At 5:30 in the morning on November 20th, a huge explosion tore through Consolidation Coal’s Number Nine mine. The force of the blast could be felt for miles. There would be dozens of other explosions in the days to come and intense fires. Ninety-nine miners were underground at the time; 21 managed to make it to the surface, the other 78 all died. Nineteen bodies were never recovered.

It’s a pretty big breakfast meeting and it takes place every four months or so. Approximately 200 members of the General Building Contractors Association’s (GBCA) Philadelphia chapter get together with OSHA representatives three times a year to learn more about improving safety in Philadelphia area construction projects.

From east to west, north to south, both federal OSHA and state-level agencies say busy conducting investigations and issuing citations to companies who violate safety regulations. This review of recent cases indicates a variety of citations issued, for confined space, fall and trenching hazards, among others.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued urgent safety recommendations based on its investigation into the gas explosions and fires that rocked a residential section of a Massachusetts town in September. The incident in Merrimack Valley killed one person, sent at least 21 others to area hospitals and destroyed dozens of buildings.

A large American Cancer Society (ACS) study links social isolation with a higher risk of death from all causes combined and heart disease for all races studied, and with increased cancer mortality in white men and women. The study says addressing social isolation holds promise if studies show interventions are effective, as they could be relatively simple and could influence other risk factors, as social isolation is also associated with hypertension, inflammation, physical inactivity, smoking, and other health risks.

OSHA has cited Sabel Steel Service Inc. – based in Montgomery, Alabama – for exposing employees to amputation, fall, and other hazards at four of the company's facilities. The manufacturer faces $320,261 in penalties.

An OSHA investigation into an accident in which a construction worker had his foot and ankle crushed has led to multiple citations against two companies. The employee suffered the injuries at a Fort Lauderdale, Florida worksite when the lattice boom section of a crane fell on him during disassembly.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil tragedy struck and took the nation’s attention for months. Two-hundred million gallons of oil spilled, 16,000 miles is the range it spread across the coastline from Florida to Texas, 8,000 animals were killed, and 11 workers were killed due to the explosion. Communities around the Gulf of Mexico came to a halt, but lurking underneath this disaster was an older spill spewing from an oil platform that was damaged six years earlier.

Whether you call it “Drinksgiving” or “Blackout Wednesday,” the meaning is the same. Those terms refer to the night before Thanksgiving, which has become the biggest bar night of the year in the U.S., surpassing even New Year’s Eve. With that distinction comes lots of drinking – including binge drinking – and, unfortunately, a high rate of drunk driving.