News Digest 4-29-2019

 

Miami airport workers describe unsafe conditions, retaliation

Ramp workers and cabin cleaners for a subcontractor to major airlines have reported dirty and hazardous working conditions, including intense heat and biohazards, at Miami International Airport. The workers also claim the company does not provide paid sick leave or vacation time. Miami Herald

 

Are workplaces becoming more dangerous?

The death of an employee in a meat grinder at a Pennsylvania plant earlier this month occurred as Fed-OSHA is experiencing a severe staffing shortage. A new report from the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, released the day after the woman’s death, found that the agency has only 875 health and safety inspectors to cover the 9 million workplaces in its jurisdiction, and that even when Fed-OSHA investigates a death and finds an employer negligent, the median fine is only $7,500. Intelligencer

 

Fall kills Palm Beach construction worker

A construction worker died after a fall Wednesday morning at a mixed-use development under construction at a former restaurant site in Palm Beach, Florida. Fed-OSHA is investigating. Palm Beach Daily News

 

Trench collapse kills worker at Utah residential pool site

A 53-year-old man who was installing a pool in the backyard of a home near Salt Lake City died in a trench collapse Wednesday afternoon. The worker reportedly was buried in dirt initially up to his neck, but when first responders arrived, was trapped from the waist down. He was pronounced dead at the scene. KSL (Salt Lake City)

 

Chemical spill near Chicago injures 30

An apparently accidental spill of anhydrous ammonia in Lake County, Illinois early Thursday injured more than 30 people. The chemical can be extremely dangerous when mishandled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chicago Tribune

 

Ceremony honors dozens who died in Region VIII workplace incidents last year

In Colorado, where two workers died earlier this month in a trench collapse, an event last week memorialized the 23 workers who died on the lob last year in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah, and Montana. A total of 58 names–all of the workers who died in Region VIII during 2018–were read. 9News (Denver)

 

Hazardous drug exposures: Implications for oncology advance practice clinicians

Advanced practice clinicians in oncology settings face potential indirect and direct exposures to hazardous drugs. Case-control studies have confirmed the relationship between hazardous drug exposure and adverse reproductive effects, and reports have identified airway and dermal ailments, as well as rare cancers and leukemias. Healio

 

OR-OSHA offers online training for safety committees

Oregon OSHA has prepared three online training courses for safety committee members: Safety Meetings and Committees, Accident Investigation and Hazard Identification. They are available in both English and Spanish. Corvallis Gazette-Times

 

Virginia: Roanoke construction site injury accident under investigation

Virginia OSHA is investigating three companies in connection with a recent injury at a construction site, the location for a new bank, in Roanoke. Virginia First