Oregon firm fined after workers fail to take safety precautions

• Oregon OSHA has fined a Portland environmental services company a total of $118,800 for numerous safety violations that resulted in two workers passing out on the job.
• The fine against River City Environmental Inc. is one of the largest levied by the Oregon OSHA in recent years, a division spokesman said.
• The citation lists 10 violations and notes that the problems date to last June when River City assigned workers to clean filters inside a stormwater sewer at Widmer Brothers Brewing in north Portland. Widmer staff noticed the workers were not taking proper safety precautions and sent them away.
• They went again in mid-July for the same job, the citation said, and River City again failed to equip and train the workers properly but they were allowed to enter a maintenance hole at the brewery anyway.
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Contractors group responds to fatality report in North Carolina

• An article by Carolina Public Press revealed that the construction industry in North Carolina has had the highest number of deaths in the state for most of the past 14 years – with nearly 60 construction workers involved in fatalities between January 2021 and September 2023.
• The article advocated leveling harsher penalties for infractions.
• Jacob Garmon, director of Safety, Suppliers & Sponsorships for the Carolinas Associated General Contractors, said there are numerous safety regulations, Garmon said. The association members are “proactive” about safety, he said.
• The association has an alliance agreement with the North and South Carolina labor departments to discuss new regulations or trends in incidents.
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Florida crane operator faces fines

• A Melbourne, Florida, rental crane service provider could have prevented the electrocution of a 34-year-old crane operator at a Palm Bay work site in August 2023 by ensuring required safety measures were in place and followed, according to investigators.
• OSHA found that on Aug. 23, 2023, Capt’n Hook’s Crane Service Inc. sent an uncertified crane operator to a residential construction project alone to lift and place metal frame roof trusses at a residential construction project.
• After positioning the crane on an unpaved driveway and extending the boom to complete the first lift, the operator was electrocuted when the steel wire rope and chain rigging, suspended from the crane boom, contacted two 13,200-volt power lines next to the residential property. ‘
• OSHA cited Capt’n Hook’s Crane Service for three serious violations for using an uncertified crane operator and operating a hydraulic crane within 20 feet of an overhead powerline and faces $26,585 in penalties.
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 Airport safety comes to the forefront with OSHA and FAA

• About 27,000 ramp incidents and accidents take place worldwide each year, resulting in approximately 243,000 injuries, a rate of 9 injuries per 1,000 departures, according to the Flight Safety Foundation,
• Questions arise over which agency – OSHA or the FAA – has jurisdiction over the workplace conditions of people who work close to airplanes on the ground.
• This issue has practical consequences over which agency’s standards and regulations govern the occupational safety of rampers such as cargo handlers, fuelers, loaders, caterers, marshallers, and maintenance workers.
• The answer may seem simple when stated at a high level: OSHA has jurisdiction over the occupational safety of ground personnel unless the FAA exercises jurisdiction over a specific function pertinent to their workplace conditions.
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