Unexpected releases of these substances can cause devastating industrial disasters such as the 1991 explosion at a chemical plant in Louisiana that killed eight workers and injured 120 others. This resulted in OSHA fining the Angus Chemical Company and IMC Fertilizer Group $11.5 million, the third highest penalty in OSHA history.
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$16.6 Million in Fines Following Fatal Connecticut Natural Gas Explosion
The explosion took the lives of six workers and injured 50 others.
“The millions of dollars in fines levied pale in comparison to the value of the six lives lost and numerous other lives disrupted,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “However, the fines and penalties reflect the gravity and severity of the deadly conditions created by the companies managing the work at the site. No operation and no deadline is worth cutting common sense safety procedures. Workers should not sacrifice their lives for their livelihoods.”
On February 7, a gas blow operation was being performed in which flammable natural gas was pumped under high pressure through new fuel gas lines to remove debris. During this operation, an extremely large amount of natural gas was vented into areas where it could not easily disperse. Welding and other work was being performed nearby, creating an extremely dangerous situation. The explosion occurred when the gas contacted an ignition source.
“These employers blatantly disregarded well-known and accepted industry procedures and their own safety guidelines in conducting the gas blow operation in a manner that exposed workers to fire and explosion hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “We see this time and time again across industries when companies deliberately ignore safety precautions in the interest of completing jobs quickly, and workers end up being killed or seriously hurt.”
In connection with the explosion, OSHA has cited O&G Industries Inc., the project’s general contractor; Keystone Construction and Maintenance Inc., which was in charge of the piping and oversaw the gas blow; and Bluewater Energy Services Inc., the commissioning and startup contractor for the plant.
All three companies were cited for performing the gas blow procedure in a way that exposed workers to fire and explosion hazards, including the configuration of the vent pipes in close proximity to scaffolding and other structures, and the failure to remove non-essential personnel from the area. Citations were also issued for failing to install and use electrical equipment in accordance with its listing and labeling, allowing welding work during the gas blows and failing to train employees to recognize hazards associated with gas blows.
O&G has been issued 119 willful, 17 serious, and three other-than-serious citations with penalties totaling $8,347,000. Keystone Construction and Maintenance was issued 94 willful, 16 serious, and one other-than-serious citation with fines of $6,686,000. Bluewater Energy Services was issued 12 willful citations and eight serious citations totaling $896,000.
In addition to the three main companies cited, 14 subcontractors have been cited for additional serious hazards with penalties totaling $686,000. Cited were: Ducci Electrical Contractors Inc., the electrical insulation contractor at Kleen Energy; Instrument Science and Technology, which performed electrical testing and small bore pneumatic piping; Coverflex, which was installing insulation blankets on gas turbines; United Anco, which performed scaffold erection, inspection and dismantling; Smedley Crane, which performed crane hoisting and rigging for pipefitting work; API Construction Inc., which performed pipe insulation; North American Energy Services, which was hired by Kleen Energy to operate the power plant upon completion; Siemens Energy, which supplied gas turbines and provided limited construction support services; Team Industrial Services, which performed pipe welding heat stress services and instrument testing; Tucker Mechanical, a welding subcontractor; Securitas, which provided site security; Worley Parsons, which designed and engineered the Kleen Energy facility for O&G ; Berlin Steel, which performed post-explosion steel erection and demolition activities; and Barnhart Northeast, which provided rental cranes and operators for post-explosion activities.
OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
As a result of the deadly incident at the Kleen Energy plant, OSHA will be issuing a warning letter to natural gas power plant operators regarding the dangerous practice of cleaning fuel gas piping using natural gas, and the need to ensure that safety procedures and practices are implemented to prevent these disasters. Such practices and procedures include: the venting of gas vertically and above all structures; the elimination of all ignition sources if a flammable gas is being used; the removal of all non-essential workers from the site; and the monitoring of air quality during and after completion of the blows. The letter also advises on alternatives such as the use of nonflammable, nonexplosive media to clean the pipes.
Solis Urges Passage of Miner Safety Bill
The bill, named after the late U.S. senator known for his commitment to mine worker safety, includes critical amendments to the OSH Act that would increase OSHA’s civil and criminal penalties and enhance whistleblower protections and victims’ rights.
“There is a tremendous need for swift action on this legislation. I can think of no better way to honor the memory of Senator Robert C. Byrd and all of those workers who have died tragically on the job than to quickly pass this legislation,” Solis said.
Triclosan Exposure Levels Increasing in Humans
Levels of the chemical triclosan have increased in humans by an average of 50% since 2004, according to newly updated data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, a new study out of the University of Toledo has found that both triclosan and triclocarban can enter the food chain through of the use of contaminated wastewater or fertilizer in agricultural fields.
According to health experts at the Natural Resources Defense Council, each of these findings on its own is troubling, but together they make the case for banning the two chemicals even stronger.
Triclosan and triclocarban are found in consumer and personal care products, such as hand soap, labeled anti-bacterial or anti-microbial. But the two chemicals are suspected endocrine disruptors that can interfere with hormones needed for the brain and reproductive system to develop properly. The Food and Drug Administration has indicated that using hand soap containing these chemicals does not work any better than regular soap. NRDC sued the FDA last month to issue a final rule on the safety and effectiveness of the two chemicals that has been three decades in the making.
Updated data added last week to the CDC’s National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals found that levels of triclosan in the U.S. population have increased by an average of 50% in all age groups, both genders and all reported ethnicities. People over 20 years of age, females and Mexican-Americans are the most highly exposed.
Both triclosan and triclocarban are found in treated waste water and sewage sludge, which is specially treated and commonly applied to agricultural fields as fertilizer. A study published on-line in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found that soybean plants can absorb triclosan and triclocarban through their roots and then into the beans. Though this experiment was done in a greenhouse, it raises concerns because it suggests that humans are not only exposed through their use of certain antimicrobial products, but also potentially through eating contaminated food.
Dr. Sarah Janssen, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council said, “the widespread and unregulated use of antimicrobials such as triclosan and triclocarban must end. In just two years, human exposure to triclosan has dramatically risen and now there is evidence that our food supply could also be contaminated with these chemicals. With no proven benefit and many red flags raised for harmful health impacts, the use of these so-called antimicrobials is an unnecessary and stupid use of toxic chemicals.”
Resellers of Toxic FEMA Trailers to Gulf Cleanup Workers Could Face Criminal Charges
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La), released a letter from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) indicating that resellers of the former FEMA trailers that were contaminated with the carcinogen formaldehyde may be subject to criminal penalties for failing to disclose the health risk to purchasers and by implying that the structures were appropriate to be used for housing.
According to the FTC, while civil penalties could not be levied, the Commission could take a variety of enforcement actions including equitable monetary relief, cease and desist orders, bans and disclosure remedies. However, in light of the nature of the violation and the obligations imposed on purchasers of the FEMA trailers at the time of their sale, the FTC said “criminal action would likely yield the strongest remedy for consumers” who have been victimized by the deceptive sale practices.
“Like a zombie from a bad horror film, FEMA’s toxic trailers just keep coming back to haunt the people of the Gulf coast,” said Markey. “We need to ensure that the appropriate law enforcement agencies are thoroughly and vigilantly looking into these sales so that no one is unwittingly and needlessly exposed to the formaldehyde in these trailers again.”
“The fumes from toxic FEMA trailers cause serious respiratory illnesses, especially for children and seniors, and no one should be living in them,” said Rep. Melancon. “Federal and local law enforcement must actively investigate any reports of trailers being sold for housing, to protect Louisiana families from breathing hazardous chemicals while they sleep.”
The FTC letter was in response to an inquiry from Reps. Markey and Melancon who have also questioned the General Services Administration (GSA) on their oversight of the resale of these trailers, the response from GSA has not been received. According to several cases now being investigated by the Inspector General’s office at GSA, companies that bought the trailers directly through GSA auction may have removed warning labels or otherwise not informed buyers that the trailers are not intended to be repurposed as homes. As a result several reports have indicated that these tainted trailers are being used to house some workers cleaning up oil from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
OSHA Fines Wisconsin Grain Cooperative $721,000 after Worker is Engulfed in Frozen Soybeans
OSHA has proposed fines of $721,000 against Cooperative Plus Inc., in Burlington, Wisconsin, for violations of federal workplace safety standards. OSHA alleges that this employer, a farmer owned cooperative, exposed workers to the risk of being engulfed and suffocated in grain storage bins without proper equipment and procedures. In a near tragedy that occurred in February, a worker was trapped in soybeans up to his chest in 25 degree weather and ultimately rescued after a four hour ordeal.
“Cooperative Plus ignored long established safety standards for working safely in grain handling operations and knowingly exposed workers to possible suffocation. In this case, a worker almost died,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Disregarding well-recognized standards places workers in this industry in serious danger and will not be tolerated.”
In spite of clear OSHA standards, employers continue to put workers at risk of death by requiring them to enter grain storage bins without proper protection. The citations against Cooperative Plus are being issued one week after a separate and especially tragic incident in a grain elevator in Illinois in which two teenage workers, a 14- and a 19-year-old, were killed and a 20-year-old was hospitalized after being similarly engulfed in grain. In a third case last year, a South Dakota Wheat Growers Association worker was killed after being engulfed by grain in a wheat handling facility. In May, OSHA issued a fine of more than $1.6 million against the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association.
In response to these and other events, OSHA is sending a strong letter to all grain elevator operators warning them not to allow workers to enter grain storage facilities without proper equipment, precautions and training. “We are putting these employers on notice,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “OSHA will use the full extent of the law to ensure that any employer who violates these standards is held accountable for its lack of concern for worker safety.”
Based on its investigation of the Cooperative Plus incident, OSHA has cited that employer for 10 willful violations. Two per-instance willful violations are for failing to provide workers entering grain storage bins with body harnesses and lifelines and to provide an observer while other workers entered the grain bins. A citation has been issued for each bin entry OSHA documented in which the employer failed to observe these requirements. OSHA also has issued additional willful violations that address the company’s failing to ensure that safe procedures were implemented for entry into the bins, to prohibit workers from walking on the grain inside the bin, to provide rescue equipment for workers entering the bins, and to implement an emergency action plan.
OSHA is Modernizing Practices to Improve Worker Safety
Jordan Barab, OSHA deputy assistant secretary, told members of the Associated General Contractors of America how OSHA is modernizing its practices for the 21st century to more effectively protect worker safety and health. In his remarks at a July 14 Safety and Health Conference, Barab described OSHA’s recent efforts to address particular hazards and a high fatality rate in the construction industry. He related how the agency sent additional inspectors to Texas to confront the state’s high rate of construction worker deaths.
OSHA conducted almost 700 construction inspections throughout Texas during this initiative, issuing more than 1,000 violations resulting in $1.6 million in fines. Barab also discussed OSHA’s pilot program to work with building inspectors in 11 cities across the country to reduce worker deaths on construction sites--particularly deaths caused by falls, electrocution, and being caught between or struck by objects. Under this program, building inspectors will notify OSHA when they observe unsafe conditions, so OSHA can send a compliance officer to inspect that workplace. “Through this program we will extend OSHA’s eyes and ears where they are needed most to save lives in the construction industry,” Barab said.
OSHA’s On-site Consultation Web Page Adds New Features
The redesigned homepage answers frequently asked questions about the benefits of the On-site Consultation Program, which gives priority to high-hazard worksites, and explains the process for initiating a consultation visit and the consultant’s role in the process. An improved On-site Consultation directory gives users the ability to quickly find offices in their states to contact for further information about the program, or to request a visit. The page also provides answers to questions about the On-site Consultation Program’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program and offers Success Stories from small businesses that achieved safety and health excellence through the On-site Consultation Program and SHARP. A Quick Links box and Small Business Resources section present users with relevant information and OSHA resources for the small business community.
OSHA Cites Matula & Matula Construction Following Worker Death
OSHA fined Matula & Matula Construction Inc. of Lake Jackson, Texas, $136,000 for workplace safety and health violations following the death of an employee who was working inside a sanitary sewer manhole.
“This company exposed its workers to hazardous atmospheres while they were working in sanitary sewers,” said Mark Briggs, OSHA’s director for its Houston South Area Office in Texas. “It is critical that procedures for safe confined space entry are utilized each time a worker enters a confined space.”
OSHA has issued citations alleging two willful, three serious, and two repeat violations following an investigation that began February 8, when a worker who was pumping grout into the sewer line on the Highway 332 Utility Relocation Project in Lake Jackson was overcome by hydrogen sulfide.
The willful violations are for failing to implement confined space entry procedures, including testing, ventilation and rescue, and to train employees on the hazards of working in a confined space.
Serious violations include failing to train employees about the danger of working with hazardous chemicals in the workplace, and to inspect, properly maintain and repair damaged ladders.
The repeat violations are for failing to make a reasonable estimate of employee exposure to hazardous chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide, and to properly erect a ladder for use in accessing the sanitary sewer manhole. OSHA issues repeat violations when an employer previously has been cited for the same or substantially similar violations in the past three years, and those citations have become a final order.
OSHA Fines U.S. Minerals LLC $158,000 for Safety Violations
OSHA has cited U.S. Minerals LLC, a manufacturer of abrasive blasting and roofing materials, with two alleged willful, three alleged serious, and four alleged repeat violations at its Baldwin, Illinois, facility. The company faces a total of $158,200 in fines for failure to have proper fall protection on elevated platforms, lack of proper electrical control devices, and improper energy control training for workers.
OSHA’s inspection, which began in February, cited U.S. Minerals with willful violations carrying a penalty of $112,000 for failure to provide proper fall protection on platforms more than 30 feet above ground. The company also failed to have proper lockout/tagout procedures for energy devices.
The company has been issued serious citations with a proposed penalty of $12,600 for not having required energy isolating control devices while employees worked on conveyor systems, failure to have proper start-up warning or emergency stop devices on remotely controlled conveyors, and having broken outdoor electrical conduit and other equipment.
The repeat violations, with a proposed penalty of $33,600, address the company’s failure to provide fall protection, failure to have required energy isolation and energy control training and procedures for employees, and lack of proper guarding on belt and pulley drive equipment. OSHA issues repeat violations if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last three years. The U.S. Minerals processing facility was inspected by OSHA in 2007 and received 18 citations.
“There is no excuse for a company to disregard the safety and welfare of its workers by not following OSHA safety standards,” said OSHA Area Director Nick Walters in Fairview Heights, Illinois. “Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
Concrete Contractor Fined $210,000 for Failing to Comply with Settlement Agreement
OSHA issued a failure to abate notice to 160 Broadway Corp., doing business as Broadway Concrete, for failing to comply with the terms of a settlement agreement designed to eliminate worker exposure to fall hazards. Proposed penalties total $210,000.
The company entered into the agreement after being cited for fall hazards at a Jersey City, New Jersey., construction project in June 2008.
“Broadway Concrete’s refusal to honor the requirements of this agreement reflects an irresponsible approach to worker safety and health, leaving workers vulnerable to injuries and possible fatalities,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York. “This situation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
OSHA initiated a follow-up inspection on January 26, 2010, to verify that the company had met the conditions stipulated by the agreement. Inspectors found that the company had failed to comply with the settlement agreement by not informing OSHA that it had performed work on eight sites in New York City and had failed to properly address fall protection methods on those sites. The company also failed to properly document a hazard assessment of various worksite tasks and to confirm the qualifications of the chief construction operations and the safety director.
OSHA cites Cannon Builders with Nearly $128,000 for Fall Hazards
OSHA cited Cannon Builders Inc. of Blackfoot, Idaho, for multiple workplace safety hazards at its Hansen, Idaho, worksite. The citations carry proposed penalties of $127,800.
“Cannon Builders knew that its employees were exposed to fall hazards, yet made a conscious decision to disregard OSHA’s requirements for fall protection,” said Dean Ikeda, OSHA’s acting regional administrator in Seattle. “The company also failed to require the wearing of reflective vests in high automobile traffic areas, despite a heightened awareness of the need for such protective gear.”
OSHA’s investigation found two alleged willful violations, 11 alleged serious violations, two alleged repeat citations, and three alleged other-than-serious violations.
The willful violations involve the employer’s failure to provide and enforce the wearing of high visibility vests by employees working on heavily traveled roadways, and to provide adequate fall protection for employees.
The serious violations are related to failing to provide hazard recognition instruction, housekeeping of work and storage areas, proper handling and storage of compressed gas cylinders and welding equipment, stable access to elevated work areas, a properly designed horizontal lifeline system, proper anchorage for fall protection, safe egress from deep excavations, a means to keep materials and equipment from entering excavations, safe access to tops of pier caps, and lack of competent person inspections for excavations prior to employee entry or for excavations exceeding 5 feet.
The repeat violations address failure to provide a trained person to perform regular and frequent worksite inspections, and failing to provide employees with fall protection training instructions.
The other-than-serious alleged violations involved failure to cap a gasoline can, repair an extension cord, and replace a damaged ladder.
$42,000 Penalty for Trenching Hazards
OSHA has cited Jimmie Crowder Excavating and Land Clearing Inc., of Tallahassee, Florida, with one willful and two serious safety violations that occurred in June at a Tallahassee worksite. Proposed penalties total $42,000.
“This company endangered workers’ lives by trading safety for a quicker and less expensive means of excavating a trench,” said James Borders, OSHA’s area director in Jacksonville.
An OSHA compliance officer found that the company was digging an 8-foot-deep trench for a drain pipe without sloping the sides of the trench to prevent a cave-in or using a protective trench box and shoring. The foreman at the site allegedly chose not to slope the sides of the trench because of the additional time and effort it would take to enlarge the excavation.
OSHA is issuing one willful violation with a proposed penalty of $38,500.
Two serious violations with $3,500 in proposed penalties are being issued against the company for not training employees to recognize the hazards of working in a trench, and for placing excavated soil less than 2 feet from the trench edge, allowing for a potential cave-in.
Sally Sherman Foods Fined $247,000 for Uncorrected, Recurring Hazards
OSHA has proposed $247,050 in fines against U.F.S. Industries, doing business as Sally Sherman Foods, chiefly for failing to correct hazards previously cited at the salad manufacturer’s Mount Vernon, New York, plant. OSHA first cited the plant in November 2009 for failing to provide adequate fall protection, machine guarding, and hazardous energy control for workers at the plant. A follow up inspection, begun in May of this year to verify correction of the cited hazards, found several conditions unchanged.
“The bulk of these sizable fines stem from five instances in which the company agreed to correct specific hazards and did not follow through on that commitment,” said Diana Cortez, OSHA’s area director in Tarrytown. “This situation meant workers at the plant remained exposed to potential falls, lacerations, crushing and amputation injuries or being caught in the moving parts of machinery. That is not acceptable.”
The uncorrected hazards included workers exposed to falls from heights of 5 to 6 feet due to missing or inadequate guardrails, inadequate guarding of moving parts of mixer machines and carrot shredders, failure to develop a lockout/tagout program to prevent the unintended startup of machinery during maintenance, and failure to provide workers with training and equipment to implement the program. OSHA issued the plant five failure to abate notices with $236,250 in proposed fines for these conditions. OSHA issues such notices and proposes additional fines when an employer fails to correct previously cited hazards.
OSHA’s inspection also identified recurring machine guarding hazards similar to those cited in the earlier inspection, leading to three repeat citations with $9,600 in fines. Finally, one serious citation with a $1,200 fine was issued for a new condition, the improper storage of oxygen and acetylene cylinders.
“One means by which employers can prevent recurring hazards is to establish an effective, comprehensive workplace safety and health program, in which their workers take a continuous and active role in evaluating, identifying and eliminating hazards,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
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