Miners Ask Court to Force Silica Dust Limits
Miners Ask West Virginia Supreme Court to Force Silica Dust Limits The United Mine Workers of America and 52 miners filed an emergency petition with the West Virginia Supreme Court on Oct. 29 asking it to order the state Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety to pass regulations limiting silica dust in coal […]
OSHA Finds Safety Lapses at Archer Daniels Midland Factory
OSHA Records Detail Safety Lapses Before Factory Explosion Federal records obtained by Investigate Midwest show OSHA found poor safety training at Archer Daniels Midland’s Decatur, Illinois soybean processing plant before a September 2023 explosion that severely injured eight people. OSHA found ADM gave incorrect written guidance on a sliding gate meant to seal a […]
Contractor Sues LG Energy Solution Over Pipeline Explosion
Contractor Sues LG Energy Solution Over Pipeline Explosion Dong-won Park, a South Korean employee of IBG Construction Inc., has sued LG Energy Solution Michigan Inc. and two of its site foremen in Ottawa County Circuit Court over injuries he sustained in a Sept. 23 pipeline rupture at LG’s battery plant in Holland, Michigan. The […]
Paper Mill Fined After Worker Falls into Hot Pulp
Paper Mill Fined $77,800 After Worker Falls into Hot Pulp The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has fined the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview $77,800 over a March incident in which a worker fell into a hole filled with pulp at about 145 degrees. L&I said a tank valve was […]
Ramp Agent Sues Airline, Airport over Traumatic Injury
Ramp Agent Sues Port of Seattle, Alaska Airlines Over Tug Strike Injury Tyler King, a former ramp agent at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, is suing the Port of Seattle and Alaska Airlines for negligence after a coworker driving a tug vehicle allegedly struck her on the tarmac in November 2023. The complaint says she suffered […]
Law Revision: Multiple Worker Deaths Can Lead to 5% Profit Surcharge
Companies With Multiple Worker Deaths to Be Levied 5% Profit Surcharge South Korea has revised its Occupational Safety and Health Act to allow the government impose a surcharge of up to 5% of a company’s average operating profit over three years if three or more workers die within a year in industrial accidents caused […]
PFAs Banned in Firefighting Foam to Protect Responders
Pennsylvania Bans PFAS in Firefighting Foam, Citing Risks to Responders Pennsylvania Senate Bill 804, signed into law Oct. 22 bans per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in firefighting foam. Cancer is now the top cause of line-of-duty deaths among firefighters, in part because of PFAS exposure, according to the advocacy group PennEnvironment. The law bans the […]
Repeat Trench Violations Result in $380K in Penalties
OSHA Proposes $380,664 in Fines Contractor Over Repeat Trench Violations The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $380,664 in penalties against Always Underground LLC, a Frankfort, Illinois-based utility construction company, after investigators observed workers in an unprotected trench deeper than 8 feet. The inspection was part of OSHA’s National Emphasis Program on Trenching. OSHA […]
Oft-Cited Company Fined $13,000 After Fingertip Amputation
Ambulance Maker Fined $13,000 After Worker’s Fingertip Amputation The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries on Sept. 19 fined Braun Northwest, a Chehalis, Washington-based ambulance manufacturer $13,000 for failing to protect employees using a heavy-duty Accurshear cutting machine from a shear point hazard. An employee had two fingertips amputated in June when his […]
More Workers Sickened at Smurfit Mill
Mystery Illness Hits Two More Smurfit Mill Workers in Virginia Less than a week after 16 contractors were treated for nausea and mild symptoms after working at Smurfit Westrock Covington Mill in Covington, Virginia, two more workers were treated for similar symptoms on Oct. 20. The cause of their symptoms is unknown. A Smurfit Westrock […]