What activities and circumstances are proximal to a welding-related occupational eye injury? Researchers categorized and described the activity, initiating process, mechanism of injury, object and/or substance, and the use of protective eyewear from the narrative text data reported for each injury.
Welders in a shop in Augusta, Georgia, were welding a plate onto the outside of a non-pressurized waste water collection tank in preparation for installing a hand rail. The atmosphere was tested surrounding the tank, but the inside was not. The welders didn't know what the gas buildup was, but the air in the tank was combustible. One of the victims in the explosion that occurred at the DSM Resins plant in September, 2017, was working inside a tank when the explosion happened.
One person was killed and approximately three dozen injured in an explosion and fire last week at a cosmetics factory in New York state. Seven of the injured were firefighters who were inside the facility, responding to a first blast, when a second explosion occurred.
After multiple delays, OSHA has finally announced that employers who are required to keep OSHA injury and illness records must send summary information in to the agency by December 15, fifteen days after the deadline announced last June, when the agency proposed to delay the reporting deadline from July 1 to December 1.
OSHA is proposing nearly two million dollars in fines against a Wisconsin corn milling facility, after five employees were killed in 12 others injured in a grain dust explosion. Among those injured in the May 31, 2017 accident at Didion Milling, Inc.: a 21-year-old employee who suffered a double leg amputation after being crushed by a railcar. OSHA found that the explosion likely resulted from Didion’s failures to correct the leakage and accumulation of highly combustible grain dust throughout the facility and to properly maintain equipment to control ignition sources.
The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) says it is “encouraged” after seeing newly released data that shows a continued decrease in occupational injuries and illnesses, but thinks even more can be done to protect workers.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Nov. 9 that workplace injuries and illnesses at private industry employers were down by 48,500 cases in 2016 compared to the previous year.
Six construction workers were injured last week – four seriously – at a Brooklyn, New York worksite. According to news sources, the injuries occurred when a two-story brick building that was under construction collapsed after a load of cinder blocks was placed on its roof.
Seven workers were injured last night – five of them critically -- when an oil rig exploded on Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. News sources say the Coast Guard is searching for one person who is still missing. All of the workers suffered blast-type injuries and burns.
The Massachusetts Senate moved a step closer yesterday to joining 26 other states in extending OSHA safety standards to public sector workers. Bill S.2167, which has yet to be voted on by the Massachusetts House, would ensure that all state and local government workers are protected by the OSHA standards, which apply only to private sector workers.
Four separate reports of workers suffering life-changing injuries brought OSHA inspectors to a Chicago manufacturing company, where they found multiple safety violations.
