OSHA proposes fine after heat death in Alabama

• An Alabama contractor faces penalties of $12,098 after a worker died from heat illness while working on a construction site in extreme temperatures.
• The 33-year-old worker had been an SJ&L General Contractor LLC employee for only three days on when he arrived on the job site at 6:30 a.m.
• He was setting concrete forms by hand while waiting for concrete trucks. According to online records for OSHA, he was stumbling, so a foreman directed him to sit in his truck to cool off.
• The trucks arrived at noon. Temperatures had reached 94 degrees with 85% humidity, leading to a heat index of 107 degrees.
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OSHA promotes safety to future construction workers

• Experts from the OSHA will welcome thousands of students – from Georgia’s middle, high, and tech schools – to the 2024 Construction Ready Career Expo in Atlanta.
• Held at the Georgia World Congress Center from Feb. 22-23, the event will focus on careers in construction and related fields with specialties such as safety, highway construction, electrical contracting, energy, drywall, tile, roofing and more.
• Exhibits will feature machinery and tools, and participants will be on hand to answer questions about career options and skills needed in various industry fields.
• OSHA’s youth safety campaign is part of the agency’s Young Worker Initiative, which provides information and resources to teenagers, parents, educators, and employers to ensure safe and rewarding work experiences for summer employees.
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Update on injuries to oil and gas extraction workers

• From January 2015 to July 2022, OSHA received reports of 2,101 severe injuries among oil and gas extraction workers.
• Contract workers in the service and drilling sub-industries experienced disproportionately more work-related injuries compared with those in the operation sub-industry.
• The report suggests that these injuries could be preventable by including contractors in worksite safety plans that administer the hierarchy of controls and are within an effective safety management system.
• The industry should provide consistent safety training on work equipment, personal protective equipment, and daily site safety meetings that increase safety culture.
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Investigation after worker electrocuted in South Carolina

• South Carolina OSHA, the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office, and officials are investigating after someone died at a workplace just before lunchtime at Lubrizol, a Berkshire Hathaway company that works with natural gas.
• The victim was operating a lift machine when he got close to a high-voltage wire and was electrocuted.
• The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 26-year-old Joe Nuckolls, who was employed by United Rental, Inc., and the incident happened during an inspection of the Lubrizol property.
• The victim was a representative of United Rentals Inc. and was performing an inspection at the time of the incident.
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