A worker suffered chemical burns to the hands and face from a sodium hydroxide spill at Midwest Terminals of Toledo International at the Port of Toledo

TOLEDO, OHIO

A worker suffered chemical burns to the hands and face from a sodium hydroxide spill at the Port of Toledo on Wednesday afternoon, the Toledo Fire Department reported.

Pvt. Sterling Rahe, the fire department’s spokesman, said the unidentified worker was handling a chemical transfer at Midwest Terminals of Toledo International, 3518 St. Lawrence Dr., when he was splashed with the liquid, also known as caustic soda and most familiar as the active ingredient in drain cleaner.

The worker was wearing protective equipment but still was exposed to some of the chemical. A co-worker immediately provided assistance and began decontamination procedures that were under way when firefighters arrived, Mr. Rahe said.

After additional aid at the scene, the worker was sent to Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center for treatment of injuries that were “serious but not life-threatening,” the spokesman said.

Mr. Rahe said as much as 300 to 400 gallons spilled before the flow was shut off, although Todd Audet, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s vice president of operations, said that amount seemed high to him.

The spill occurred in a contained area while the chemical was being transferred from a railroad tank car to a truck, Mr. Audet said, and citric acid was used to neutralize it. He described the worker’s hospitalization as precautionary.

OSHA has cited Douglas N. Higgins Inc., a South Florida utility contractor, for exposing employees to cave-in and other hazards at a Naples worksite. The company faces $18,659 in proposed penalties.

U.S. Department of Labor


June 20, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Cites South Florida Utility Contractor
for Exposing Employees to Trenching Hazards

NAPLES, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Douglas N. Higgins Inc., a South Florida utility contractor, for exposing employees to cave-in and other hazards at a Naples worksite. The company faces $18,659 in proposed penalties.

OSHA inspected the worksite as part of the Agency’s National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation. OSHA inspectors cited Higgins for allowing employees to work in a trench without cave-in protection, and for failing to maintain a safety and health program on excavation hazards. OSHA cited the contractor for violations in January 2017 when three employees succumbed to toxic gases while working in a manhole, and again in May 2018 after a steel plate fell on and fatally injured an employee.

“Despite being recently cited for violations that contributed to four worker fatalities, this employer continues to disregard well-known safety and health requirements,” said Condell Eastmond, OSHA Fort Lauderdale Area Office Director. “Employers involved in excavation work must follow safety procedures to ensure that workers are properly protected from a trench collapse and other trench hazards.”

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed 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.

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.

 

 Douglas N. Higgins Inc

Our primary services include installation of intricate mechanical systems, from pump stations to storm water systems and heavy site work. These include:

Click On the Listing to Expand

• Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction, Expansion, Renovation & Rehabilitation
• Gravity Sewer & Forcemain Installation
• Potable & Reclaimed Water Distribution Systems
• Stormwater Collection System Installation and Improvement
• Pump Stations - Construction & Renovation
• Water Wells and Booster Stations
• Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR) Wells
• Tight Sheeting
• Concrete Work - Precast & Cast-in-Place Structures

We also specialize in Construction Project Management and Oversight, General Site Work and 24/7 Emergency Repairs.

CORRUPTION TIP- PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICER RONALD A. LUCAS DEFRAUDED THE NEW JERSEY'S POLICE AND FIREMEN FUND BY CLAIMING ON THE JOB DISABILITY

Ronald Lucas is #41

CORRUPTION TIP- PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICER RONALD A. LUCAS DEFRAUDED THE NEW JERSEY'S POLICE AND FIREMEN FUND BY CLAIMING ON THE JOB DISABILITY

PASSAIC COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICER RONALD A. LUCAS LIED WHEN HE CLAIMED THAT HE INJURED HIS LEFT SHOULDER ON THE JOB DURING A FALL ON JUNE 28, 2011



As part of an investigation we have been performing, we discovered that Ronald A. Lucas, a former Passaic County sheriff officer with the Civil Division lied about his on-the-job shoulder injury. Lucas claimed that he fell on the job on June 28, 2011 at 687 Indian Road, Wayne, NJ and that he injured his left shoulder requiring several pins. He then filed a disability claim with the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits (Police and Firemen Retirement System). He was granted disability for one year with subsequent review. After he retired with claimed disability, he obtained a job as part-time security guard at the Pequannock High School.



We discovered that Mr. Lucas suffered shoulder injuries while playing football and lifting heavy weights over his lifetime. He was a linebacker with the Pompton Lakes Cardinals (he played at position #41), using his shoulder to hit and tackle his opponents during practice and during football games. He also lifted very heavy weights to do body building. Lucas has fallen on his shoulder probably thousand times during his athletic and training career.



Everybody knows that linebackers hit and tackle their opponents using their shoulders. These athletes also lift heavy weights and they end-up injuring their shoulders. He (Lucas) even made the All-County Team in 1980, showing how hard he was working out. Based on our investigation, we found that weight lifting athletes do suffer shoulder injuries of the type claimed by Lucas.



He also trained his two sons (Dean Lucas and Ronnie Lucas) into playing TE and DE positions also with the Cardinals football team. In fact, linebackers suffer at least 13.5 percent of all football injuries and at least 65 percent of the linebackers end up undergoing surgery.

We have obtained photos showing Mr. Lucas lifting weights, after his alleged job-ending disability. See for example the attached image that is dated December 2013.

Further evidence of the fraud committed by Ronald A. Lucas:

·         Lt. Nick Mango who was with Lucas and D'Agostino that day, wrote in his June 28, 2011 report that “nobody was hurt”.  Also, Lucas never wrote in his June 28, 2018 report that he was injured.  He specifically wrote :  “As I entered the woods I stumbled”.  He never wrote that he was injured.  However, during this grand jury testimony, he provided a diametrically different picture:

·         Lucas claimed that he fell on his elbow and shoulder, but was able to regain his balance, and he ran into a wooded area to seek cover behind a large boulder. (GJT11-18 to 21; Da7, Motion to Change Venue).  Lucas claimed that he tore his biceps and had surgery on his shoulder, and “ended up having a pretty severe injury” in his shoulder, requiring “five pins.” (GJT12-7 to 9; Da8, Motion to Change Venue).  Of course we now know that this guy was a football player and body builder and suffered these injuries over his many years of lifting heavy weights and hitting his opponents with his shoulder (he was a linebacker with the Pompton Lakes Cardinals at #41).  This guy then defrauded the Police and Firemen Retirement Fund by claiming disability and retired.  He then started the double dipping.

It is obvious to a reasonable and objective person that Lucas (in his mid-50s) took this incident on June 28, 2011 to claim on-the job-injury to be able to repair his previously injured shoulder at taxpayers’ expense and to retire and then blame Basilis Stephanatos for his injuries. After he retired, he started the double dipping. The finest of New Jersey at "work".

Bridge construction worker, Nathaniel Deaton, 40, driving a lift has been killed after it was struck by an 18-wheeler hauling cows on Interstate 77 in South Carolina

40-year-old Nathaniel Deaton of Martinsburg, Indiana, died at the scene

I-77 Road Worker Killed When Lift Struck by 18-Wheeler
Authorities say an Indiana construction worker driving a lift has been killed after it was struck by an 18-wheeler on Interstate 77 in South Carolina.

June 20, 2018


BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. (AP) —

Authorities say an Indiana construction worker driving a lift has been killed after it was struck by an 18-wheeler on Interstate 77 in South Carolina.


Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. David Jones said the lift was in the roadway as part of a project on a bridge at exit 27 near Blythewood when it was hit around 5 a.m. Wednesday.


Jones says a special team of troopers is investigating and hasn't determined if the construction zone was properly marked or if any charges will be issued for the tractor-trailer's driver. The truck was hauling cows.


The crashed closed the southbound lanes of I-77 about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Columbia for several hours. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts says 40-year-old Nathaniel Deaton of Martinsburg, Indiana, died at the scene.

==========================



Published: Jun 20th, 2018

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say an Indiana construction worker driving a lift has been killed after it was struck by an 18-wheeler on Interstate 77 in South Carolina.

Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. David Jones said the lift was in the roadway as part of a project on a bridge at exit 27 near Blythewood when it was hit around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Jones says a special team of troopers is investigating and hasn't determined if the construction zone was properly marked or if any charges will be issued for the tractor-trailer's driver. The truck was hauling cows.


The crashed closed the southbound lanes of I-77 about 20 miles north of Columbia for several hours.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts says 40-year-old Nathaniel Deaton of Martinsburg, Indiana, died at the scene.
===========================

A two-year project to widen 7 miles of Interstate 77 north in Columbia started on Monday.

The construction will take place between the I-20 and Percival Road interchanges and go all the way to Blythewood Road. According to the South Carolina Department of Transportation, the goals of the construction project are to improve safety, rebuild and resurface the aging interstate and its bridges and reduce traffic congestion.

The widening includes the two-lane stretch of I-77 between the S.C. 277 exit and the Interstate 20 interchange in Columbia.

The project includes expanding about a dozen bridges and resurfacing a crumbling 5-mile stretch of the freeway north of the widening.

The SC DOT said construction on the $88 million project is scheduled to last through July 2018.

The DOT also says both that lanes of I-77 should stay open during the day to minimize delays. The majority of work in this area will be done at night. Drivers traveling through the construction zone are asked to be aware of equipment and crews working close to traffic at all times.

The long-planned work is being done with state money, not money from Richland County’s transportation penny sales tax revenue.

Blake Harless, 21, was killed in South Brazos County, Texas and two others injured after the speeding ATV failed to negotiate a curve and rolled over, crushing him to death

June 19, 2018

BRAZOS COUNTY, Tex. (KBTX)- Emergency crews responded Tuesday afternoon to the scene of a fatal ATV accident in south Brazos County.
 
It happened around 3:30 p.m. in a wooded area along Millican Creek Trail near FM 2154 between College Station and Millican.

On Wednesday morning, the Brazos County Sheriff's Office identified the man who died as 21-year-old Donald Harless.

Harless was driving the ATV at the time of the accident, according to investigators. Two others on the vehicle were also injured in the crash.

“It looks like they were trying to navigate through a turn and it (the ATV) overturned,” said Nathan Dennis, a spokesperson for the Brazos County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators believe the rate of speed at which they were traveling made the turn difficult to maneuver, forcing the vehicle to roll over and land on top of the victim.

We're told the Harless may not have been wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. 

So many young lives are lost by ATV crashes like this one.  They drink and speed and drive and they do not understand that their life will be taken away unless they obey the rules of operation of these vehicles.  Too late for this young fellow.

==================


Milano community mourns loss of 21-year-old involved in fatal ATV accident


By Amber Treybig |

June 20, 2018


MILANO, Tex. (KBTX)-



On Wednesday, the Milano community came together to support the friends and family of Blake Harless. The 21-year-old was killed in an ATV accident in South Brazos County on Tuesday.
 
The vigil was held at Milano High School's cafeteria where classmates, family and friends of Harless wore maroon ribbons, held candles and shared their favorite memories of Blake.

"He was so loyal to all of his friends and you know having graduated two years ago there's a lot of people that we don't see anymore but I still saw Blake and he still kept up with me and that's just one thing I will never forget was how loyal he was to his friends and how much he loved us," said Cole Sheppard, a classmate of Harless.

The room was filled with pictures along with Blake's high school football and basketball jerseys. Friends like Christian Trimes said Harless was always helping out his classmates and was known for his contagious laugh and smile.

"He always was giving or helping, I mean as small as the school is, some of us are from out of town but this was our meeting place, and during times like this we always have each other's backs," said Trimes.

"You could always make a joke with him, he never had any enemies, he was friends with everybody, like I said he was a great guy," said Sheppard.

Robert Westbrook, Milano ISD's Superintendent, said he has known Blake since he was a freshman.

"I saw Blake at all the different activities and sporting events that were going on as well as everyday operations at the school, we are a small district so every time I would come by and walk the halls of course I would see Blake, and he was a fine young man and will be missed," said Westbrook.

Westbrook said this was the second student the community has lost within this year.

"It's sad to lose anybody, but particularly when you lose somebody so young and our community always rallies around those in need and that is what is going on right now, we love one another," said Westbrook.

After people shared their favorite memories of Blake and prayed together, Blake's Mother, Jennifer Mueck, thanked everyone for coming out and helping keep their spirits up during the tough times.

The family is asking for help with the funeral expenses.

If you would like to donate, donations can be made at any Citizenship National Bank location. They ask to make any checks out to the Barn Church in Milano and in the memo line write Blake Harless funeral.

A Mountain Valley Pipeline construction worker was injured after his ATV rolled over along the MVP construction right-of-way in Montgomery County, Virginia

Mountain Valley Pipeline worker injured in ATV accident

By: Stacey Spivey

June 20, 2018

 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, VA - 

A Mountain Valley Pipeline construction worker has been taken to the hospital after an utility vehicle accident Wednesday morning.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said they were called by pipeline worker around 10:55 a.m. on Wednesday about an ATV accident on Flatwoods Road and Bacchus Lane.

Deputies said an ATV had rolled over and injured one person.

A spokesperson for MVP and WQT tells WFXR News that worker was taken to the hospital for a non-life threatening injury.


The accident happened along the MVP construction right-of-way near Catawba Road.

Construction activity at that site was stopped for a short time to allow for a safety review and investigation, but work has resumed.