OMAHA, Neb. — Moments before a blast ripped through a railcar on April 14, 2015, a check of the air quality inside indicated a serious risk of an explosion. Despite the warning, Nebraska Railcar Cleaning Services sent two employees, aged 41 and 45, into the railcar to work without monitoring the air continuously for explosive hazards as required, nor providing the employees with emergency retrieval equipment or properly fitted respirators.

NEW YORK — Carlos Moncayo, a 22-year-old laborer from Queens, was trying to make a living as he worked on the construction of a Restoration Hardware store at 19 Ninth Ave. in Manhattan on April 6, 2015. Instead, his life ended that day when the 14-foot-deep trench in which he was working collapsed and buried him beneath tons of soil and debris.

Employer name: Bancroft Bags Inc. in West Monroe, Louisiana

Citations issued: Oct. 7, 2015

PORTLAND, OREGON — After spending days fighting fires, clearing brush and performing arduous physical tasks, U.S. Forest Service employees should return to a safe home base after work. Yet repeated inspections of national forests throughout Oregon during the last 10 years have found the opposite, with the Forest Service cited by federal inspectors for widespread safety violations nine out of every 10 visits.

Employer names: Arthur Funk & Sons Inc., a commercial and institutional building construction contractor located at 1405 Birch Road, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Weaver Construction and Roofing Inc., a roofing contractor located at 4873 Division Highway, East Earl, Pennsylvania.

The inspected worksite was located at 844 Tuck Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where construction of a new cancer center for Good Samaritan Hospital is underway. Funk was the general contractor and Weaver was a subcontractor to Funk.

Employer name: Mark Mashuda Excavating Inc., 113 Lakeland Drive, Mars, Pennsylvania. The inspection site was the Peachmont Farms Development, Evans City, Pennyslvania, where workers were installing a sewer line.

Citations issued: On September 29, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued two willful one serious safety citations.

Employer name: Endicott Clay Products, Endicott, Nebraska

Citations received: Oct. 6, 2015

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Omaha Area Office cited the Endicott brick manufacturing plant for three serious safety violations, after a 41-year-old worker was fatally crushed in a machine on June 16, 2015.

Discount retailer faces $66K in OSHA fines for recurring hazards

Employer name: Big Lots Stores Inc.

Inspection site: 10 Newbury St., Danvers, Mass. 01923

What prompted inspection: An assistant manager was hospitalized after boxes of patio furniture and other stock, weighing up to 53 pounds each, fell and struck him in the store's rear stockroom.

ATLANTA — North Carolina residents - emergency workers, employers and the public - recovering from the impact of Hurricane Joaquin should be aware of the hazards they may encounter and take necessary steps to stay safe, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges.

Employer name: Big Lots Stores Inc.

Inspection site: 10 Newbury St., Danvers, Mass. 01923

What prompted inspection: An assistant manager was hospitalized after boxes of patio furniture and other stock, weighing up to 53 pounds each, fell and struck him in the store's rear stockroom.

ATLANTA – North Carolina residents - emergency workers, employers and the public - recovering from the impact of Hurricane Joaquin should be aware of the hazards they may encounter and take necessary steps to stay safe, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges.

MORGANTOWN, Pa. – A 27-year-old furnace worker was killed in an explosion when a boiler lid 20 feet in diameter flew off inside the TIMET titanium manufacturing plant on 900 Hemlock Road in Morgantown. The lid struck Jacob Lopez and injured three other employees in the March 27, 2015, incident.

MORGANTOWN, Pa. — A 27-year-old furnace worker was killed in an explosion when a boiler lid 20 feet in diameter flew off inside the TIMET titanium manufacturing plant on 900 Hemlock Road in Morgantown. The lid struck Jacob Lopez and injured three other employees in the March 27, 2015, incident.

Employer name: Tri-State Roofing and Sheet Metal Co., PO Box 1231, Charleston, West Virginia. The inspection site was the State Capitol Complex, Building 3, in Charleston.

Citations issued: On September 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one general duty clause citation for exposing employees to heat stress conditions, and one serious citation.

Date of Action: Sept. 29, 2015

Type of Action: Decision and Order

Name of Defendant: Matsu Alabama Inc., doing business as a division of Matcor Automotive Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of automotive parts to various companies, including General Motors, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota and Nissan.

Ambrosia Fragrance LLC fined more than $67K for federal workplace violations

Employer name: Ambrosia Fragrance LLC, 7 Turner Place, Piscataway, New Jersey.

Citations issued: On Sept. 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company for 19 serious violations.

Ambrosia Fragrance LLC fined more than $67K for federal workplace violations

Employer name: Ambrosia Fragrance LLC, 7 Turner Place, Piscataway, New Jersey.

Citations issued: On Sept. 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company for 19 serious violations.

Employer name: Tri-State Roofing and Sheet Metal Co., PO Box 1231, Charleston, West Virginia. The inspection site was the State Capitol Complex, Building 3, in Charleston.

Citations issued: On September 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one general duty clause citation for exposing employees to heat stress conditions, and one serious citation.

Date of Action: Sept. 29, 2015

Type of Action: Decision and Order

Name of Defendant: Matsu Alabama Inc., doing business as a division of Matcor Automotive Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of automotive parts to various companies, including General Motors, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota and Nissan.

Employer name: Enterprise Masonry Corp., 3010 Bellevue Ave., Wilmington, Delaware. The inspection site was The Flats, 4th and Union Street in Wilmington.

Citations issued: On September 23, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one general duty clause citation for exposing employees to heat stress conditions, and one other-than-serious citation.