewhere say causes cancer even when ingested at extraordinarily low levels,” the EWG report said.
Chromium 6, which is used in steel making, chrome plating, and, as in the Brockovich case, lowering water temperature in the cooling towers of power plants, has been linked to lung cancer, liver damage, and reproductive and developmental problems.
In New Jersey, some of the highest concentrations were found in the Ridgewood Water system in Bergen County, where the chemical was found at above the proposed California level in 56 locations with an average of 0.398 ppb, or almost 20 times the recommended California standard. In Burlington County, the average level was 0.491 ppb in the Mount Holly system operated by New Jersey American Water, according to the EPA data.
A representative of New Jersey American Water did not return a phone call seeking comment.
While many New Jersey utilities exceeded California’s recommended health limit, none topped California’s legal limit of 10 ppb, the data show.
New Jersey’s Drinking Water Quality Institute, a state panel of scientific advisers, considered recommending a chromium 6 health limit of 0.07 ppb in 2010. The proposal never reached the desk of DEP Commissioner Bob Martin because the DWQI stopped meeting at that time because of a shortage of members, according to Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the DEP.
The DWQI resumed its work in 2014 and is due to meet this week to issue its recommendation for a maximum contaminant limit on another toxic chemical, PFOA, which has also been linked to cancer and other illnesses.
New Jersey currently follows the EPA’s recommended guidance limit of 100 ppb for total chromium — a combination of chromium 6 and chromium 3 — in drinking water, Hajna said.
Dr. Keith Cooper, a Rutgers University toxicologist who chairs the DWQI, said he couldn’t comment on what the panel considered in 2010 because he was not involved with it then. But he said chromium 6 could become part of the DWQI’s work in the future.
“The current NJ DWQI in the future will likely review previously proposed levels, if nothing else to see if new information and current exposure warrants the chemical of concern to be assessed,” Cooper wrote in an email.
Bryan Goodman, director of product communications for the American Chemistry Council, said the EWG report contained no new data on chromium 6, also known as hexavalent chromium, in the water supply.
Goodman said that when the chemical is found in ground water, it is present at low levels that are well below the EPA’s national drinking water standard. He said there is limited scientific data on how human health could be affected by low naturally occurring levels of the chemical, and so the council has supported third-party research into the issue.
“This is a positive example of industry supporting independent, peer-reviewed research to inform regulatory decisions about hexavalent chromium and drinking water,” Goodman wrote in an email.
North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality recommended a limit of 0.06 ppb, but, like New Jersey, has not set a legal limit for chromium 6 in tap water, EWG said.
“In both states, scientists’ health-based recommendations were at odds with the decisions of politically appointed regulators,” the EWG paper said.
Bill Walker, who wrote the report with the EWG’s Senior Scientist David Andrews, said the group was publishing its analysis as the latest stage of a campaign in which it conducted its own tests for chromium 6 in 35 cities in 2010 and found the chemical in 25 systems at levels exceeding the California health standard.
In its new study, EWG published a list of 22 major metropolitan water systems serving at least 1 million people where the chemical exceeded the recommended California limit. None of the systems exceeded California’s legal limit.
“We want people to be aware that the EPA is dragging its feet on setting a national drinking water standard; that the chemical industry and the electrical power industry have delayed that process, and that as a result of industry influence, the EPA might eventually decide to do nothing,” Walker said.
fire safety chemicals ‘threaten’ public health, alliance warns
By Sarantis Michalopoulos | EurActiv.com
1:40
Firefighters are affected by flame retardants through their exposure to toxic fumes in the event of a fire.
[Heather Paul / Flickr]
The use of chemical flame retardants in furniture to improve fire safety can also have severe implications for public health, a number of associations have warned.
An alliance of stakeholders representing equipment makers, environmental NGOs, cancer organisations, firefighters, and labour unions have expressed concern about the safety of using flame retardants in furniture.
Flame retardants are chemicals which are used in materials, such as plastics and textiles, aiming to prevent or delay the spread of fire.
In the case of furniture products, these chemical substances can be found in foam and textiles (couches, chairs, etc.). While they contribute to fire safety standards, some of them can end up being quite harmful for public health, experts say.
Health impact
The alliance presented their views at a conference in Brussels on 8 September.
Dr. Lisette van Vliet, Senior Policy Officer at the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), a public health NGO, told EurActiv.com that chemical flame retardants were linked to fertility problems, issues in children’s development (birth weight, attention, IQ, coordination), cancers, and other effects on the immune system and metabolism.
Known examples include brominated flame retardants, often used in household textile or furniture, which are listed as of endocrine disrupting chemicals.
“And given that these flame retardants are often persistent―that is they get into our bodies―it’s important to be sure that we are eliminating these flame retardants and achieving fire safety in more effective, less polluting ways,” she said.
Referring to several scientific reports on the issue, the stakeholders pointed out that many flame retardants were responsible for persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, mutagenicity, endocrine disruption, and carcinogenicity.
“Long-term exposure occurring in homes and offices is potentially harmful,” experts said in a policy paper, adding that these substances are released through normal use and settle into dust.
“Exposure is not limited to direct contact with furniture as the chemicals are not bound to the foam,” they write.
Focus on children
Children are considered the most vulnerable target for flame retardants due to the fact that they crawl around and come in contact with dust more frequently.
Denmark’s Environment and Food Minister, Esben Lunde Larsen, recently said that he would propose an EU ban on flame retardants in products that children can come into contact with.
“Children are particularly vulnerable to chemicals, so we must fight so they are not being exposed to dangerous elements,” he warned.
But firefighters are also affected through their exposure to toxic fumes in the event of a fire.
“Firefighters have a higher risk than civilians for a variety of cancers, and we know there is a concern flame retardants contribute to increasing that risk,” Mikael Svanberg from the European Fire Fighter Unions Alliance (EFFUA) said.
According to him, fire safety could focus on other means such as smoke detectors and sprinklers.
Harmonised standards
Currently, there are several different flammability standards and test methods on an EU level, resulting in high production cost for the furniture industry. Due to different standards a furniture manufacturer might need to establish new production lines to adjust to certain European markets.
Roberta Dessi, Secretary General at the European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC), told EurActiv that except the impact on human health and environment, there was also a competition angle.
“The furniture industry wants harmonised flammability standards in Europe that can be met without using flame retardant chemicals in furniture,” she said.
Background
Some flame retardants like HBCDD have already been banned in 2011. The decision was taken under the REACH regulation on chemicals, adopted in 2006 in what has been billed as the most epic lobbying battle in the EU's history. Any company wishing to use the chemicals need to demonstrate they are controlling safety issues, or that the benefits for the economy and society outweigh the risks.
EU to ban six toxic chemicals in household plastics
The European Union will ban six toxic chemicals within three to five years, three of which are commonly used in plastic household items, the European Commission said on Thursday (17 February).
Other flame retardants are now being listed as potential endocrine disrupting chemicals, which affect the reproductive system. Rising levels of cancer along with increasing brain, thyroid and reproductive problems have led an international group of scientists to call for tougher EU regulation on some chemicals used in everyday life.
89 scientists who signed the 2013 Berlaymont Declaration said current regulations on chemical exposure ignore the possibility that many endocrine disruptors may act without thresholds, causing disruption at any concentration.
Fargo anhydrous ammonia leak handled quickly
Tuesday, September 20, 2016 4:13 a.m. CDT by Don Haney
Photo/KFGO News
FARGO (KFGO) - Fargo firefighters and police were called out around midnight after anhydrous ammonia was found leaking from a valve on a tanker truck in the parking lot at the Biltmore Hotel and Suites at I-29 and Main Avenue.
Police say the leak was small and didn't pose a big risk to anyone because it was more than 100 feet from the hotel and bar so there were no evacuations. The fire department's hazmat team was called in to handle the leak.
After speaking with Fargo Police and Fargo Fire Department officials,
the tanker truck with the anhydrous leak has been dealt with and the
truck sent to Grand Forks for a repair to a cracked valve.
Sanitation worker dies after being struck by dump truck in Ellsworth, Ohio
Investigators said the worker was crossing the street when he was struck by the truck, which then overturned in a ditch
Gerry Ricciutti
Updated: September 20, 2016, 3:54 pm
ELLSWORTH TWP., Ohio (WKBN) – A sanitation worker killed after he was struck by a semi dump truck on Tuesday morning.
The accident occurred on State Route 45, between U.S. 224 and Palmyra Road in Ellsworth. The road was closed for a few hours while investigators reconstructed the scene.
Ohio State Highway Patrol said the worker, identified as 20-year-old Trevor Dotson, was crossing the street to collect garbage as part of a two-man crew when he was struck.
Dotson was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital by an ambulance. He passed away a short time later from his injuries.
The semi truck driver, 55-year-old James Henderson, Jr., of Lisbon, was uninjured.
None of the neighbors living nearby actually saw the accident but most of them heard it.
“I heard them picking up my trash, and then all of a sudden, I heard a big commotion and then I came outside and that’s when I saw the tractor trailer in the ditch and the gentleman lying in the middle of the street,” one neighbor said.
Highway Patrol is investigating and can’t say why Dotson didn’t see the semi truck coming.
“It’s too early in the investigation to make an assumption on that. He was in the roadway when he got struck near the center line of the road — about three feet off the center line when he got struck,” said Highway Patrol Lt. Jerad Sutton.
Troopers say the driver of the rig swerved trying to miss the victim but then lost control and ended up rolling over into a ditch — spilling dirt that the truck was carrying.
Neighbors say the victim was a regular on their garbage route and was dressed in bright green safety clothing at the time.
The speed limit in the area is 55 mph, making the job of anyone working on or near the road dangerous.
“It’s important that people pay attention when they see those flashing lights on the garbage trucks and slow down for them, but ultimately, it’s the responsibility of the pedestrian to make sure it’s safe when they cross the roadway,” Sutton said.
Worker shocked by power lines in Riverside area dies
By First Coast News
updated Tue, Sep 20, 2016 @ 2:38 pm
A 50-year-old Jacksonville man has died after getting shocked by a power line while painting a building in the north Riverside area Thursday, Times-Union news partner First Coast News reports.
Police said Anthony Smith was using a cherry picker lift in the 2100 block of McCoy Creek Boulevard about 10:45 a.m. when he or the machine brushed a power line and he was shocked, according to the report.
By the time the Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived at the scene, Jacksonville firefighters were already there.
Under OSHA’s protocols, workers and equipment are supposed to stay 10 feet away from power lines. If their work necessitates them to get closer to the lines, workers are supposed to notify the local electric authority.
