Note to our valued subscribers: OSHA Today will be taking its annual holiday break starting Monday, December 20. We will resume daily netletter publication Monday, January 3, 2022. We wish all of our subscribers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

MOSH investigating employee’s death at fiber plant

Maryland OSHA is investigating an apparent fatal industrial accident that occurred Sunday night at a cellulose fiber manufacturing plant. The 28-year-old employee who died was a production tech tasked with processing 22-pound bags of non-toxic cellulose fibers once they come off an auto-bagger. The preliminary investigation indicates that he was working near a conveyor-type mechanism at the time of the incident. Kent County News

Fed-OSHA investigating Apple following whistleblower complaint

The Department of Labor confirmed to the New York Times Monday it has opened an investigation into Apple following a whistleblower’s letter to the agency. The former employee has said she was fired from Apple after filing labor complaints and publicly criticizing the company over issues including harassment. Business Insider

Fed-OSHA investigating warehouse disaster that killed six

Fed-OSHA is investigating the collapse of an Amazon delivery station in Edwardsville, Illinois, that killed six people dead after a tornado hit the building Friday evening. As of Monday, everyone reported having been at the Amazon facility when the tornado struck had been accounted for. ABC News

Tampa lead factory to face new monitoring schedule

A Tampa lead factory, where employees recycle lead from old car batteries by extracting the metal, melting it in furnaces and creating new blocks to sell, will face increased government scrutiny as soon as next week, after a Tampa Bay Times investigation found it took steps to limit pollution when it knew environmental regulators were watching. The new monitoring schedule makes Hillsborough County the only place in the nation performing randomized air sampling around a lead smelter, according to officials. Tampa Bay Times

How Fed-OSHA has handled workplace safety complaints during the pandemic

According to data received, there were nearly 500 COVID-19 related complaints from Missouri employees over the last 21 months. Twenty companies in mid-Missouri received one or more complaints. Fed-OSHA determined just over 400 of those complaints valid. Of the companies it inspected, Fed-OSHA issued 108 penalties which resulted in fines of more than $767,000. KOMU