Painter falls 25 feet at Massachusetts restaurant jobsite

A painter fell about 25 feet while working on the outside of a building at the location of a Burlington, Massachusetts restaurant on Friday morning, and suffered a serious head injury. The incident was the second involving an employee in Burlington in four days. Fed-OSHA is investigating. NECN

 

West Virginia mail carriers report safety issues due to lagging truck maintenance

U.S. Postal Service employees in West Virginia are reporting vehicles with worn brakes and failing steering equipment. A garage that repairs mail trucks for several parts of central and southern West Virginia reportedly is behind on maintenance, and had a backlog of more than 150 late preventative maintenance inspections as of the end of 2021. Charleston Gazette-Mail

 

Bismarck Tribune calls for stiffer fines for oilfield related violations

In the wake of several citations issued to employers doing work in North Dakota’s oil patch, the Bismarck Tribune editorial board has come out in favor of Fed-OSHA issuing stiffer fines for safety violations in oilfield work, noting that one cited company’s violations “also put the public at risk during the transportation of explosives.” Bismarck Tribune

 

Hawaii fire crews complain about unsafe conditions at training area

The U.S. Army is addressing complaints by federal firemen about unsafe conditions at Pohakuloa Training Area, according to an Army official. Hawaii Tribune [may require registration]

 

Florida utility pleads guilty in death of four employees

Tampa Electric Co. has pleaded guilty in federal court to willfully violating a Fed-OSHA regulation that resulted in an explosion at the Big Bend coal-fired power plant in 2017 that caused the deaths of five employees, when hardened slag that had accumulated at the top and the bottom of a tank came loose and and sprayed the area with molten slag as the employees performed high-pressure water blasting. The utility admitted in a plea agreement to willfully failing to hold a pre-job briefing with the employees that included procedures for the water-blasting work. Patch

 

Family of man who died after falling through Pittsburgh skylight files lawsuit

The wife of a bricklayer who died after falling through a roof skylight as he did restoration work at a South Park, Pennsylvania building last year has filed a lawsuit against the county and contractor. The skylight wasn’t readily visible, according to the lawsuit, and when the employee struck it, it gave way and he fell through it to the concrete floor 21 feet below. The lawsuit also alleges there was no fall protection on the roof or covers on the skylights. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/TribLive