Kansas City area company fined again by Fed-OSHA, six years after employee’s death

Fed-OSHA this week fined a Kansas City-area plumbing contractor nearly $797,000 fine for allegedly endangering two employees digging trenches that had the potential to collapse. In 2018, the same company was fined $225,000 in connection with the 2016 death of an employee. The agency noted it took three years for the company to hire a safety consultant, which it had agreed to do after the employee’s death. Kansas City Star

Brick manufacturer fined more than $130K

Fed-OSHA has fined a Martinsburg, West Virginia-area brick manufacturing company more than $131,000 following an August 2021 inspection, after the agency received reports it did not provide employees with personal protective equipment while they were working around materials containing silica. The agency also determined the company did not implement adequate engineering and work practice controls, conduct scheduled monitoring, establish regulated decontamination areas or make a medical surveillance program available for employees exposed at or above the action level. Herald-Mail

How to prepare for an tank-cleaning inspection

Transportation tank-cleaning industry employees face many hazards that can lead to serious injury, illness, and death, including fires, explosions, hazardous atmospheres, and hazardous chemicals, rendering them unable to self-rescue from the interior of a tank, according to Fed-OSHA. Thus, for the foreseeable future, the agency is scrutinizing tank-cleaning operations across 11 states in an effort to make the job safer. The intent of the regional emphasis programs is to encourage employers to take steps to address hazards, ensure facilities are evaluated to determine if the employer is complying with all relevant Fed-OSHA requirements, and to help employers correct hazards. Bulk Transporter

More than 50 gig workers have been killed while working in the US since 2017

Isabella Lewis, who drove for Lyft in Texas, is one of the more than 50 gig worker drivers killed on the job since 2017, according to a new report that highlights the risks of gig work and how families often have little or no communication from the companies involved. The numbers in the report are consistent with the limited self-reporting from individual platforms. In a community safety report from 2021, Lyft reported 10 fatal attacks against drivers from 2017 through 2019. In 2019, Uber reported 19 fatal attacks over the preceding two years. The Verge

Ag industry weighs in on potential heat injury prevention proposal

Farm groups and agriculture labor advocates are keeping a close eye on pending rulemaking that would add federal rulemaking to the conversation surrounding the health of employees in hot conditions across the country. Agri-Pulse [may require registration]