News Digest 6-6-2019

New Jersey: Four injured in Trenton-area building collapse

Four people were injured Wednesday when scaffolding collapsed at a construction site in Bordentown, New Jersey. Fed-OSHA has been notified. CBS3 (Philadelphia, N.J.)

Saw kicks back, fatally injuring Pennsylvania worker

A 62-year-old man died in a Pittsburgh hospital Friday after being injured while working with a table saw at a Latrobe, Pennsylvania company. According to a Fed-OSHA spokeswoman, the worker had been cutting a piece of board that “kicked back” and struck him in the abdomen. The company has no history of violations with Fed-OSHA, according to the agency. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

At least 2 million experience workplace violence

In the wake of Friday’s shooting rampage at a Virginia Beach city government building, Kathleen Bonczyk, founder of the nonprofit Workplace Violence Prevention Institute, says at least 2 million Americans experience violence at work according to Fed-OSHA. WUIS/NPR Illinois (Springfield, Ill.)

New inspection system for pork industry gets pushback from House Dems

A proposed rule the USDA published in February to change hog plant inspections would reduce the number of federal inspectors on slaughter lines by 40 percent in plants that chose to adopt the new inspection system, and place no restrictions on line speeds. The proposal, which was expected to be finalized this summer but could be delayed pending an investigation, calls for shifting to plant workers many tasks once performed exclusively by Department of Agriculture inspectors, including removing unfit and potentially diseased live hogs before they enter the slaughterhouse. Washington Post

Snack food maker settles with Fed-OSHA

After a Fed-OSHA investigation determined the company had exposed employees to serious machine hazards, J&J Snack Foods Corp. has agreed to pay nearly $153,000 in penalties and improve workplace safety and health at its eight food manufacturing and warehouse facilities in New Jersey and New York as part of a settlement. The company also has agreed to hire a full-time site-safety manager who will be responsible for coordinating safety and health onsite at each facility, as well as a qualified safety and health professional. Food Business News

Pet food retailer fined $14K following Florida worker’s death

Fed-OSHA has fined an online pet products retailer more than $14,000 after a worker was killed in an accident involving the operation of a stand-up industrial truck at the company’s Ocala, Florida distribution facility. The citations allege struck-by and crushing hazards. Powder & Bulk Solids