After months of a leadership vacuum at the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Here’s the new Cal/OSHA Chief. Cal-OSHA Reporter
New York food packaging company fined more than $200K
Fed-OSHA has fined an Orleans County, New York frozen foods packaging company more than $200,000 related to hazards from a package filler machine that could cause cuts or amputations; failure to ensure employees had proper protections for their eyes and faces; and failure to repair electrical equipment. WHAM (Rochester, N.Y.)
Scissor lift falls over, killing Oregon school district employee
An employee of Oregon’s Beaverton School District died after falling 30 feet to the ground when the scissor lift he was using while painting a school’s roof fell over. KATU (Portland) [with video]
Man killed in Ohio egg-farm accident
A 24-year-old worker who was killed August 8 at a Union County, Ohio egg farm has been identified as a Mexican national. The man reportedly fell from a motorized later about 15 feet above a concrete surface while repairing a manure-transport belt in a barn while not wearing a safety harness. Columbus Dispatch
Film production company fined more than $9K for following stunt injury
A film production company has been fined nearly $9,500 by Fed-OSHA after an employee was injured performing a motorcycle stunt in an empty Norcross, Georgia parking lot in mid-February. WHAS [with video]
Mississippi poultry processor cited after employees hospitalized for ammonia exposure
Following an inspection conducted according to the agency’s Regional Emphasis Program for Poultry Processing Facilities, Fed-OSHA has fined a Laurel, Mississippi poultry plant more than $119,000 for cited violations including failing to provide an operable alarm for release of hazardous chemicals. In January, 12 employees were transported to nearby hospitals after a leak caused the release of 2,100 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. Mississippi Business Journal
Georgia company fined $161K for amputation, other hazards
Following inspections conducted in February and March, Fed-OSHA has fined a Lawrenceville, Georgia electronics company more than $161,000. Cited hazards include included workers not looking both ways before crossing a forklift pathway; oxygen cylinders being kept near combustible materials; and tools such as band saws being unsecured. According to a company official, the citations are related to the company’s former facility, which it no longer occupies. Atlanta Journal Constitution
Two injured at Massachusetts energy plant
Two employees reportedly suffered undisclosed injuries Tuesday afternoon at an energy plant in Medway, Massachusetts. Fed-OSHA was notified. Milford Daily News