Employee drowns in manure pit while working at Colorado dairy
A 44-year-old man died after a manure vacuum truck he was operating sunk into a manure pit at a dairy on March 31. An advocacy group for Colorado agriculture employees released details of the man’s death last week, reporting that the father of three children was trapped inside the truck for 30 minutes before responders freed the truck from the pit using a forklift. 9News (Denver)
New Mexico officials cite cannabis company following explosion
New Mexico Department of Health officials have cited multiple violations at a Santa Fe cannabis company following an October explosion that occurred as two employees were using equipment to extract THC from the cannabis plant. The owner of the company is accused of altering the hot plate system, which exposed the ethanol used in the process. The explosion was the second to occur at the facility since 2015. Albuquerque Journal
Fed-OSHA cites Florida framer for repeat fall protection hazards
A Florida framing and sheathing contractor has been fined by Fed-OSHA, as part of the agency’s Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction, for repeat fall protection violations for employees working from heights greater than 6 feet. Fed-OSHA cited the company for a similar violation in 2017. The company faces $61,575 in penalties. Jacksonville Business Journal
IOSH cites prison for deficient communication system
Iowa OSHA has cited a state penitentiary, where two inmates killed two staff members, for lack of a reliable way to contact other employees for help during an emergency. Other cited violations including exposing employees to fall hazards due to inadequate stair rails and deficient training programs. The agency issued just over $20,000 in fines. KCRG (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
New Jersey nurses’ union filed 24 safety complaints during pandemic
New Jersey’s largest nurse and healthcare employees’ union filed 24 complaints with Fed-OSHA and the state’s Office of Public Employees’ Occupational Safety and Health, related to during the pandemic, and will seek a larger role through contract negotiations in determining how hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare employers respond to emergencies, according to the union’s president. MSN
CSB gives update of probe into Ohio paint factory explosion
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board last week provided its first update in its investigation of an explosion that occurred at a Columbus, Ohio paint factory early Thursday morning, resulting in one death, the hospitalization of five other individuals, and four non-serious injuries. Fed-OSHA also is investigating. Columbus Dispatch
Two years after North Carolina gas line blast, trauma and lawsuits
A contractor installing underground cables struck a gas line near downtown Durham, North Carolina on April 10, 2019, causing an explosion that killed two people and injuring about two dozen others. The N.C. Department of Labor fined three companies for workplace safety violations related to the explosion. They are among several contractors named as defendants in lawsuits filed by people physically and mentally affected by the blast. WRAL (Raleigh, N.C.)