CHICAGO ‒ Thirty-six Illinois workers have died on the job since Jan. 1, 2016. An average of one life lost each week in the Prairie State.

The tragedies that befell two men are sobering reminders of preventable workplace dangers:

Employer name: Aluminum Shapes LLC
900 River Road
Pennsauken, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Sept. 23, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Aluminum Shapes for one serious and two repeat violations.

BOISE, Idaho – A Boise excavation contractor could have prevented the deaths of two workers and serious injuries suffered by a third after a trench collapse if the company had not allowed federal safety standards to be ignored at a Northwest Boise work site in May.

Employer name: Frame Q LLC
315 7th St.
Fairview, New Jersey

Inspection site: 119 Abbott Ave.
Palisades Park, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Sept. 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Frame Q LLC for two repeat safety violations.

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – An Arpin contractor faces penalties of $93,532 after federal inspectors found the company risked the lives of at least two of its employees as they installed underground water, sanitary and storm sewer utilities in an unprotected 9-foot deep trench at the Stevens Point Sixth Avenue Reconstruction Project.

Employer name: Mavis Tire Supply Corp., dba Mavis Discount Tires
343 South Ave. East
Westfield, New Jersey

Inspection site: 343 South Ave. East, Westfield, New Jersey 

Employer name: Columbia Recycling Corp.

Inspection site: 2410 S. Dixie Highway,Dalton, Georgia 30720

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Columbia Recycling Corp. for five repeated, three serious and one other-than-serious safety and health violations. Acting on a complaint, the agency initiated the inspection on April 26, 2016.

Employer name: Station Builders Inc.
Cinnaminson, New Jersey

Inspection sites: Maple Shade Estates, Lot 36
Easton, Pennsylvania2020 Washington Blvd.

Easton, Pennsylvania
617 - 619 Irving St.
Allentown, Pennsylvania

1325 Chelsea Ave.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Employer name: E.T. & L. Construction Corp., a Stow, Massachusetts, heavy construction contractor.

Inspection site: Lowell St., between North Lowell and Bolduc streets, Methuen, Mass.

What prompted OSHA’s inspection: On June 15, 2016, two E.T. & L. Construction Corp. employees were working in a 12-foot deep trench when a concrete duct encasing utility wiring that was suspended above the trench collapsed into the trench, causing a cave-in.

BRAINTREE, Mass. – Brian Caron died on the job on March 23, 2016, when he was fatally overcome by an ammonia leak caused by a burst pipe in the machine shop of his employer, Boston fish and seafood wholesaler Stavis Seafoods Inc.           

Employer name: Crown Equipment Corp.
2 Presidential Way
Woburn, Massachusetts

What prompted OSHA’s inspection: An employee sustained serious head injuries on July 13, 2016, when the rim of a split rim tire struck him when the tire exploded as he attempted to service the tire.

Employer names: Machinery Maintenance Rebuilders Inc.
Houston, Texas

Citations issued: Sept. 28, 2016

Employer name: Fast Carpentry I Inc.

Inspection site: 1360 98^th St.
Bay Harbor Island
Florida 33154

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Fast Carpentry I Inc. on Sept. 20, 2016, for one willful and one repeated safety violation.

Employer name: Carlson Enterprises

Inspection site: 1506 Rivergate Drive
Jacksonville, Florida 32223  

Citations issued: OSHA issued four citations to the employer on Sept. 22, 2016.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust, Alsip, Illinois

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association

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.

Employer name: Honey Cell Inc. Midwest
6480 Hamilton-Lebanon Road
Middletown, Ohio           

Citations issued: Sept. 16, 2016

Employers’ names: JD Vigil Home Services Inc.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Big Valle Roofing
Fountain Springs, Colorado

Citations issued: Sept. 27, 2016

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – Federal investigators have cited an Indiana landscaping company in the death of a 23-year-old ground crewman who died after being hospitalized with a core body temperature above 108 degrees. U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators determined the employee collapsed after working more than nine hours in the direct sun when the heat index soared to 110 degrees near Poplar Bluff on July 22, 2016. His is one of 16 heat-related deaths reported to the OSHA since January 2016.