Georgia worker dies after accident involving industrial equipment
A 20-year-old died following a construction accident Monday in Savannah, Georgia. Officials say the accident involved a heavy piece of equipment. Fed-OSHA is investigating. WSAV (Savannah, Ga.)
CDC raises concerns about Oregon castings plant
An analysis conducted last year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the request of employees of a Precision Castparts Corp. factory near Portland, Oregon, found welders faced elevated risks of metals and noise exposure and had not been properly trained in safety. Oregon OSHA fined the company 11 times in the past five years for workplace safety violations, with total penalties of nearly $50,000. Oregonian
Elderly New York worker injured in construction accident
A 78-year-old Goshen, New York man suffered serious injuries in a construction accident on December 28, while he was constructing a concrete stairwell and fell from scaffolding onto a concrete floor below. Fed-OSHA is investigating. Mid-Hudson News
Truck driver’s meth use linked to crash at Wyoming construction site
A fatal crash in October 2018 at a Wyoming construction site occurred because the truck driver had been using methamphetamine prior to the incident, Wyoming OSHA has concluded. A toxicology screen found 558 nanograms of methamphetamine per milliliter of blood in the driver’s system. Although Wyoming does not have a set standard, other states consider a driver who has 100 or more nanograms of meth per milliliter in their system to be impaired. Powell Tribune
Man dies in fall at historic Chicago power plant redevelopment site
A laborer who was attempting to climb onto an elevated platform at a nearly century-old coal plant redevelopment worksite in Chicago fell about 50 feet to his death last week. The plant was one of the last two coal plants in operation in Chicago until 2012. Fed-OSHA is investigating. Chicago Tribune
Delta workers sue over ‘toxic’ new uniforms
A new lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds Delta Airlines employees claims their uniforms contain “excessive allergen and sensitizing properties.” The plaintiffs, who are seeking class-action status, also claim they’ve suffered from hair loss, migraines, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, anaphylactic-type symptoms and auto-immune conditions. New York Post
Physicians discuss healthcare workers’ protection legislation
“We have been threatened with bodily harm by the very people we seek to help more times than we care to count,” say Dr. Gregory Jasani, emergency medicine resident at the University of Maryland and Dr. Aamir Hussain, internal medicine resident in Manhasset, New York. Here, the two physicians discuss the Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare and Social Service Workers Act that was recently passed by the U.S House of Representatives. Baltimore Sun