Well services firm signs plea deal in fatal 2014 explosion in North Dakota

A Houston oil and gas company has reached a plea deal in the 2014 death of an Alabama man who died in an explosion while working in the North Dakota oil patch. He was welding inside a water hauling tank that had not been properly cleaned and vented when the welding equipment ignited a hydrocarbon vapor mixture. The plea agreement requires the company to pay $1.6 million to his estate and a $500,000 fine. Island Packet

Falling power pole kills two Texas utility workers

Two utility workers, one 30 years old and the other 49, were killed Saturday afternoon in Marble Falls, Texas after a 5-ton metal pole fell on them during a lifting operation. Fed-OSHA in investigating. Austin American-Statesman

OSHNC investigating scaffolding incident

The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating after two workers on a scaffold at a Raleigh office building were injured when a piece of limestone facade broke free and fell about 20 to 25 feet onto the platform. The piece hit one of the workers on the head, and a smaller piece hit a second worker, resulting in minor injuries, according to an OSHNC spokeswoman who said the workers had been repairing the expansion joint on a wall of the building at the time. WRAL (Raleigh, N.C.)

MIOSHA investigating maintenance worker’s death in retention pond

Michigan OSHA is investigating after a 20-year-old maintenance worker died in a Leelanau County retention pond. According to officials, he was attempting to access filters when the small boat he was in slipped away, causing him to fall and strike a dock and land in the water. UpNorthLive

New Mexico: Park Service looks to prevent exposure to toxic gas at caverns

Although the park has been deemed safe for visitors, dangerous levels of radon were found recently by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigators at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, prompting the National Park Service to enact a plant to protect staff and visitors. It includes monitoring the hours employees spend in the caverns and providing training on possible effects of exposure. Carlsbad Current Argus [with video]

Fed-OSHA fines Florida contractor following worker’s fatal fall

A central Florida contractor has been fined more than $18,000 by Fed-OSHA after a worker fell to his death while installing aluminum decking on a Naples mobile home carport. The agency originally proposed fines of more than $26,000. Citations include lack of fall protection, not providing proper ladder safety training and a ladder that was too short. Miami Herald