It’s been three weeks since the deadly explosion at the Jacksonville, Florida T2 laboratory which claimed the lives of four workers and injured others on and off the site. The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), along with OSHA and other agencies, is investigating the disaster and lead CSB official, Robert Hall, offered the following information on Jan […]
There are two terrific book events scheduled for Monday January 7th, here in Washington DC. Les Leopold, author of The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor: The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi, will be in town to talk about Tony’s life and legacy. Les’ book is a great read, an inspiring and illuminating […]
I guess President Bush and Secretary Chao are stickin’ with Richard Stickler afterall. A personnel announcement this afternoon from the White House says: “The President intends to designate Richard Stickler, of West Virginia, to be Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.” Note the use of the word “designate” not “nominate.” And now the […]
Yesterday afternoon, if you happened to MSHA’s website and click on the Asst. Secretary’s button, you’d see this, with the ominous caption: “The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.” That was a tell-tale sign that Richard Stickler’s recess-appointment tenure as MSHA’s chief has come to […]
A coal mine operator in Hazard, Kentucky received a $220,000 penalty from MSHA for flagrantly violating electrical lockout/tagout procedures (such as padlocking an on/off switch to ensure that a machine is not unexpectedly turned-on, plugged in or energized while it is being serviced.)  The hefty monetary penalty was authorized under the 2006 MINER Act for flagrant violations, defined as: “a reckless […]
This time next year, the “Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act” will be in effect. The new law, which amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), was signed into law by President Bush on December 31, 2007 and becomes effective in one year. The bill, sponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX), was endorsed by dozens […]
As 2007 drew to a close, Occupational Hazards asked a panel of industry leaders to make some predictions about the future of workplace safety. Laura Walter reports: The discussion revealed a variety of emerging trends that could impact the practice of safety in the future. Some were familiar themes, such as globalization, the aging workforce, […]
The town of Odessa, Texas had never had a police officer die in the line of duty in its 73-year history. That changed in September 2007, when three Odessa officers, Arlie Jones, 48, Abel Marquez, 32 and Scott Gardner, 30 were gunned down responding to a domestic disturbance complaint.*Â These three worker-victims were among the […]
OSHA? No. It’s Andrew Schneider and his colleagues at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In “Flavoring Additive Puts Professional Cooks at Risk,” the reporter describes a study commissioned by the newspaper to determine how much of the butter-flavoring agent diacetyl becomes airborne when used in a restaurant cook’s work setting. Exposure to diacetyl is associated with the severe lung disease bronchiolitis […]
The families of the workers killed at the T2 Lab are now planning memorial services instead of holiday celebrations. “With Christmas next week, we’re not shopping for gifts–we’ve got to go look at caskets,” said a relative of Parrish Ashley, 36, one of the four men killed in the Wednesday explosion.  Mr. Ashley and his deceased co-worker, Karey Henry, […]