A Yale senior was killed after a machine shop incident. Click here to learn more. Machine shops typically have numerous machine guarding issues - abrasive grinders; metal lathes; saws. It is essential this equipment is properly guarded and employees properly trained...
Safety Articles
Chemical Safety Board to investigate Hoeganaes Corp after two serious incidents since January 2011
March 30, 2011: The Chemical Safety Board announced it will launch an investigation of the Hoaganeas Corporation facility located in Gallatin, TN after two serious flash fires have occurred since January 2011. The first incident resulted in one fatality and one...
OSHA fine upheld against Wal-Mart in 2008 Trampling death of employee
A $7,000.00 OSHA fine against Wal-Mart was upheld on March 25, 2011 by Covette Rooney, the chief Administrative Law Judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Judge Rooney concluded that unruly crowds led to the trampling death of a Wal-Mart...
Robots increase worker productivity – But are robot hazards being properly evaluated?
MSNBC recently published an article attributing the significant increase in worker productivity to the use of robots: (click here to read the article) Indeed robots are extremely effective at improving productivity and product quality. However, unsafe work practices,...
New York Fire Department to replace gloves after six suffer hand burns
The New York City Fire Department is replacing new fire-retardant gloves after determining they do not properly protect firefighters from burns. Since November 2010, six firefighters have suffered second degree burns on the back of their hands after fighting house...
Recent accidents likely to result in increased enforcement
Several recent safety accidents will likely result in increased enforcement from federal safety agencies. Consider the following incidents that have occurred in 2010: Tesoro Refinery explosion: On April 2, 2010 a catastrophic failure of a heat exchanger resulted in 7...
Chemical Safety Board Approves purging provisions
February 4, 2010: On a 2-1 vote, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board tonight approved urgent safety recommendations on gas purging safety at a public meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina following extensive testimony and public comment. The draft recommendations, which were...
ConAgra Explosion – Update
ConAgra Foods Inc. has agreed to pay $106,440 for workplace safety violations at a snack foods plant where four workers died after a natural gas explosion last summer, state regulators said on January 12, 2010. Most of the citations against ConAgra Foods involved...
OSHA Moving Towards Combustible Dust Standard
On October 21, 2009 federal OSHA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) as a preliminary step in the development of a combustible dust standard. According to OSHA, since 1980, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in...
State Department Worker Electrocuted in Iraq
Improper electrical wiring - failure to properly ground equipment - has been a chronic problem with US installations in Iraq. On September 1, a contractor for the US State Department was electrocuted while showering in Baghdad. Failure to properly ground equipment is...