Four workers who were performing maintenance at the Waupaca Plant in Tell City, Indiana were transported to the University of Louisville Hospital’s burn unit on Monday after being injured at the facility. Officials have released few details about the incident, which occurred at 10:30 a.m. in the company’s cupola, according to news sources.

If you believe conditions at your workplace are unsafe or unhealthy, you’ve got some options. First, though: before seeking government intervention, OSHA recommends that you bring the conditions to your employer's attention, if possible. If that doesn’t bring about changes, and you believe that there is a serious hazard in your workplace, or that your employer is not following OSHA standards, you can file a complaint.

Warehouses are home to all sorts of technology and machinery, but their most valuable occupant is also perhaps the most vulnerable: human employees. When it comes to ensuring the safety of warehouse workers, shortcuts aren't an option. Warehousing has a higher fatal injury rate than the national average across all industries.

The cutting, shaping, drilling, milling, and grinding operations that take place in the wood manufacturing and processing industries make it an inherently high hazard industry, with employees potentially exposed to injuries caused by equipment and illnesses from inhaling wood dust and particles.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has approved a final rule on accidental release reporting. The CSB has posted a prepublication version of the final rule available at the following link: https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/6/prepublicationcopy2-3-20.pdf. The official version is expected to be published early next week in the Federal Register.

There were 24 mining fatalities in the U.S. in 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reports. This is the fewest annual fatalities ever recorded, and only the fifth year in MSHA’s 43-year history that mining fatalities were below 30.

A school district in Michigan ran afoul of federal laws protecting whistleblowers when it fired an employee who reported unsafe working conditions. That determination against the Dearborn Heights School District – made last week by OSHA - carries with it a $102,905.78 penalty, for back wages, damages and other compensation.

The long-time employee who was killed in an industrial accident last week in New York State died of “trauma,” according to Columbia County Coroner Daniel Herrick, who declined to release further details. Details about the fatal incident itself have also not been released by authorities. It occurred at the ADM Milling Co. flour mill in Greenport on Tuesday morning.

ACGIH®, supported by its renowned Industrial Ventilation Committee, will present a popular continuing education course this spring. Fundamentals in Industrial Ventilation & Practical Applications of Useful Equations will be held March 30April 3, 2020 at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Cincinnati-Blue Ash in Cincinnati, Ohio. Register early and save!