News on U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

US board's guidelines aim to prevent explosions

2010-03-04T09:33:57Z

<div id="subtitle">US board: New guidelines can prevent workplace explosions like those that killed 60 since 1990</div><div><p>There was no reason to think the storage tank was unsafe. All it contained was recycled water and organic waste.</p><p>So when a damaged part needed repair, three workers approached the top of the 80-foot-tall tank on a catwalk and one worker began welding.</p><p>Moments later an explosion tore through the massive tank. All...

W.Va. DuPont worker dies after phosgene exposure

2010-02-22T15:06:01Z

<div id="subtitle">Chemical Safety Board announces investigation after W.Va. DuPont worker dies</div><div><p>Federal safety officials are investigating a DuPont chemical plant Monday after a series of leaks that resulted in the death of one worker and the operation's temporary shutdown.</p><p>DuPont officials put the sprawling Belle plant in West Virginia ...

Labor chief moves on job safety, workers' rights

2010-02-23T07:14:54Z

<div id="subtitle">Labor secretary works quickly to strengthen enforcement, raising concern among employers</div><div><p>Soon after she became the nation's labor secretary, Hilda Solis warned corporate America there was "a new sheriff in town."</p><p>Less than a year into her tenure, that figurative bad...

Ethanol safety training to be offered in SD

2010-02-23T07:30:28Z

<div id="subtitle">South Dakota State University offers OSHA safety and health course for ethanol plants</div><div><p>The office of Engineering Extension at South Dakota State University is offering a 10-hour safety and he...

Calif. board to consider requiring condoms in porn

2010-02-23T14:56:08Z

<div id="subtitle">California regulators to consider AIDS group's call for mandatory use of condoms in porn films</div><div><p>State regulators have agreed to consider a request from an AIDS advocacy group calling for mandatory use of condoms in porn films.</p><p>The AIDS Healthcare Foundation submitted the request Thursday at a m...

All You Need to Know About Gel Fuel Fireplaces

2010-02-23T17:42:50Z

Gel fuel fireplaces are an excellent alternative to traditional fireplaces, as they are flueless and easy to use, including being ecologically friendly. In addition, gel fuel fireplaces give you the ambience and sizzle of an authentic wood fire, without the bother of smoke and soot. Gel fuel fires are odorless, though scented varieties of gel are available should you wish to add flavor to a special evening.<br><br>Gel fuel fireplaces come in a variety of styles and...

Ohio company cited by OSHA after worker death

2010-02-23T19:30:40Z

<div id="subtitle">Federal agency cites Ohio company with alleged safety, health violations after worker death</div><div><p>The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a southwest Ohio company following a worker's death and proposes $28,500 in penalties.&a...

Why report an injury?

2010-02-24T03:26:12Z

<div id="subtitle">Workers and employers find plenty of incentives to lie about workplace injuries</div><div><p> For years the Occupational Safety and Health Administration trumpeted reports that the number of workplace injuries — estimated to be around 1.3Êmillion a year — was decreasing. Under the Bush admini...

Report: Companies not reporting all injuries

2010-02-24T04:43:39Z

<div><p>Some employers are pressuring workers not to report illnesses and injuries, just one problem that has led to widespread underreporting of workplace safety issues, according to congressional investigators.</p><p>Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors often didn't interview workers to ve...

10 homes damaged in blast at nearby Utah refinery

2010-02-24T09:56:01Z

<div id="subtitle">10 homes damaged in explosion at nearby Utah refinery with history of fires</div><div><p>An explosion at a Utah oil refinery — the second this year — smashed windows, bent garage doors and peeled siding Wednesday from 10 nearby houses, officials said.</p><p>Federal investigators expressed alarm over the extent of damages caused by a refinery that has had ...

State OSHA lambasted by House committee

2010-02-24T11:47:41Z

<div id="subtitle">Agency faces greater federal oversight if improvements arenÕt made</div><div><p> WASHINGTON Nevada OSHA must stop letting companies off easy for workplace safety violations and eliminate political influence on its decisions or face greater federal oversight, elected officials said at a House...

Business Highlights

2010-02-24T11:57:47Z

<div><p>Flat incomes, weak consumer spending raise concern</p><p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Flat incomes suggest more weakness ahead in consumer spending, reinforcing concerns about a ho-hum holiday shopping season and a sluggish economic recovery.</p><p>The Commerce Department reported that personal incomes were stagnant in September wh...

BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine

2010-02-24T12:06:50Z

<div><p>HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. safety regulators on Friday hit oil giant BP &lt;BP.L&gt;&lt;BP.N&gt; with a record $87.4- million fine for failing to fix safety violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery after a deadl...

OSHA fines BP a record $87M for Texas refinery fix

2010-02-24T12:15:08Z

<div id="subtitle">BP contests a record $87M US fine for lax remedies since fatal 2005 Texas refinery explosion</div><div><p>The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday imposed a record $87 millio...

BP hit with record US fine for safety violations

2010-02-24T12:01:37Z

<div><p>British oil giant BP has been hit with a record US fine of 87.4 million dollars for safety violations at a Texas refinery where 15 people were killed in a 2005 explosion, officials said Friday.</p><p>It was the latest in a series of actions taken by the US government over trading abuses and safety and environmental violations for wh...

Improving safety oversight

2010-02-24T12:10:25Z

<div id="subtitle">Congress should give the Labor Department power to ensure that states are doing their job</div><div><p> The House Committee on Education and Labor will examine NevadaÕs anemic worker safety program on Thursday following a scathing report issued by the U...

Nevada construction deaths prompt safety review

2010-02-24T12:33:53Z

<div id="subtitle">Construction deaths in Nevada lead to nationwide review of worker safety programs</div><div><p>Federal officials will investigate workplace safety programs across the country after the deaths of 25 workers in construction accidents in Las Vegas over an 18-month period.</p><p>A federal review of Nevada'...

Victim: Harvard coffee poisoning not an accident

2010-02-24T14:12:21Z

<div><p>One of six Harvard Medical School researchers sickened after drinking coffee laced with a toxic chemical said Monday he does not see how the poisoning could have been accidental, but has no idea who might be responsible.</p><p>University police and other agencies are investigating the Aug. 26 poisonings, which were revealed in an internal memo to medical sch...

Harvard: Lab workers poisoned by tainted coffee

2010-02-24T14:38:03Z

<div><p>Six Harvard University medical researchers were poisoned in August after drinking coffee that was laced with a chemical preservative, according to university officials.</p><p>In an internal memo first reported in the Boston Herald's Sunday editions, the school said the coffee came from a machine near ...

Feds slam state OSHA

2010-02-24T15:16:40Z

<div id="subtitle">Review by a team of inspectors finds 18 areas of incompetence over a 17-month period</div><div><p> Proper, unbiased oversight by inspectors and state safety managers is necessary if workplace safety is to be taken seriously by employers.</p><p> The Nevada agency charged with enforcing workplace safety laws and investigating on-the-job injuries and dea...