Employer name: Tip Top Roofing & Construction/Tip Top Exteriors Inc. 2030 Coltonville Road, Sycamore, Illinois

Investigation site: 1990 Town Drive Naperville, Illinois

Investigation finds electric heater and fumes caused gas explosion

CUMMINGS, Kan. — Two workers endured several weeks of skin graft surgery and physical therapy after suffering second-degree burns when gas vapors exploded in a railcar in December 2014 at GBW Railcar Services LLC. The car was being prepared for cleaning when an electric heater ignited the flammable gas. Seven other workers were treated for injuries and released from the hospital.

Employer name: Shoreline Foundation Inc.

Inspection site: 2781 SW 56th Avenue, Pembroke Park, Florida 33023

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the Dec. 18, 2014, inspection after receiving a complaint alleging workplace hazards.

HAVERTOWN, Pa. — For six masonry workers installing brick facades on two new residential properties in Philadelphia, each day on-the-job could have been their last.

Employer name: Detyens Shipyards Inc.

Inspection site: 1670 Dry Dock Avenue, North Charleston, South Carolina 29405

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration performed a comprehensive inspection on Dec. 2, 2014, as part of its Regional Emphasis Program on Maritime Industries.

Employer name: Suburban General Construction Inc., 1019 E. 31st Street, La Grange Park, Illinois

Investigation site: 1515 Lathrop Ave., River Forest, Illinois

DALLAS — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges everyone engaged in cleanup after the recent floods in Texas — employers, workers and the public — to avoid potential hazards and take steps to protect themselves.

WINESBURG, Ohio — Less than two years after agreeing to address safety violations in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Case Farms Processing Inc. exposed workers to the same dangerous machinery hazards at its Winesburg facility.

OSHA proposes nearly $172K in penalties for 3 New Jersey employers

Employers' Names and Locations: The production warehouse of soft drink manufacturer Whitlock Packaging Corp. is located at 92 N. Main St. in Wharton, New Jersey.

Customized Distribution Services Inc., a general warehousing and storage contractor hired by Whitlock to run the warehouse's day-to-day operations, is located at 20 Harry Shupe Blvd. in Wharton.

BOISE, Idaho — Every month, somewhere in the U.S., two people die in trench cave-ins — buried or crushed by the tremendous weight of falling earth. In fact, one cubic yard of soil can be equal to the weight of a small automobile, about 3,000 pounds. These needless deaths can be prevented with proper cave-in protections.

Despite these realities, some contractors continue to ignore the serious dangers of unprotected trenches and allow employees to work below ground level at great risk.

AVENEL, N.J. — The life of a 46-year-old demolition worker, killed in a building collapse in November 2014 at a Staten Island auto dealership, could have been spared if his employer had not disregarded federal safety rules.

Delfino Jesus Velazquez Mendizabal died when the mezzanine of the former Dana Ford Lincoln dealership collapsed on him. A husband and father, Mendizabal was employed by Formica Construction Co. Inc., a Port Richmond, New York, contractor.

Magnetic Metals Corp. fined $53,900 for 15 federal violations

Employer Name and Location: Magnetic Metals Corp., located at 1900 Hayes Avenue in Camden, New Jersey, manufactures soft magnetic materials for products including motors and transformers.

CORDELE, Ga. — A job should be a source of personal accomplishment and pride, not the cause of disability and unemployment. A 29-year-old temporary worker suffered the latter at a local sawmill operated by Griffin Lumber & Hardware. The man's left arm was amputated when his jacket was caught in the drive shaft of a conveyor belt in January.

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — A blocked or obstructed exit route can be the difference between life and death. Despite the clear risks, Conway Stores' Bronx location jeopardized workers and shoppers despite two warnings from federal safety inspectors in December 2014.

Employer name: Superior Roll Forming Company, Inc.

Investigation site: 5535 Wegman Drive, Valley City, Ohio 44280

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On March 2, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Cleveland office initiated an inspection at the metal stamping plant after a 55-year-old worker's left index finger was crushed between weld clamps.

Employer name: Panolam Industries International Inc.

Inspection site: 6300 Atlantic Blvd., Norcross, Georgia 30071

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the Nov. 20, 2014 inspection after receiving a complaint alleging workplace safety hazards.

OSHA fines Welco Acetylene Corp. $57,400

Employer Name and Location: The acetylene repackaging facility of industrial gas manufacturer Welco Acetylene Corp. is located at 321 Roanoke Place in Newark, New Jersey.

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Alfa Laval Inc. faces $477,900 in proposed penalties after U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspections discovered dozens of serious workplace safety violations, five of which were identified in previous inspections.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A foundry, its owner and three members of its safety consultant company have been found in criminal contempt by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips after disobeying a court order to allow federal inspectors to investigate a report of an employee at the foundry with an elevated blood lead level.