By NBC 7 Staff
A construction worker died on Wednesday morning after a column panel fell on him at a construction site in East Village, fire officials said.
The accident happened just before 9 a.m. at the construction site at 460 16th St. The man, whose name and age have not been released, died at the scene, San Diego fire officials said.
The accident happened, a Department of Industrial Relations spokeswoman said, when another employee was about to pour concrete into a form and the form fell over, toppling over on the other worker.
The state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death.A residential-retail high-rise is under construction at the site, according to city records.
Firefighter hurt in million-dollar Garden Grove blaze
Posted by Debbie L. Sklar on September 27, 2016 
A three-alarm fire at a vehicle repair and maintenance business in Garden Grove did more than $1 million in damage, prompted a hazardous materials response for leaking fuel and sent a firefighter to a hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion. Photo via OnScene.TV.
A three-alarm fire at a vehicle repair and maintenance business in Garden Grove did more than $1 million in damage, prompted a hazardous materials response for leaking fuel and sent a firefighter to a hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion.
The blaze was reported Monday afternoon at Pacific R.V. Body & Paint, which does maintenance and repair work on motor homes, recreational vehicles and the like, according to Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department.
About 50 firefighters were dispatched to the business at 13731 Harbor Blvd., near Westminster Avenue, including an Orange County Fire Authority hazmat team summoned because of leaking gasoline from a ruptured tank, Nguyen said.
Arriving firefighters, who dealt with temperatures over 100 degrees, encountered two burning motor homes and the heat from the fire caused the flames to spread to two additional motor homes, according to Nguyen.
“Firefighters made an attack on the fire to prevent its extension into additional vehicles and structures,” Nguyen said.
There were no explosions, however, and the fire was knocked down in just over an hour, Nguyen said. The cause was under investigation.
A hazmat crew from the Orange County Health Care Agency also responded to the scene to help coordinate the clean-up, he said. Crews from the Anaheim and Orange fire departments also lent assistance.
An update on the stricken firefighter’s condition was not immediately available.
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Fire causes $1 million in damage at Garden Grove business
Sept. 26, 2016
Updated 9:05 p.m.
Garden Grove firefighters extinguish a blaze that engulfed multiple RVs at a business around 2 p.m. in Garden Grove on Monday. The fire was reported at Pacific RV Paint, Inc. on Harbor Boulevard, where firefighters found three fully engulfed vehicles, said Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department. (Photo by Brentt Sporn)
By ALMA FAUSTO / STAFF WRITER
GARDEN GROVE - It took 50 firefighters and more than one hour to extinguish a blaze that engulfed a number of RVs at a business in Garden Grove on Monday afternoon, authorities said.
The fire caused more than $1 million worth of damage, said Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department. One firefighter was taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion, he added.
Around 2 p.m., a fire was reported at Pacific RV Paint, Inc. on Harbor Boulevard, where firefighters found three fully engulfed vehicles, said Nguyen.
It was unclear what started the blaze, but it spread from the vehicles into a nearby building, prompting more resources to be summoned to the scene.
A HazMat crew went to the scene after gasoline and propane tanks ruptured, adding fuel to the fire.
“One of the biggest challenges right now is the temperatures and wearing safety gear,” Nguyen said of Monday’s high temperatures.
Health officials were also called out to evaluate the safety of the scene.
The fire was extinguished shortly after 3 p.m. Southbound Harbor Boulevard was shut down between Trask and Westminster avenues for a while while crews evaluated the safety of the HazMat situation. It has since been reopened.
Investigators were still working to determine what sparked the fire.
Judge keeps corrosion claims against Eastman in water crisis case
Ken Ward Jr. , Staff Writer
September 26, 2016
AP file photo
The West Virginia American Water Co. intake facility on the Elk River in Charleston as seen on Jan. 10, 2014, the day after the Freedom Industries chemical spill. A federal judge ruled Monday that hundreds of thousands of those affected by the spill cannot pursue claims against West Virginia American Water’s parent company, one of several rulings expected before a trial next month.
In one of a series of rulings expected to define the scope of a class-action trial scheduled to start in late October, a federal judge on Monday declined to throw out allegations that partly blame the January 2014 Elk River chemical spill on Eastman Chemical, the maker of Crude MCHM that spilled from the Freedom Industries facility just upstream from the region’s drinking water intake.
U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. issued another ruling, though, that residents, businesses and workers suing over the spill and the water crisis that followed cannot pursue claims against American Water Workers Company Inc., the parent of West Virginia American Water Co., whose customers’ drinking water supply was contaminated in the incident.
The rulings were among the first in a long list of decisions expected from Copenhaver this week in response to dozens of pre-trial motions filed in the case. Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 25.
In the case, lawyers for hundreds of thousands of residents, businesses and wage earners in the Kanawha Valley allege that West Virginia American did not adequately respond to the Jan. 9, 2014, spill of Crude MCHM and other chemicals from the Freedom Industries facility along the Elk River, just 1.5 miles upstream from West Virginia American’s regional drinking water intake. The suit also alleges that Eastman, which manufactured the chemical MCHM and sold it to Freedom, did not properly test the chemical or warn buyers or the public about any potential health impacts or possible safety concerns related to the type of storage tanks Freedom used.
Last year, Copenhaver approved the case being pursued as a class-action over the liability, or fault, of the water company and Eastman. The judge did not certify a damages class, meaning damages would have to be determined later, on some case-by-case basis.
In the ruling concerning American Water Works, Copenhaver concluded that the plaintiffs had not shown that the parent company’s “limited involvement in the affairs” of West Virginia American “generated a duty” to the subsidiary’s customers of that “American carried out a specific act such that it was itself liable for tortious conduct.”
“Nor do plaintiffs show that American should be liable because it committed a tort in concert with [West Virginia] American, or directly and specifically ‘forced’ [West Virginia] American to commit a tort,” the judge wrote.
Lawyers for the class suing in the case had argued that American Water Works had played a role in designing and under-financing the Kanawha Valley water treatment and distribution facility, including a decision decades ago to not maintain a second drinking water intake, located upstream from the Freedom industrial site, that could have provided a backup water supply following the 2014 spill.
Regarding Eastman Chemical, the plaintiffs allege that did not properly instruct Freedom Industries officials about the proper storage of Crude MCHM, a move that led to the chemical being stored in a carbon steel tank that the chemical corroded, causing the spill.
Eastman attorneys wanted those allegations thrown out, arguing that the plaintiffs’ expert testimony on the issue was not scientifically sound and therefore not admissible in court. In response, the plaintiffs had argued that an Eastman expert’s testimony was likewise not admissible.
Copenhaver ruled that the testimony from both experts was “sufficiently reliable and relevant as to be admissible,” and rejected Eastman’s motion to rule in the company’s motion for summary judgment on the Crude MCHM issues.
Fire Dept responds to chemical spill at local plant
Several workers taken to the hospital
By Elisa Raffa | eraffa@kcautv.com
Updated 09/26 2016 06:45PM
SIOUX CITY, Iowa
Several people were taken to the hospital with burns after a sulfuric acid spill at a Sioux City plant on Monday.
Firefighters responded to the chemical spill around noon. It happened at the Feed Energy facility in the 800 block of Cunningham Drive.
Feed energy makes animal feed products and uses acid in its production process. Sulfuric acid is a colorless and odorless liquid that is highly toxic. In addition to burning skin upon contact, the chemical can also cause permanent blindness if it gets into the eyes.
While fire crews said several workers at the plant were taken to the hospital, there was no immediate word on the extent of their injuries.
The company did not return our calls for comment on the incident.
Coast Guard, partner agencies prepare for pollution removal of capsized vessel near Bethel Island
Sep 28th, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, Army Corps of Engineers, and other partner agencies are preparing Tuesday to remove a capsized vessel near Bethel Island.
The operations for the Spirit of Sacramento are scheduled to begin Wednesday afternoon with an approximate duration of 24 hours. The salvage operation would involve rotating the vessel via a crane mounted atop a barge and raising the vessel for dewatering.
Once the Spirit of Sacramento has been dewatered, it is scheduled to be towed an Army Corps of Engineers facility in Sausalito where oil and fuel are scheduled to be removed.
Before operations begin, approximately 3,000 feet of oil containment boom is to be placed in the water surrounding the vessel so that in the event of oil or fuel entering the water during operations, it could be contained and retrieved by crews standing by with skimming equipment. Boom will also be placed in predetermined areas to protect wildlife and sensitive areas.
The waterway surrounding the Spirit of Sacramento is scheduled to be closed beginning Wednesday morning and end once operations have concluded. For more information on the public notice establishing the waterway closure, click here.
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Coast Guard and partner agencies continue stabilization, planning for capsized vessel near Bethel Island
Sep 9th, 2016 · Comments Off on Coast Guard and partner agencies continue stabilization, planning for capsized vessel near Bethel Island
Coast Guard members, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response officers and Global Diving and Salvage, Inc. personnel evaluate the Spirit of Sacramento’s condition and conduct a shoreline assessment Sept. 8, 2016, near Bethel Island, Calif. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam Stanton.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, and other partner agencies continued planning and preparations Thursday for stabilizing and the eventual removal of fuel from the capsized Spirit of Sacramento near Bethel Island.
A survey of the area was conducted to identify environmentally sensitive areas and locate staging areas that will be needed for removal operations and for any pollution response efforts in the event oil is released from the vessel during removal operations.
The Coast Guard Captain of the Port for the area issued an order Thursday to the owner of the vessel, Samuel Rowles, requiring him to develop a pollution removal plan by noon Friday. If that plan is approved, the owner will be permitted to conduct the pollution removal operation.
If Rowles does not have an approved plan, the Coast Guard and partner agencies will proceed with a two-phase plan already developed in coordination with Global Diving and Salvage, Inc., to first prepare the vessel for a safe recovery to the surface, then to conduct pollution removal operations. The Federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a pollution response fund composed primarily of a per-barrel tax on the oil industry, will provide funding for the immediate response, and future efforts will be made to recoup costs of the response from the owner.
Thursday’s environmental assessment was conducted by the Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response to develop environmental protection plans for the fuel removal phase of the response. Teams conducted surveys of the surrounding water and shoreline to identify any sensitive sites in the vicinity of the Spirit of Sacramento that would require protection from a pollution threat.
Thes survey teams observed no pollution concerns, but environmental protection strategies have been developed for any sensitive sites and will be implemented in the event of a spill during the fuel removal phase. The oil containment boom remains around the vessel.
The Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team will also be integrated into planning operations Friday. The Strike Team is a resource available to assist the on-scene coordinator during actual or potential pollution incidents, and will provide safety expertise throughout the response to the Spirit of Sacramento.
The Coast Guard remains in close coordination with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office and other state and local partners to coordinate the response.
Throughout the first phase of this operation, we appreciate the continued cooperation and assistance of local boaters and residents, as planning and oversight operations are ongoing.
The Coast Guard issued a boating public notice, which requires that mariners remain at least 75 feet away from the vessel. For more information on the public notice, click here.
September 28, 2016
Photo: mediaphotos/iStockphoto
Washington, DC – Labor regulations issued during the Obama administration’s final year create a “significant burden” on industries and workers, and will lead to about $80 billion in compliance costs over the next decade, according to a recent report from the National Association of Manufacturers.
NAM examined “seven notable regulations and alterations of labor law” from the Department of Labor (including OSHA), the Equal Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. OSHA regulations included the new silica standards and a recordkeeping rule requiring certain establishments to electronically submit injury and illness data annually.
The association concluded that DOL has been “one of the most aggressive regulators in the federal government” since 2009. The department completed almost twice as many major labor regulations each year compared to the previous four administrations, which averaged 1.6 major rules from the department per year. DOL has completed three major rules per year during the first seven years under the Obama administration and will likely finish six in 2016.
Additional claims:
- Organizations will spend more than 410 million hours on paperwork.
- More than 155,000 jobs will be lost.
- Compliance with the silica standards will cost industry $550 million to $1.4 billion.
- The reporting regulation will cost $1.1 billion, nearly 80 times higher than what was first estimated.
“It has been troubling to watch regulation after regulation with major economic costs come from this administration,” NAM Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Relations Aric Newhouse said in a press release. “These regulations are making it harder for manufacturers to continue to create jobs and economic opportunity. … This study demonstrates the true impact of regulations that are duplicative, complicated and burdensome.”
Medical Examiner: Exit button broken in freezer death
Associated Press , WXIA 1:25 PM. EDT September 28, 2016
ATLANTA, GA (AP) - A medical examiner says an exit button inside a downtown Atlanta hotel where a worker was found dead failed to work during an inspection, trapping two people who had to beat on the door to alert someone to let them out.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office has amended its autopsy for 61-year-old Carolyn Mangham to include the new details about the freezer exit button at the Westin Peachtree Plaza.
ORIGINAL REPORT | Police investigating woman's body found in freezer
A spokeswoman for the hotel's parent firm, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said they've cooperated fully with investigators.
The autopsy report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press lists the cause of Mangham's death as "undetermined."
Investigators believe Mangham, who also went by Carolyn Robinson, spent about 13 hours inside the freezer before she was found in March.
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Female hotel worker dies in downtown hotel freezer
Woman's body found in downtown Atlanta hotel freezer
Duffie Dixon and 11Alive , WXIA 5:59 PM. EDT March 22, 2016
ATLANTA -- A woman's body was found in a walk-in freezer at a downtown hotel.
Atlanta police are on the scene at The Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel located at 210 Peachtree St. NW investigating the incident.
Police say the woman was a kitchen worker. Her family members called when she did not come home last night.
No foul play is expected and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been called out to investigate why she died in the freezer.
Hotel cameras reportedly show the woman entering the freezer around 8 p.m. From the position of her body when she was found, APD said it appears she was trying to get out.
There is a mechanism inside the freezer to allow someone to get out but police cannot say if it was operational. OSHA will inspect this.
Stay with 11Alive for updates as this story develops.
OSHA cites Honey Cell Inc. Midwest, a Middletown cardboard manufacturer, after machine causes temporary worker to suffer severe arm injury at Ohio plant
Employer name: Honey Cell Inc. Midwest
6480 Hamilton-Lebanon Road
Middletown, Ohio
Citations issued: Sept. 16, 2016
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Columbus Area Office has cited Honey Cell Inc. Midwest for one repeated and three serious safety violations after a 34-year-old worker suffered a severe compression injury to her right arm on Aug. 8, 2016.
OSHA’s investigation found the temporary worker had her hand and arm caught between an idler roll and the belt on a compression deck as she removed cardboard scrap with a utility knife.
In its investigation, the agency found:
- Energy control procedures were not followed.
- Employees were not trained on energy sources and methods for energy isolation and control
- Workers were not kept clear of rotating parts during removal of cardboard scrap.
- Improperly stored oxygen compressed gas cylinders
OSHA cited Honey Cell, a cardboard packaging materials company, for similar violations of energy-control procedures in 2013.
Quote: “Honey Cell could have prevented this serious injury by training workers in energy-control procedures and ensuring workers followed the procedures,” said Ken Montgomery, OSHA’s area director in Cincinnati. “The company needs to make permanent changes to its safety program and ensure hazards are identified quickly and unsafe working conditions are promptly corrected.”
Proposed Penalties: $96,741
View Citations here.
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 Cincinnati Area Office at (513) 841-4132.
OSHA News Brief:
09/28/2016
September 28, 2016
OSHA, Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association alliance aims to
reduce employee exposure to hazards associated with animal handling
Participants: U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association
OSHA Area Director Ann Grevenkamp (left) and Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association Executive Director Kim Brown Pokorny meet to sign an alliance to promote worker safety.
Background: OSHA and the WVMA established an alliance to provide the association's members with information, guidance and access to training resources to protect workers' safety and health.
The alliance will emphasize reducing injury and illness on the job and will focus training on common hazards faced by veterinary clinic workers, including exposure to pharmaceuticals, anesthetic gases, sterilization agents, x-ray radiation and animal behavior. Training will also cover hazards related to ergonomic stressors associated with the lifting and handling of animals.
OSHA and WVMA will work together to promote awareness of the agency's rulemakings, enforcement initiatives and safety campaigns, including an understanding of workers' rights and employer responsibilities. The partners will also speak, exhibit and appear at OSHA or WVMA conferences, forums and roundtable meetings on hazards veterinary clinic workers face on the job.
Quote: "OSHA's alliance with WVMA allows us to work together with veterinary industry employers, workers and leaders to promote awareness and provide training to improve worker safety in Wisconsin clinics and field operations," said Ann Grevenkamp, OSHA's area director for its Madison office. "The people who care for our pets and other animals face many unique hazards including work-related musculoskeletal disorders, which are among the most frequently reported causes of lost or restricted work time. Working together, we can develop methods to reduce such injuries."
Additional Background: Through its Alliance Program, OSHA works with groups committed to worker safety and health to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. These groups include unions, consulates, trade or professional organizations, businesses, faith- and community-based organizations, and educational institutions. OSHA and the groups work together to develop compliance assistance tools and resources, share information with workers and employers, and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities.
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September 28, 2016
R. Stresau Laboratory Inc., a Wisconsin military explosives manufacturer, faces nearly $143K in OSHA penalties for exposing workers to lead and other hazards
OSHA finds workers exposed to lead levels two-and-a-half times the permissible limit
SPOONER, Wis. - When a Wisconsin explosive component manufacturer started a new production line at its Spooner facility, the company failed to comply with federal safety standards to protect its employees from the dangers of exposure to lead used in the production process, federal investigators say.
A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found R. Stresau Laboratory Inc. failed to implement a combination of engineering, work practice and respiratory protection controls. By doing so, the employer exposed about 40 employees to lead. Personal and wipe sampling conducted by OSHA found four employees were overexposed - two above the action level and two over the permissible exposure limit. Stresau produces components used by the defense industry to build missiles and warheads. The company currently has a contract with the U.S. Navy.
On Sept. 23, 2016, OSHA proposed $143,576 in penalties after citing one willful violation, eight serious violations and one other-than-serious violation.
"OSHA found that employees were breathing in significant amounts of lead and had elevated blood lead levels. Elevated levels can cause debilitating and permanent health issues," said Mark Hysell, OSHA's area director in Eau Claire. "R. Stresau ignored federal regulations when it failed to conduct air monitoring for lead and allowed the use of respiratory protection to be voluntary when it should have been required as a health precaution."
In addition to overexposing at least four workers, the agency's April 2016 investigation found the laboratory failed to conduct monitoring to assess employee exposure to lead, failed to implement an adequate lead compliance program and respiratory protection program and failed to provide training on the hazards and symptoms of lead exposure. Overexposure to lead can lead to brain damage, as well as kidney disease, gastrointestinal issues and anemia.
The agency also found that R. Stresau Laboratory failed to:
- Follow respiratory protection requirements, including fit-testing employees, identifying and evaluating respiratory hazards;
- Conduct preventative maintenance checks on ventilation systems;
- Require the use of personal protective equipment;
- Provide changing rooms and showers for employees exposed to lead hazards to prevent cross-contamination and lead dust leaving the facility.
View current citations here.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report 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 Eau Claire office at 715-832-9019.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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U.S. Department of Labor | Sept. 27, 2016
OSHA fines roofer Big Valle Roofing, and home service contractor JD Vigil Home Services Inc. more than $61K for ignoring fall risk to workers at Colorado Springs work site
Employers' names: JD Vigil Home Services Inc.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Big Valle Roofing
Fountain Springs, Colorado
Citations issued: Sept. 27, 2016
Investigation findings: Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed work crews at a residential roofing project in Colorado Springs without secure ladders or fall protection, and opened an inspection on Aug. 31, 2016. As a result, OSHA issued three citations in total to JD Vigil Home Services Inc. and Big Valle Roofing. for their failures to protect workers from fall hazards.
Big Valle, a roofing and siding contractor, received willful and repeat citations. The company received citations for the same violations at another site back in May 2016. Home service contractor JD Vigil received one serious citation for not conducting safety inspections at job sites as part of a required safety program.
Proposed Penalties: $61,731
Quote: "Failing to provide fall protection can have fatal consequences. Falls are a leading cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry," said David Nelson, OSHA's area director in Englewood. "We are determined to hold negligent employers accountable when they put their workers needlessly at-risk."
View citations at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/JDBigValle_1174435.pdf
Information: JD Vigil Home Services and Big Valle Roofing have 15 business days from receipt of citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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 Englewood Area Office at 303-843-4500.
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