New York: 83 in voluntary isolation over coronavirus concerns
Officials in Nassau County, New York have announced they are monitoring 83 people who may have had potential exposure to the coronavirus, and test results for one resident are pending. Health officials are urging residents to practice good hygiene, including frequent hand washing, in order to guard against both the flu and coronavirus. WABC (New York) [with video]
Employee’s death at Texas shipyard probed
Fed-OSHA is investigating a workplace fatality after a 60-year-old man fell to his death on a tugboat at a Port Neches, Texas shipyard on Saturday. There are two dry docks on the site; authorities did not say where the employee was when he fell. Port Arthur News
Utah bill addresses surgical smoke
Nurses showed up last week on Utah’s Capitol Hill to push for proposed legislation intended to protect hospital staff from surgical smoke generated in operating rooms. A local news station’s investigation found surgical smoke contained the same cancer-causing smoke as cigarettes. Out of the 46 hospitals in Utah, the station found only one was 100-percent smoke-free. KSL (Salt Lake City) [with video]
It’s manhole explosion season in New York City
An underground explosion that sent four heavy manhole covers into the air in New York City in November 2014, severely injuring a taxi driver, was among nearly 4,000 manhole explosions logged between 2009 and 2018, records show. At least 57 people were injured during that period, along with nine more injuries in 2019. The explosions also caused significant property damage, building evacuations, power outages and traffic disruptions. Some experts and former utility workers say lack of upkeep is at the root of the problem. The City
Garden products company fined nearly $149K
Fed-OSHA has cited a specialty mulch manufacturer for allegedly exposing employees to various hazards including deficient energy control procedures at the company’s Cumming, Georgia facility and fined it nearly $149,000. Other cited violations included failing to ensure machinery was effectively guarded, allowing employees to operate defective powered industrial trucks, and failing to reduce compressed air to the appropriate level before allowing employees to use it for cleaning purposes. Albany Herald
OR-OSHA cites lumber company following machine-related accident
Oregon OSHA has cited a lumber products company for six alleged violations, including two classified as repeat, following an injury accident involving an unguarded rotating sprocket last September. The employee was attempting to put a moving chain back on the track of a moulder outfeed chain conveyor while it was still operating, which caused the employee’s left hand to be dragged into the machine’s rotating sprocket, resulting in a finger amputation and other injuries. KTVZ (Bend, Ore.)