WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is asking the public for information about worker safety hazards in communication tower construction and maintenance activities. Public input will assist the agency in determining what measures are needed to prevent worker injuries and fatalities.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A manufacturer of custom-sized resin balls used in the petroleum industry failed to protect its employees from the risk of death or serious injury from potential fires, explosions and other hazards by not providing and using mandatory safeguards, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors have found.

CHICAGO — Hundreds of thousands of workers suffer finger, hand or foot amputations and other serious injuries each year in the United States because dangerous machines with moving parts lack proper safety mechanisms. Despite these dangers, one Chicago-based manufacturer ignored safety requirements and put workers at risk for debilitating injuries.

DES PLAINES, Ill. — Each day, somewhere in this country, construction workers fall. One wrong step can send them tumbling down a steeply pitched roof, sliding or dropping off an unstable ladder, or left hanging fearfully from a scaffold. In these cases, one thing stands between them and tragedy: fall protection.

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio — On just his second day on the job, a 28-year-old man working on a machine to forge parts lost a fingertip in a November 2014 incident that investigators say could have been prevented if his employer had trained the man to properly operate the upsetter machine and the machine had proper safety mechanisms. The man was unable to work for two weeks after the injury.

Employer name: Rock Hard Homes, Inc., residential home builder, Southbury, CT

Inspection site: 13 Pembroke Road, Danbury, CT 06811

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Bridgeport Area Office began an inspection on Nov. 7, 2014, after OSHA inspectors driving by the worksite observed fall protection hazards and immediately opened an inspection.

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. — An inspection of a wood crate manufacturer found that permanent and temporary employees faced excessive noise, improper hand protection and respiratory irritation due to wood dust exposure at the North American Container Corp. in Adairsville.

Employer name: Beacon Industries Inc., an aircraft engine and parts manufacturer, headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

Inspection site: 549 Cedar St., Newington, Connecticut 06111

Date inspection initiated: The inspection began Oct. 21, 2014, in response to a complaint.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is accepting 2015 applications for targeted-topic training grants and capacity-building training grants under the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program. A total of $3.5 million is available for nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based organizations, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, tribal organizations, and colleges and universities.

Assistant raised dangers of used needles as Dr. N. Terry Fayad allegedly sought cost savings

BOSTON, Mass. — It began when Massachusetts dentist Dr. N. Terry Fayad changed his practice's procedure for disposing of contaminated needles. He told those in his Beverly-based office to first remove the protective caps before dropping them into sharps disposal containers, allegedly to fill the containers with more used needles and reduce the frequency and cost of their disposal.

WILLISTON, N.D. — Dustin Payne traveled to North Dakota looking for a good job, the opportunity to use his skills and the chance to secure a future for him and his fiancée back in Alabama. Instead, the 28-year-old Marine veteran with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan to his credit is dead, the victim of a massive explosion that his Williston employer could have prevented.

Employer name: Global Construction & Engineering Inc.

Inspection site: At the time of the inspection, workers were installing sewer lines at 3025 Wood Drive Center Point, Alabama 35215.

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the Oct. 8, 2014 inspection as part of the agency's National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation.

Employer name: American Spincast Inc.

Inspection site: Belton, Texas

Employer name: Enbridge G&P (North Texas) L.P.

Site: Springtown, Texas

Date initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's began investigating the natural gas processing facility in October 2014.

DES PLAINES, Ill. — A construction crew installing roofing and heating and air-conditioning units on a seven-story Des Plaines condominium could have fallen because their employer did not provide protection required by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This was the sixth time since 2004 that Armor Shield Construction was found exposing workers to fall hazards. In 2010, OSHA placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

A.C. Castle/Daryl J. Provencher faces nearly $300K in OSHA fines

Who: The Associated General Contractors of Georgia Employers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi The Occupational Safety and Health Administration

WARRENTON, Mo. — Twice in just 18 months, workers at Metso Minerals Industries Inc. were found in danger of suffering cuts, lacerations and amputation from dangerous machine hazards at the Warrenton metal-mesh manufacturer because their employer ignored important safety rules. Acting on a complaint, U.S.

Employer name: A.M. Castle & Co.

Investigation site: 3400 N. Wolf Road, Franklin Park, IL, 60131

Employer name: United States Postal Service

Investigation site: 1720 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Jan.13, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection of a United States Postal Service mail processing site after receiving a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions at the facility.