Anhydrous ammonia leak sends dozens to hospital
- Dozens of people in Weatherford, Oklahoma, were sent to the hospital and hundreds were evacuated after a tanker truck parked at a Holiday Inn Express leaked anhydrous ammonia into the area.
- Video shows a noxious cloud enveloping the parking lot. A driver for Airgas had parked the tanker in back of the hotel after booking a room. A leaky valve is thought to be to blame for the exposure.
- About 14 police officers suffered chemical burns to their airways while helping evacuate hotel guests.
- The tanker was carrying approximately 25,000 pounds of NH3, a concentrated farming fertilizer.
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Boring Co. safety representative quit over hazardous conditions
- A former employee at The Boring Company who oversaw safety at one of the tunnels for the Las Vegas Loop claims health and safety is being ignored at the project in favor of the production schedule, prompting him to quit his high-paying job .
- Complaint documents from September released by Nevada OSHA appear to align with the former employee’s allegations.
- Alleged conditions include employees being exposed to dust without respiratory protective equipment; exposure to excavations up to 30 feet without fall protection; exposure to chemical burns from the muck produced by the tunneling process, but employees not being allowed to seek medical care; and laborers working in tunnels with no safety training.
- Nevada OSHA resolved the complaints through the “inquiry process” and did not inspect the worksite, and closed its investigation about three weeks after receiving them.
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“Devastating consequences” to being an OSHA Severe Violator
- In 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration expanded its “Severe Violator Enforcement Program” (SVEP).
- SVEP is reserved for companies OSHA determines have repeatedly failed to address workplace safety even after being cited for such violations.
- The 2022 changes to the program expanded the criteria under which an employer would be placed in it and increased the time employers must remain in SVEP.
- A public database of SVEP employers could have “devastating effects” on a business. So far, the Trump administration has not moved to rescind the Biden-era changes to the program.
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