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A grain company was recently cited by OSHA for willful safety violations. The company was slapped with a $500,000 fine after a worker was killed when cleaning out a grain bin. Andrew Nicholas Dill was killed when he got entangled in an auger at Gavilon Grain in Marion County. OSHA stated that Dill’s death could have been prevented, and has since fined the facility $175,000 for safety violations. OSHA has also issued fines worth $171,000 and $119,500 to the company at its Ohio facilities in West Jefferson as well as in Harpster. OSHA also fined Ace Iron and Metal Co. $63,000 for multiple safety violations after a worker was trapped under a scarp hauler, which resulted in permanent leg damage.

From the very beginning the United States, Occupational Safety and Health Administration,has constantly striven to control and eliminate workplace hazards, mishaps and fatalities, by issuing and enforcing certain workplace standards and regulations. Recently, several individuals and advocacy organizations have requested that certain regulations ought to be issued, in order to limit the working hours of resident physicians. Mr. David Michaels, the OSHA Administrator, has acknowledged the fact that, worker fatigue and long working hours are still common safety concerns for not only medical residents, but also for every other employee as well. In accordance to the Occupational Safety and Health Organization, a national advocacy organization named Public Citizen, along with other groups have requested that certain legislative actions be taken, with regards to the above mentioned issue. Mr. David Michaels, had this to say, “We are very concerned about medical residents working extremely lon...

The U.S, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is a body of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by the Congress, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, on December 29, 1970. From its initiation OSHA has constantly aimed to prevent illnesses, occupational fatalities and work-related injuries, by enforcing and issuing certain standards and issues for workplace health and safety. Recently, a tree trimmer was killed after a cherry picker boom snapped. The tree trimmer has been identified as Mr. Adam Mackintosh. Unfortunately, he has also left behind a wife, named Melanie, a son named Adison and twin daughters Claire and Sophia. Mr. Mackintosh was killed in Littleton, after the cherry picker boom he was working on snapped. It is also important to note that he also fell from a height of 30ft. The Littleton Fire Bureau Chief, Jay Ruoff, stated that the fatal mishap took place at noon, in the 5200 block of Sherman Street. Furthermore, a relative informed the p...

The U.S. OSHA, has finally announced, that it has penalized SeaWorld for committing serious safety violations. This devastating blow has come, just months after, marine mammal trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed in an incident, involving a 12,000-pound orca named Tilikum. More specifically, OSHA, has found 3 safety violations, that are now being categorized as “willful”, for primarily failing to protect employees from, struck-by and drowning hazards. The first “serious citation” was for failing to install a stairway railing system, where as the other “lesser- than serious citation” was, for failing to place, weatherproof enclosures over outdoor electrical outlets in the stadium. Overall, SeaWorld, has been slapped with a total fine of $75,000. With regards to these safety violations, SeaWorld stated that those findings were “enfounded”. They further,went on to say that,"OSHA's allegations in this citation are unsupported by any evidence or precedent and reflect a fundamental l...

The Obama administration has been urged by a liberal group's online petition to take a stronger hand on providing protection for the Gulf of Mexico oil leak responders. This petition has won the support of 31 congressional candidates and 11 Houase Democrats and thousands more since its launch. The new worker-safety campaign has been the brainchild of the PCCC or Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a liberal group who is targeting the White House and other Democrats for their failure to support the public option in the health care reform bill. The petition got started by comparing between the denial of protective gear that harmed various 9/11 clean up workers and the denial of the requests for respiratory protection by BP for the Gulf oil leak responders. Now, the Obama administrative has been demanded to act firmly with BP to allow allow every clean-up worker to wear respiratory protective equipment if they want and the workers must have the necessary equipment and trainings so ...

About hundreds of workers in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean up operation have complained of symptoms of nausea, nose bleeds, vomiting, and headaches. This may obviously fill people’s mind that it is due to the hazards associated with the oil slick and chemicals used, but the most ironic part is that these symptoms are all related to heat exposure. The workers who have been suffering from the symptoms are being examined and none have been found to be suffering from the oil hazards but rather from the heat. OSHA had issued guidelines in late June for worker’s health and safety in the spill operation, that include the limited use of respirators around the exposed oil which is near the oil gusher. There are about 40 employees dedicated to the oil disaster and who have performed more than 2000 work-site visits. Data from the Louisiana Office of Public Health shows that hundreds of workers have reported those symptoms which are similar to oil exposure but more than 60% of the workers wer...

Construction companies have now found an effective manner of lowering their construction insurance and other public liability insurance premiums. All they have to do is to improve their workplace safety records! Being employers, companies in the construction industry as well as the general industry, are responsible for their employees’ health and safety at the workplace. The best way to go about doing this is through finding and eliminating any workplace hazards. In doing this, employers can effectively improve their workplace safety records and subsequently minimize their insurance liability. In the United States, companies are governed by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). OSHA has for years strived to ensure that workplaces across the nation are hazard free and adhere to all the OSHA health and safety standards. If companies fail to do either of the two, the employees are given the freedom to file a complaint with OSHA or ask for a surprise inspection. Upon findin...

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has opened yet another door for the importance and enhancement of workplace safety for the oil and gas workers. Now, OSHA in collaboration with the Association of Energy Service Cos. has developed and signed an alliance of workplace safety for oil and gas workers. William Burke, OSHA's acting regional administrator in Dallas, said "We welcome this opportunity to join with the AESC in emphasizing employer awareness of hazardous working conditions in the oil and gas industry. The joint resources of this continuing relationship will help make this industry as safe and healthy as possible." The members of AESC have agreed to work closely with OSHA for the sake of enhancing and building upon existing training and educational goals, outreach and communication goals, and workplace health, safety and environmental goals. This alliance will help OSHA work with groups that are committed to the workers safety and health, including businesses, trade and ...

Roofing fatalities have been on the rise and have doubled in the last few years. Workers involved in this field are at high risk. Last Tuesday, a worker fell from the roof of a commercial building on Stone Castle Road in the Town of Montgomery while repairing it. According to the police, the worker, named Gary Shatlaw, was 26 and fell 40 feet down and died. He was from Beacon and was working for OCS Industries. This fatal accident has caught the eye of OSHA, who in turn has started investigations into the case on the lookout for potential safety violations. On the other hand, OSHA cited C.A. Franc construction company and a proposed penalty of $539,000 for the company was found following an investigation of a roofing worker who fell 40 feet to his death at a Washington work site. The owner Christopher A. Franc was cited for the willful violation of failure in providing his employees with falling protection gear. Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, said, “Mr. Fran...

OSHA is going to conduct the first-ever stakeholder meeting on June 28, 2010, for the sake of getting more inputs on combustible dust workplace hazards for the safety and the health of the workers. The meeting format is going to provide quick and easy access to a broader audience including all kind of businesses who would otherwise not be able to participate. They need comments from all concerned, which in turn will help the agency develop a proposed standard on combustible dust. It is not a new thing for workers who are exposed to combustible dust to face problems at the workplace. According to OSHA more than 130 workers have been killed and 780 injured in combustible dust explosions since 1980. This is the fourth meeting addressing combustible dust hazards. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, has said, "OSHA is committed to expanding the opportunity for the public to engage in its rule making activities, and this virtual stakeholder meeting will provide a wi...

More BP oil spill clean-up workers are experiencing health problems resulting from the use of dispersant and the effects of the oil spill. Two more workers have been hospitalized after they were experiencing headaches, dizziness and nausea after chemical dispersant was applied within a mile of their operating clean-up vessels. Earlier, seven workers were complaining of feeling unwell and were sent to a hospital. All of the workers were properly trained and had been using appropriate protective gears. The workers seem to be in contact with some sort of irritant, but so far, the hospital where they are being admitted doesn’t have the ability to run the test and determine the cause. It is possible to get sick if volatile compounds are still there in the oil and if a worker comes in direct contact with the concentrated dispersant, the chemicals tend to break the oil before they get mixed with the water and that could affect the health. The smell from the oil throughout the coastal area has...

Most of the times, the media has been covering the BP oil spills since the minute it started and most of them have been focusing the impact to wildlife and who will take responsibility of the clean up. However, what they fail to cover is the impact that oil spill will have on human. Most people have taken up the volunteer to clean the oil spills along with the workers. These people will come in contact with a myriad of toxic substances, which makes up the oil, the dispersant which is used to break and sink it as well as the chemicals which is used to clean it up. What Danger The Workers Face: Frankly we are still clueless about the potential risks to the workers. Oil spills are actually ecological events and not human health events. However, to clean this ecological mess, they need human hand. Workers and volunteers will come in direct contact with the toxic fumes and chemicals. Again, boats that belong to fishermen and other locals aiding the clean up might become contaminated. These ...

It is the natural instinct that works with safety measures. How much brave you are, you need safety that makes you aware of the surroundings. In the case of the general and the construction company workers, the situation is quite different. Throughout the annals of the construction and general industries history, workers risk of life has remained as a question though there are so many steps have been taken by government and other organizations. If the workers are not safe at working place, then the whole industry stops development. So, there is great need to maintain the safety and health of the workers at working place. The question is how to make the working place safe. There are so many ways that are developed as time passed and among all OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the main federal agency of U.S. Department of Labor has marked the way. OSHA has introduced many regulations and OSHA safety training courses for the safety and health of the workers at working...

The effects of the hazardous chemicals in human body is horrible and the workers who expose to hazardous chemicals, many times they have to suffer badly, they lose their body parts like e yes, nose, hands and many more. They remain unable to work farther and their life faces difficulties to live a normal life. For the safety and health of the workers, OSHA has now started with an inspection of the chemical industries so that the industries maintain a protective chemical manufacturing process. This is seem to be the first cause of the accidents that occur at working place while exposing to the chemicals for various purposes. According to Richard E. Fairfax, the director of OSHA enforcement programs, beginning this year, chemical companies will receive a battery of complex 'process safety management' (PSM) inspections conducted by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.” OSHA will conduct this PSM inspection more frequently than ever before and the inspections will...

Picture alone can show the exact happening of anything and people can remember and also get the exact message through a picture. This fact has been experienced by the entire human race from the very beginning of the world. To create and to make understand all about the protections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and its amendments, U.S. Department of Labor also have prepared posters that must have to be kept displayed by all the covered employers. You can get different type of OSHA posters free from OSHA Office of Publications or you can get them by downloading the PDF version of the poster. Job safety and health protection labor law posters have played a vital role. Workers, many times, are seen ignorant about their job concerned matters. If that kind of workers every day see the posters that contain everything regarding their job and the industry and also about OSHA, then they sure will have a clear idea about the rules an d regulations and all about safety and health matt...

New York: OSHA and Wage and Hour Division signed an alliance with Mexico’s Consulate General in New York as a part of an effort to promote the labor and human rights of Mexican and the other Hispanic workers. CMO (Catholic Migration Office) of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Brooklyn and The New York State Department of Labor are also the part of the alliance. The participants of the alliance will work together to support a call center which will provide Mexican and Hispanic workers in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey guidance, education and assistance about their rights in the workplace. "It's very simple. The law says every worker has both the right to proper compensation for hours worked and to a safe workplace," said Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor. “The purpose of this alliance is to provide Mexican and other Latino workers in the tri-state area with the information and resources that will help them recognize and challenge unsafe and improper working conditions,...

A measure, which was just signed onto law by President Obama, would prohibit the chemical companies from classifying safety information as “sensitive” in an effort to keep it from becoming public. This new law is in response to explosion at workplace that caused two fatalities. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) drafted The American Communities Right to Public Information Act as a separate part of legislation. It was passed into law as a part of an appropriations bill for the department of Homeland Security. The amendment makes it clear that the Sensitive Security Information designation that created by recent homeland security laws can’t be used to withhold the information that government should share with the public. The legislation was drafted in response to Bayer CorpScience explosion in August, 2008 that killed two workers in Institute, WV. Bayer was accused by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee of using a “campaign of secrecy” regarding the explosion. The committee said tha...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cites the Milwaukee leather tanning and finishing firm D.R. Diedrich and Co. for alleged willful and serious violations of the federal workplace safety standards, said the agency on Tuesday. The fine proposed by OSHA is a total of $125,400. OSHA started the inspection of the company at 2615W, Greves St. after it received a notice that a worker who was on the job for about three weeks was got killed when his harness was caught and he was pulled under and between the mixing drum. According to the Milwaukee police, Billie J. Bell Jr. of Milwaukee was killed in the June 9 accident. The inspection by OSHA revealed one willful and 21 serious violation of OSHA workplace standards, according to the statement given by the agency. "The willful violation alleges the employer failed to guard machinery to protect workers who are routinely required to work in areas of unguarded rotating tanning drum mixers. A willful violation is one committed w...

Andover, Mass OSHA cites Tri-Sprinkler Corp. for the alleged willful and serious violations of the safety standards following the fall of a worker from ten feet at a Medford, Mass., worksite. The Derry, N.H based contractor faces $61, 200 in the proposed fines. The inspection by OSHA began on Sept. 29, 2009 after knowing the accident in August in which employee fell and was seriously injured when installing a sprinkler system above the ceiling of a building that was located at 215 Harvard St. In the inspection OSHA found that no form of fall protection had been provided that is needed for the employees who work six feet or higher. "The need for fall protection was clear and recognized, yet this employer did not provide this basic, commonsense and legally required safeguard," said the area director of OSHA for Middlesex and Essex, Paul Mangiafico. "This hazard was exacerbated by a lack of fall protection training, through which the worker could have recognized and prevent...

Braintree, Mass. - OSHA has cited Dale Medical Products Inc. for alleged and willful serious violations of workplace safety standards after a worker lost the tip of his finger while operating a packaging machine in March. Fine of $58, 100 is proposed to the Plainville, Mass., manufacturer and packager of medical equipment. The injury took place when the worker’s finger was pinched by a heat seal bar which was used to seal plastic bags. On the inspection by OSHA, it found three such packaging machines in the plant that did not had the required safeguards to keep the employees from becoming caught in their point of operation. Due to this condition workers were exposed to laceration and amputation injuries. "It's imperative that machines be adequately guarded and the guarding continually maintained to prevent the possibility of accidents such as this one," said OSHA’s area director for Southeastern Massachusetts. "In this case, three other similar machines were allowed...