"Our inspections found maintenance workers exposed to a variety of health and safety hazards while performing their duties, including stripping paint, removing drywall, and clearing basements of raw sewage that had backed up during heavy rains," said Kay Gee, OSHA's Manhattan area director.
The final rule deals to a significant extent with lockout/tagout. It was published on Monday and will take effect Aug. 1, 2011. The LOTO provision becomes effective and enforceable Oct. 31, however.
While inspecting the site, OSHA found that two trenches—including the one in which the injured employee was working—lacked cave-in protection, as neither had a trench box or shield system.
Construction falls and trench collapses might occur at any time during the year, but they typically peak during the summer.
"Eliminating safety barriers and failing to develop emergency plans because they are inconvenient or time-consuming is no excuse for endangering employees," said William Fulcher, director of OSHA's Atlanta-East Area Office.
An OSHA inspector was performing a work site inspection when he directed an employee to exit the trench, believing collapse was imminent. Within five minutes the trench collapsed and could have buried the worker under 6 to 7 feet of soil.
OSHA's Dallas Area Office began the investigation Oct. 10, 2010, at the plant after workers were injured while vacuuming explosive dust to clean out a natural gas processing unit.
The newly developed tool permits mine operators, miners, the media, and the public to determine, based on the most recent data available, how a specific mine matches up with the criteria for a potential pattern of violations.
At least 26 U.S. workers were killed in grain entrapments last year, and the numbers of entrapments are increasing, according to researchers at Purdue University.
"A trench can become a grave in seconds. Disregarding workers' safety by leaving them unprotected from potential cave-in and struck-by hazards is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA's area director in Birmingham.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration recently announced that it will hold a briefing on June 29 to share with the public information gathered during the investigation of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va.
Special impact inspections, which began last April following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine, involve mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns.
In September 2010, as part of OSHA's National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation, a compliance officer observed several violations at a worksite where the company was installing pipe in a deep excavation.
Gavilon Grain LLC, which is privately held, says it operates 110 grain facilities and 60 feed and food ingredient storage and handling facilities in North America.
One employee died and another was hospitalized after wet, heavy soil collapsed into a deep trench while the men were installing a sewer pipe.
The willful citation alleges that employees were working in a trench at a depth greater than 7 feet without cave-in protection during an October 2010 inspection.
OSHA's inspection, initiated in response to a complaint about unsafe conditions, found A.A. Will Corp. employees working in a trench deeper than 5 feet that lacked protection against collapse of its sidewalls.
The company’s fourth quarter profit dropped by 8 percent to $12 million, and year-end profit decreased by 12 percent to $38 million. Costs related to the October 2010 acquisition of General Monitors and $10 million in restructuring charges offset revenue growth.
The screening will include a work history questionnaire, a chest X-ray, and blood pressure testing.
Employees were also exposed to fall hazards of up to 14 feet from a lack of fall protection and from using a ladder that did not extend at least 3 feet above the upper landing service for required stability.