Saia Motor Freight Line Co. operated forklifts with defective safety switches
February 16, 2015
Four employees were hospitalized, two of them in critical conditions, after an explosion at a St. Louis trucking terminal on Aug. 6, 2014. The explosion's cause: a forklift's ignition source and a loose coupling connection to a liquid propane gas tank.
Combustible dust – which, left uncontrolled or suspended in the air can explode -- was one of many safety hazards discovered after an inspection at the Thomas Moore Feed facility in Navasota, Texas, by OSHA inspectors. The company with cited for 18 violations and proposed a penalty of $58,100.
OSHA cites Burrows Paper for the fourth time in a year
February 12, 2015
Mere months after two employees were injured by dangerous machines, Burrows Paper Corp. again put workers at risk. Acting on a complaint, OSHA found workers unjamming and servicing machines without proper safeguards during an Aug. 25, 2014, inspection.
A 49-year-old machine operator was fatally crushed while reaching into an extrusion press to remove unprocessed aluminum parts because his employer, BRT Extrusions Inc., failed to ensure the machine's power was fully off so that it would not turn on during maintenance, a procedure known as lockout/tagout.
A 31-year-old worker was the second person killed in a year at Madden Bolt Corp. when a cutting-table explosion in August 2014 hurled the employee and a steel plate into the air. The plate then landed on the fallen worker, OSHA investigators determined.
When chemicals can contact the eye or body and cause injury, immediate action is necessary to rinse affected areas. Emergency showers and eyewashes are the primary equipment for such action.
Emergency safety showers provide the first line of defence in the event of a chemical spillage. When workers come into contact with dangerous substances they need to be able to wash it off quickly. Delays exacerbate the situation resulting in more serious injury with possible long-term consequences, permanent disability, and even death.
Investigators have determined an electrical failure igniting a nearby, dry Christmas tree caused the recent Annapolis mansion fire that killed four young children and their grandparents. In the wake of this tragedy, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) are joining forces to educate the public about the danger of dried out Christmas trees and the importance of electrical safety.