As part of EPA’s Methane to Markets Grant, the firm will subcontract with the University of Colorado for the project, which will inventory emissions in the gassy, abandoned coal mines in the coal-bearing regions of the Shanxi and Hebei Provinces.
Although North Carolina is one of 22 states that operate their own job safety and health programs, under approval and monitoring by federal OSHA, this inspection was conducted by federal OSHA because the contractor was working on a federal installation.
When it was announced that fatality rates on U.S. roadways had sharply declined in the past 40 years, traffic control experts had a quick explanation: They pointed to the increased use of visual cues, such as reflective signs, raised pavement markers, and rumble strips.
A common failure of these programs is doing nothing, because it is easy to put this topic off during a tough economy.
"An unguarded excavation is a tomb in waiting. Its walls can collapse in moments, crushing and burying workers beneath tons of soil before they have a chance to react or escape," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties.
"OSHA determined that this company is fully aware of the deficiencies it has in its safety program and what needs to be changed to provide safe work conditions for employees but hasn't acted to correct those deficiencies," said Roberto Sanchez, director of the agency's area office in Birmingham, Ala.
OSHA agents found workers were exposed to dangers from the company's failure to first de-energize live electrical parts before having employees work on them, resulting in the issuance of a willful citation.
MSHA has issued its accident investigation report in the May 2009 inundation that left seven coal miners trapped underground for nearly 24 hours at the Cobra Resources LLC Mountaineer Alma A Mine in Wharncliffe, W.Va.
"Unfortunately, this incident was a classic example of a multiple-fatality event where would-be rescuers are themselves overcome in their attempt to save the initial victim," said Kay Gee, OSHA's area director for Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
"No one ever thinks the trench he or she is working in will collapse, but the fact is cave-ins happen in seconds, crushing and burying workers beneath tons of soil and debris before they have a chance to react or escape," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director for southeastern Massachusetts.
Preliminary data from MSHA indicates that mine fatalities in 2009 fell for the second straight year for a combined total of 34 mining deaths nationwide, a significant drop from last year's total of 52 deaths.
Are user seal checks necessary to ensure protection? And, if so, when should they be performed? A white paper prepared by the American Industrial Hygiene Association's Respiratory Protection Committee asks these and several other questions to resolve important issues.
The standards are designed for anyone involved in pumps, including users, consultants, contractors, construction firms, manufacturers of pumps, seals, motors, instrumentation, controls, and pump software developers and systems integrators.
Specifically, the employer did not evaluate permit-required confined space conditions by testing the atmospheric conditions in the boot pit for oxygen and carbon dioxide levels prior to entry, OSHA said.
"The need for fall protection was clear and recognized, yet this employer did not provide this basic, commonsense, and legally required safeguard," said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties.
The agency began a health inspection in June after receiving information that fires had occurred in the Ohio plant, and that large amounts of dust from the manufacturing process had accumulated throughout the worksite.
Today's online chats by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and OSH Acting Assistant Secretary Jordan Barab tell us they are not planning an ergonomics rulemaking, although a column to log MSDs on the 300 log will be restored.
Among its many functions at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Raytheon MCVC provides the necessary range interface for test plans and test management activities for on-range and environmental testing, and performs processing for Patriot As A Target missiles.
During the past 10 million hours, the company has safely completed a number of major construction projects, from replacing a segment of line underneath the Susquehanna River in Maryland to lifting an underwater line in southern Mississippi to replace block valves, to boring a new line under I-65 near Birmingham while traffic continued above.
The new system will display the risk of extreme heat stress and time to flashover (the point when all combustible materials in a room simultaneously erupt in flames) on the incident commander's screen, along with the firefighters' locations and vital signs.