Central Transport agrees to pay $165,400 in penalties and to improve forklift safety at over 100 terminals in 26 states.

December 7, 2016

Central Transport agrees to enhanced safety measures
at over 100 freight terminals in US Labor Department settlement
Company-wide forklift hazards to be corrected, safety protocols improved

BOSTON - For several years, inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration identified a disturbing pattern of use of defective and unsafe forklifts.  Their use exposed employees to hazards that could cause crushing or struck-by injuries at multiple locations, including Central Transport's Billerica terminal.

The department filed a complaint with the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission in 2015, seeking an order to require Central Transport to remove damaged, defective and unsafe forklifts and other powered industrial trucks from service at all the company's locations. Now, the department has secured a settlement agreement which commits the company to improving forklift safety at over 100 terminals in 26 states.

"These widespread, recurring hazards required a comprehensive solution," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "This settlement includes detailed steps and a timetable for Central Transport to systematically review, assess and improve safety for its employees at all its locations that come under OSHA's jurisdiction. Other employers with hazards at multiple worksites should take heed of this settlement and recognize the value of implementing comprehensive and effective corrective action to protect the workers, life and limb."

"We stated when we filed the complaint that safety cannot be addressed in a piecemeal fashion when employees are exposed to hazards at multiple company worksites. With this settlement, Central Transport has committed to taking proactive, ongoing and effective action to identify and eliminate these hazards and improve safety for its workers across the country," said Michael Felsen, the department's regional solicitor of labor in Boston.

The agreement requires Central Transport to hire an independent third party monitor to evaluate, update and improve the company's existing procedures for preventive maintenance repairs, operator inspections and safe operation of powered industrial trucks.

Central Transport must also:

• Assign a corporate internal monitor to facilitate effective implementation of the settlement agreement, conduct random, unannounced visits of at least 20 terminals and work with the third party monitor to prepare and submit reports for each terminal assessed, seek employee feedback and monitor progress.
• Work with the third party monitor to assess and monitor compliance with the agreement and seek feedback from employees. This will include unannounced monitoring visits of at least 10 terminals by the third party monitor, including two terminals assessed by the internal monitor.
• Submit written compliance reports to OSHA and allow OSHA to conduct monitoring inspections to measure compliance.
• Remove any damaged, defective and unsafe powered industrial trucks from service.
• Pay a total of $165,400 in penalties.

The settlement covers Central Transport terminals in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. OSHA will notify those states that have assumed authority for enforcing OSHA standards in which Central Transport has terminals and encourage them to honor or agree to the terms of this settlement.

Based in Warren, Michigan, Central Transport operates almost 200 customer service centers nationwide. OSHA's Andover Area Office inspected the Billerica terminal. Scott M. Miller of the department's Regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston litigated the case for OSHA.

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).

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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A refrigerator and other electrical appliances are a potential source of the fire at a warehouse in Oakland that killed 36 people

Emergency crew stage at the site of a warehouse fire Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (AP)

By PAUL ELIAS and JANIE HAR
Updated 1 hr 23 mins ago
OAKLAND, California -- Investigators honed in on a refrigerator and other electrical appliances as possible causes of the fire at a warehouse in Oakland that killed 36 people, as crews were set to finish their search for bodies.

The death toll in the most lethal building fire in the U.S. in more than a decade was not expected to go higher.

A refrigerator was a potential source of the fire, but it was too soon to say for sure, said Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Photos: Victims in the Oakland warehouse fire








The full list of victims of the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, Calif. are listed here, and will be updated as more victim names are released. (KGO-TV)

Snyder said investigators were looking at "anything electrical" on the first floor of the warehouse near the origin of the blaze.

"We have no indication that this was intentionally set," she said.

Tearful family members visited the scene Tuesday and exchanged hugs hours after the founder of the arts collective that used the warehouse stood near the gutted building and said he was "incredibly sorry."

Derick Ion Almena said he was at the site to put his face and his body in front of the scene, but he deflected blame for the blaze, saying he signed a lease for the building that "was to city standards supposedly."

"Everything that I did was to make this a stronger and more beautiful community and to bring people together," Almena told the "Today Show" on NBC.

The fire broke out during a dance party Friday night in the cluttered warehouse. It had been converted to artists' studios and illegal living spaces, and former denizens said it was a death trap of piled wood, furniture, snaking electrical cords and only two exits.

Almena did not respond to emails or calls to phone numbers associated with him by The Associated Press. He told San Jose television station KNTV that he didn't attend the event Friday night and that he and his wife had decided to stay at a hotel because he was exhausted.

City and state officials fielded years of complaints about dangerous conditions, drugs, neglected children, trash, thefts and squabbles at the warehouse, raising questions about why it wasn't shut down. The district attorney warned of possible murder charges as she determines whether there were any crimes linked to the blaze.

A building inspector who went to an Oakland warehouse on Nov. 17 after receiving a complaint of illegal interior construction left after being unable to get inside.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said late Tuesday the inspector followed procedure and later sent a request to the owner to gain entry. She did not reveal the outcome of that request.

Under the Oakland city code, building officials and fire marshals need court permission to enter commercial lodgings if the owner or manager refuses access.

Building inspectors typically cannot force entry to a property unless there are pressing circumstances, Schaaf said.

Crews had searched 90 percent of the building known as the "Ghost Ship" for bodies as of Tuesday and were expecting to complete the rest of the search by midnight. Fire officials started knocking down parts of the building that they said were structurally unsound.

Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson said that of the 36 victims found, 35 have been identified and 20 of their families have been notified. Officials are still lacking any type of identity for one person.

Stories of the victims' last minutes, meanwhile, emerged.

Alameda County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said that some of the victims texted relatives, "I'm going to die," and "I love you."

Rescue crews found bodies of people "protecting each other, holding each other," Kelly said.

Just before Obama leaves office, EPA Funds Projects to Support Water Conservation and Prevent Chemical Pollution from New Jersey Businesses During Flooding

Just before Obama leaves office, EPA Funds Projects to Support Water Conservation and Prevent Chemical Pollution from New Jersey Businesses During Flooding
EPA Provides $399,358 in Grants to Rowan University, the College of New Jersey And the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
12/05/2016
Contact Information:
John Martin (martin.johnj@epa.gov)
212-637-3662

(New York, N.Y. – December 5, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $399,358 to organizations in New Jersey to fund projects that will help businesses reduce chemical pollution and conserve water. These grants, which were awarded to Rowan University, the College of New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, are part of the approximately $5 million in grants the EPA awards each year to prevent pollution across the nation.

"New Jersey is facing its worst drought conditions in years, while many low-lying areas of the state remain under threat of flooding,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “These pollution prevention grants will help businesses conserve water and reduce the use of toxic chemicals, protecting people’s health throughout the state.”

The EPA awarded the Sustainability Institute at the College of New Jersey $197,023 to provide technical assistance to businesses located in flood-prone areas of the state. The technical assistance will focus on strategies to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals and ensure the safety of chemical storage and use by businesses in areas at risk of flooding. The College of New Jersey will also develop a best management practices manual, and will provide training to businesses and local governments at three locations throughout the state. Results of this training and outreach effort will be disseminated statewide through the College of New Jersey’s Sustainable Jersey certification program.

With the help of a $104,000 EPA grant, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will train high school students in Cape May County in water conservation techniques. The students will then provide technical assistance to thirty businesses in the cities of Wildwood and Ocean City on water conservation practices and products, focusing on businesses that cater to the county’s large influx of summer tourists each year, such as restaurants and hotels. Increased water demand in Cape May County has significantly reduced its aquifers, causing its aquifers and residential wells to be threatened by saltwater intrusion.

Rowan University will use a $98,335 EPA grant to provide pollution prevention technical assistance to a Nestlé Corporation facility in Freehold, New Jersey. Rowan University will implement green engineering strategies at this facility to reduce water use, energy consumption, and waste generation, thereby lowering operating costs for the manufacture of coffee. Using this facility as a case study, Rowan will then hold a seminar on pollution prevention practices for personnel at other Nestlé facilities and in other areas of the food manufacturing sector. Rowan will also share this case study and best management practices at professional conferences and in trade publications.

For more information on the EPA's pollution prevention program, visit http://www2.epa.gov/p2.

NRG Dickerson Plant Found to be Source of Potomac River Oil Sheen; less than 150 gallons of oil leaked

NRG Dickerson Plant Found to be Source of Potomac River Oil Sheen
Company Agrees to Join Unified Command Working to Remedy the Situation, Protect Public Health
12/05/2016
Contact Information:
Terri A. White (white.terri-a@epa.gov)
215-814-5523

PHILADELPHIA, (December 5, 2016) – The Unified Command, led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has identified the NRG Dickerson Power Plant in Maryland as the source of the sheen that showed up on the Potomac River more than a week ago. U.S. Coast Guard laboratory analysis on Dec. 5 of sheen samples taken from the River identified the product as lubricating oil matching samples taken at the Dickerson plant and at Whites Ferry. NRG officials have been notified and agreed to join the Unified Command as the responsible party. All Unified Command parties are working to remedy the problem and ensure protection of public health. The discharge, which has largely dissipated, was less than 150 gallons.

On Nov. 27, NRG notified and began working with EPA and other Unified Command agencies to identify the source. By Dec. 2, the sheen had diminished considerably, with nominal sheen sighted in two locations – south of Whites Ferry and near NRG’s Dickerson power plant. On Dec. 4, shoreline assessments completed by foot and then by boat from Whites Ferry up to the Dickerson Plant revealed degraded sheen in these same areas. There is no evidence of new sheen. Rather, it appears that degraded sheen from the original discharge which is lodged in small discreet spots south of the plant, releases due to changing weather and shoreline conditions.

Inspections at all locations where boom is in place to protect drinking water intakes confirmed that the boom continues to divert the degraded sheen away from intake locations. Inspection and maintenance of boom will continue, as will sampling at water intakes by the water utilities. EPA continues to support requests for analyses performed by the agency’s mobile lab on-site at the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant.

Based on information provided to EPA during daily conference calls with the water utilities, none of the intakes actively used by water utilities have revealed spill-related constituents. Treated water is also being sampled by water utilities to determine if spill-related constituents are present.

The Unified Command consists of EPA, the U.S. Coast Guard, Maryland Department of Environment, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Department of Health, Washington D.C. Department of Energy and the Environment, and NRG.

cited NN Metal Stampings Inc. for nine serious and two other-than-serious safety violations after workers exposed to machine, electrical hazards

December 6, 2016

OSHA finds workers exposed to machine, electrical hazards

Employer Name:

NN Metal Stampings Inc.

510 Maple St.

Pioneer, Ohio

Citations issued: Dec. 2, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited NN Metal Stampings Inc. for nine serious and two other-than-serious safety violations. OSHA initiated an investigation after receiving a complaint of unsafe working conditions at the Pioneer company that stamps metal parts for the automotive and appliance industry.
The agency's August 2016 inspection found the company:

• Exposed workers to operating parts of machinery because parts were not locked out during service and maintenance and employees were not properly trained on machine safety procedures.
• Failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment for workers performing electrical work.
• Violated electrical safe work practices.
• Did not develop safety procedures for die setting, mechanical power presses and other machinery.
• Failed to inspect fork trucks prior to each use and re-evaluate operators at least every three years.

Quote: "Each year hundreds of workers are injured because employers fail to implement machine safety procedures and train workers to safely perform their jobs," said Joe Margetiak, acting area director of OSHA's Toledo office. "NN Metal Stampings needs to immediately review their safety and health management system and training procedures to protect workers on the job." 

Proposed Penalties: $77,322

View Citations here.

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 Toledo Area Office at (419) 259-7542.

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