OSHA

Robert Derkacs, Jr., 45 and Joseph Donahue, 25 suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Thursday, February 18 while working at a construction project in Hanover, NJ. Press accounts indicate that the incident occurred at the location of the new Whippany Fire Department on Troy Hills Road. NJ.com reports: "'A 10,000-pound generator [was] being hoisted by a crane…when a strap gave way,' according to Hanover Township Mayor Ronald Francioli." The incident occurred about 11:30 am. The local CBS affiliate reports: “A crane crew had secured the generator and was moving it to its permanent location when…

Terry Leon Lakey’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings from OSHA in the agency’s citations against his employer, Terex Services Corporation. The 51 year-old was working in September 2015 at the firm’s plant in Waco, TX. The initial press accounts indicated that Mr. Lakey was “crushed by the hydraulic aerial lift that he was servicing.” I wrote about the incident shortly after it occurred. Inspectors with federal OSHA conducted an inspection at the plant following the fatal incident. The agency recently issued citations to Terex Services Corporation for…

At In These Times, reporter Joseph Sorrentino writes about the heartbreaking plight of uranium miners and millers as well as the history of uranium mining oversight and regulation. He spent a week interviewing uranium workers and their families in New Mexico — workers who are among the thousands who began working in the mines after 1971 and who don’t qualify for federal compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Sorrentino writes: Cipriano Lucero worked in uranium mills from 1977 to 1982. He has pulmonary fibrosis, and one of his kidneys failed when he was 48,…

A host of failures led to the explosion of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) at the West Fertilizer Company on April 17, 2013. This disaster led to the death of 15 people. That’s what I heard during the Chemical Safety Board’s (CSB) public meeting on January 28 at which their investigation report was released. I also heard sadness tinted with frustration from a victim of the disaster. She lost someone who was very close in the blast. She sat quietly behind me at the meeting. Her demeanor was private. I’ll call her Theresa. Like me, Theresa was taking notes on the investigators'…

President Obama released his 2017 federal budget proposal yesterday, recommending funding boosts for a number of public health priorities. And even though his presidency is coming to an end and so this budget is probably dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled Congress, it’s worth a peek inside. Here are some of the highlights that seem particularly relevant to public health, health care and working families: Health care access: The Obama budget would expand federal financing to cover the costs of state Medicaid eligibility expansions. That means the federal government would fully cover…

Harold Felton, 36, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Tuesday, January 26 while working at a sewer repair project in a West Seattle neighborhood. Mr. Felton’s employer was Alki Construction. Q13Fox reports: Mr. Felton was working inside a 10-foot deep trench which was situated between two homes. King5.com reports: “…the walls of the trench gave way and buried the man under several feet of soil.” “For about 20 minutes, it was a rescue operation, but it became clear the man wouldn't make it.” Using OSHA’s on-line database, it does not appear that the Washington State OSHA program has…

At NPR, reporter Howard Berkes writes about the failure of federal laws to protect workers who are left out of the workers’ compensation system. He begins his story with Kevin Schiller, a building engineer for Macy’s department stores for more than two decades. While working in a storage room in a Macy’s in Denton, Texas, a mannequin fell from 12 feet above, hitting Schiller and forcing him to hit his head on a shelf and then the concrete floor. Berkes writes: Schiller has hardly worked since, given persistent headaches, memory loss, disorientation and extreme sensitivity to bright light and…

Whole digits, tips of fingers, and parts of a thumb. These are body parts of Tyson Foods' employees which were severed last year in 10 of the company's plants. The details are made possible by a new OSHA regulation that took effect on January 1, 2015. The regulation requires employers to report within 24 hours any work-related incident that results in an amputation or hospitalization. After nearly a year on the books, I was curious to find out what just a single large employer had reported to federal OSHA. I picked Tyson Foods. It has more than more than 400 facilities in 30 US states and it…

Kevin Purpura, 39, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Friday, January 15 while working at major renovation project in Wheeling, WV. His employer was Sandow Development. The (Wheeling) Investigator reports: Mr. Purpura “fell several stories while working inside the former Boury Warehouse." Wheeling police said he was “inspecting metal studding surrounding an elevator shaft” when he fell. The worksite is a “six-story, 120-year-old former warehouse…[which] is being converted into roughly 70 loft-style apartments by the Woda Group of Westerville, Ohio." The “Boury Lofts” project is valued at $…

At Reveal, reporter Will Evans investigates discrimination within temporary staffing agencies, finding a pattern of racial, sexist and otherwise discriminatory hiring practices. He begins his story with Alabama-based Automation Personnel Services Inc., writing: When its clients wanted to hire temp workers based on race, sex or age, Automation was happy to oblige, according to dozens of former employees. Often, the practice was blatant. A manager at a Georgia manufacturing plant asked Christie Ragland not to send him “any black thugs,” she said. Ragland, a former Automation office manager…

Think about all the objects you use every day that are made with pieces of metal. Before that object got to you, a worker in the metal manufacturing industry used a machine to cut, saw, bend and assemble the metal pieces into the countless products that make our lives easier. But sometimes those machines break. And when they do, a simple and inexpensive procedure helps ensure both worker and machine can return safely to the job. The procedure is known as lockout/tagout (LOTO) and it’s used to disable machinery and prevent the release of hazardous energy during servicing and repair. In other…

Justin “J.D.” Jorgensen, 30 suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Wednesday, January 6 while working at an excavation project in Altoona, IA. His employer was JRS Excavating. WHOTV reports: the project was in a residential area where workers were “digging water and sewer lines.” the incident occurred about 8 am local time. an Altoona police spokesperson said that Mr. Jorgensen was working inside a trench that was “10 to 12 feet deep” and the “dirt caved in.” "family friends say he worked with his brother.” Using OSHA’s on-line database, it does not appear that Iowa OSHA has conducted any…

Gerald Lyle Thompson’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of Minnesota OSHA (MN-OSHA) in the agency’s citations against his employer, DSM Excavating. The 51 year-old was working in June 2015 at a construction site for Ryland Homes in Lakeville, Minnesota. The initial press reports indicated that Thompson and his brother were installing drain tile inside a 6 to 8 foot deep trench. Thompson was trapped at the bottom of the trench when the soil collapsed onto him. I wrote about the incident shortly after it occurred. Inspectors with MN-OSHA conducted an…

At ProPublica, Michael Grabell expanded his “Insult to Injury” series on the dismantling of the nation’s workers’ compensation system with a disturbing look inside what he dubs the “workers’ comp industrial complex.” He begins his story in Las Vegas at the National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference & Expo. And even though Grabell’s previous investigations exposed just how much injured workers must struggle to receive fair compensation and medical care, he details a conference draped in luxury and expense. He writes: A scantily clad acrobat dangles from the ceiling,…

During the holiday season, Kim, Liz and I are taking a short break from blogging.  We are posting some of our favorite posts from the past year. Here’s one of them, originally posted on August 12, 2015: by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH “It’s just like the paper we read in class.” That was the email message I received last week from a former undergraduate student from a class I used to teach called “Health and the Environment.” She was referring to a report of two young children from the Cincinnati, OH area who were lead poisoned because the toxic metal wasn’t controlled at their father’s…

During the holiday season, Kim, Liz and I are taking a short break from blogging. We are posting some of our favorite posts from the past year. Here’s one of them, originally posted on June 26, 2015: By Kim Krisberg A common hurdle in the field of occupational health and safety is delivering what can sometimes be life-saving information to the people who need it most. After all, not all employers are amenable to workplace health and safety education. But what if safety advocates could find and connect with the most at-risk workers out in the community? Perhaps even reach vulnerable workers…

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) deserves credit for standing with worker safety and victims of egregious safety violations. The group’s Section on Chemistry voted not to move forward with the nomination of UCLA professor Patrick Harran as an AAAS fellow. They made the announcement yesterday. Harran has four criminal felony charges pending against him for willfully violating workplace safety standards at his UCLA laboratory. Those charges were brought by the Los Angeles County District Attorney (DA) following a criminal investigation into the 2009 death of lab…

At the Center for Public Integrity, reporters Jim Morris and Maryam Jameel investigate the nation’s “third wave” of asbestos-related disease. The story begins with two photos of Kris Penny, who used to install fiber-optic cable beneath the streets of Florida. The first photo is of Penny in April 2015, looking healthy and happy. The next photo is one taken just six months later. Penny looks dramatically transformed after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the abdominal lining that’s nearly always related to asbestos exposure. After talking with a lawyer, Penny…

In a recent study, Harvard public health researchers decided to test a few dozen types of electronic cigarettes for diacetyl, a flavoring chemical associated with a severe respiratory disease known as “popcorn lung.” The researchers found diacetyl in a majority of the e-cigarettes they tested. News outlets jumped on the findings, with some announcing that e-cigarettes could cause the often-debilitating respiratory disease. But scientist Joseph Allen wants to be clear: His study doesn’t make a definitive statement about the effect of diacetyl in e-cigarettes. Instead, Allen said his goal was…

In 2010, Donna Gross, a psychiatric technician at Napa State Hospital for more than a decade, was strangled to death at work by a mentally ill patient. While on-the-job violence in the health care sector was certainly nothing new at the time, the shocking and preventable circumstances surrounding Gross’ death helped ignite a new and coordinated movement for change. Now, just a handful of years later, California is set to become the only state with an enforceable occupational standard aimed at preventing workplace violence against health care workers. “Honestly, this (proposed rule) wouldn’t…