Fed-OSHA warns of heat dangers

Fed-OSHA is reminding employers that employees who work in high temperatures and humid conditions are at risk for heat-related illness, and is highlighting several steps intended to protect them. Symptoms of heat illness include fainting, dizziness, nausea and muscle spasms. Dayton Daily News

Worker killed in tower fall not wearing safety equipment: IOSH

According to Iowa OSHA, a 47-year-old man who died in May after falling 1,000 feet from a central Iowa television tower was not attached to safety equipment to slow or stop his fall. At the time of the fall, the worker was making a splice in the transmission lines to hook up an existing antenna. When he disconnected his positioning lanyard to reposition himself on the tower, he slipped and fell. Des Moines Register

Institution fined after disabled elderly resident collapses on hot patio

Iowa OSHA has fined a state institution $15,000 for an incident in which a severely disabled, 76-year-old man fell unconscious after being left out on a patio for more than an hour on a hot afternoon. According to the investigators, he was on medication that made it hard for his body to cope with heat. Des Moines Register

Fed-OSHA fines Oklahoma manufacturer $187K

A Pryor, Oklahoma metalworking band-saw manufacturer has been fined more than $187,000 by Fed-OSHA for 19 alleged serious and other other violations including exposing employees to fall, machine guarding, struck-by and electrical hazards. Tulsa World

Whistleblower cites concerns about Boston light-rail project

A federal whistleblower complaint criticizes a lax safety culture at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and says the problems extend to hazards discovered on a $2.3 billion light-rail extension project slated to open in 2021. The 88-page complaint, filed by the agency’s former chief safety officer, alleges staff cuts reduced the number of safety-related personnel while key managers received increases. ENR New England