April 7, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA cites Global Construction & Engineering Inc. for exposing workers to safety hazards at Center Point, Alabama work site [04/07/2015]

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.

April 6, 2015

OSHA News Release: Metso Minerals exposes workers to serious hazards found in machine operations and welding steel [04/06/2015]

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.

April 6, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Workers risk 7-story fall while roofing Des Plaines, Illinois, condo building [04/06/2015]

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.

April 6, 2015

OSHA News Release: Three Massachusetts roofers hospitalized after substandard scaffold breaks [04/06/2015]

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

April 6, 2015

OSHA News Release: Workers at a Springtown, Texas-based natural gas processing facility exposed to safety hazards [04/06/2015]

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.

April 2, 2015

OSHA News Release: OSHA updates guidance for protecting healthcare and social service workers from workplace violence [04/02/2015]

WASHINGTON — In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 23,000 significant injuries due to assault at work. More than 70 percent of these assaults were in healthcare and social service settings. Health care and social service workers are almost four times as likely to be injured as a result of violence than the average private sector worker.

April 2, 2015

OSHA News Brief: USPS mail processing center again cited by OSHA for fire extinguisher, electrical violations at St. Louis facility [04/02/2015]

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.

April 2, 2015

OSHA News Release: Aluminum foundry exposes workers to chlorine gas and other hazards [04/02/2015]

Custom Alloy Sales 34P faces more than $160K in fines for 31 safety and health violations

PRESCOTT, Kan. — Workers risked exposure to dangerous chlorine gas while forging blocks of metal material at an aluminum foundry in Prescott because their employer did not train them on how to handle and store the gas, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found. Improperly used, chlorine gas can cause severe respiratory damage.

April 2, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA cites South Carolina contractor for exposing workers to cave-in and struck-by hazards at work site in Pooler, Georgia [04/02/2015]

Employer name: Jordan Construction Co. of Hilton Head Inc.

Inspection site: At the time of the inspection, workers were installing sewer lines at the intersection of North and West Godley Station Roads, Pooler, Georgia 31322.

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.

April 2, 2015

OSHA News Release: Kroger allows forklift hazards at Columbus supermarket [04/02/2015]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Millions of pounds of merchandise and materials are moved each year by forklift drivers, thousands of whom suffer severe injuries while navigating narrow aisles, fellow workers with heavy, sometimes shifting loads. The dangers facing those who drive or work around forklifts were on display at a Kroger Co. supermarket in Columbus, Ohio which now faces $130,900 in fines for several violations.

April 2, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Workers exposed to asbestos hazards at A.M. Castle & Co. in Franklin Park [04/02/2015]

Employer name: A.M. Castle & Co.

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

April 1, 2015

OSHA News Brief: USPS cited for electrical hazards at Chicago's Clark Street distribution center [04/01/2015]

Employer name: United States Postal Service

Investigation site: 2643 N. Clark, Chicago, IL 60614

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Jan. 14, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Chicago North Area Office initiated an inspection of the mail sorting facility after receiving a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions.

April 1, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Lack of cave-in protections led to trench collapse, Bednar Landscape workers' deaths in Boonton [04/01/2015]

Employer name and location: Bednar Landscape Services Inc., located at 501 Division Street in Boonton, New Jersey. The company provides landscape, excavation and snow removal services throughout northern New Jersey.

March 31, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA fines Dayton, New Jersey, companies $64,200 after investigation finds blocked exit routes and chemical, noise and energy control hazards [03/31/2015]

Employers name and location: Imagine Screen Printing & Productions LLC, which imprints graphic design images onto apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts. Central Mills Inc., doing business as Freeze, sorts, packs and distributes the apparel to some of the nation's largest retailers, including Walmart, Macy's and Target.

Both companies are located at 473 Ridge Road in Dayton, New Jersey, and have the same management, maintenance employees and safety departments.

March 30, 2015

OSHA News Release: Food warehouse avoids potential for catastrophic incident [03/30/2015]

HONOLULU — After two years of litigation to correct dozens of hazards that might have had catastrophic effects on its workers and the surrounding community, Unicold Corp. has agreed to make health and safety improvements at its refrigerated food warehouse in Honolulu. The company will also end its fight against $197,000 in penalties assessed in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

March 30, 2015

OSHA News Release: Wood pellet manufacturer ignores serious safety hazards and fines, places workers at repeated risk of amputation and fire [03/30/2015]

NIAGARA, Wis. — For the fifth time in the past three years, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found workers at Wood Fibers Inc. at risk of amputation, fire and other life-threatening hazards in October 2014. Despite OSHA's effort, the company has failed to provide proof that hazards had been fixed or pay penalties from previous inspections.

March 30, 2015

OSHA News Release: Koser Iron Works faces penalties of more than $102K for exposing workers to machine, fire and explosion hazards, lack of training [03/30/2015]

BARRON, Wis. — Once again, workers were exposed to dangerous amputation hazards while fabricating metal products because safety mechanisms were not in place at Koser Iron Works Inc. Responding to a complaint, inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found during an inspection initiated on Oct. 1, 2014, two willful, four repeated and 12 serious safety violations, including lack of training and personal protective equipment.

March 27, 2015

OSHA News Release: Labor Secretary announces bulletin on preventing green tobacco sickness [03/27/2015]

WASHINGTON — Dehydration, dizziness, headaches and vomiting are just a few of the symptoms of nicotine poisoning, also known as "green tobacco sickness." Workers who plant, cultivate and harvest tobacco are particularly at risk. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced the release of a recommended practices bulletin with guidance on reducing the hazards for tobacco workers.

March 27, 2015

OSHA News Release: Jacksonville, Florida, roofing contractor ignores fact that fall protection can be the difference between life and death [03/27/2015]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Since 2013, 294 workers have been killed by falls, the leading cause of death in the construction trade. These incidents can often be prevented when employers use proper safety protections. Unfortunately for its employees, Great White Construction Inc. has repeatedly put the safety of its workers at risk, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found.