California: Update on Walking-Working Surfaces Meeting
Please note that the Cal/OSHA Standards Board’s advisory committee meeting this week regarding ladder safety per Fed-OSHA’s walking-working surfaces standard is February 12-13, not February 13-14, as we previously reported. The meeting is at 9:30 a.m. at the offices of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 3, 3920 Lennane Dr. in Sacramento. Cal-OSHA Reporter
Alabama roofing company fined following teen’s death
The Alabama Department of Labor has issued $15,000 in fines against a roofing company in connection with the death of a 15-year-old who suffered fatal injuries after falling from a roof on a worksite last July. Fed-OSHA previously cited the company and another employer for exposing employees to fall hazards. The companies face more than $159,000 in penalties. Cullman Times
Vermont OSHA investigating after waste collector fatally trapped under dumpster
A 57-year-old waste management employee died last week in South Royalton, Vermont after he was trapped underneath a dumpster outside a restaurant. VOSHA is investigating. Valley News
Five public employees died in Maine in 2019
The deaths of five public employees in Maine last year represent a significantly higher number than the average of one to two per year, according to the Maine Department of Labor, which handles public sector injuries and deaths. Three were line-of-duty deaths for first responders; the other two involved city workers being run over by their own trucks. WMTW (Portland, Maine)
Jobsites’ most universal hazard: personal cell phones
The use of headphones, especially among young Americans, is so prevalent that sometimes construction workers don’t even realize they have them in their ears when they enter the jobsite. Fed-OSHA issued a letter of interpretation last fall providing some clarification of the issue. Construction Dive
Texas steelworker’s ‘lifeline’ failed in deadly fall
A steelworker who died after falling 45 feet while working on a new commercial building in Austin last July had his self-retracting lifeline fail, Fed-OSHA has concluded. The subcontractor that employed the man faces more than $13,000 in pending Fed-OSHA penalties related to the incident. KXAN (Austin) [with video]
Pennsylvania employer fined $280K for exposures to carcinogenic fumes
Following a complaint, Fed-OSHA has fined a Pennsylvania company more than $280,000 for allegedly allowing employees to be overexposed to carcinogenic hexavalent chromium fumes. PennLive
Texas college receives $100K safety grant
The Texas Mutual Insurance Company has granted Amarillo College $100,000 to continue providing free safety-training courses to local employers. The college is one of 11 community colleges that offers free safety-training programs through funding from Texas Mutual, and has received four such grants from the insurer since 2016. KFDA (Amarillo, Texas) [with video]