A male food production worker, 54, who a pizza dough manufacturing facility employed, sustained fatal injuries due to deep neck lacerations made by a steel blade on a dough machine. On the day of the incident, the victim and a co-worker were assigned to clean two dough machines, an “elevator” and a “divider”. The “elevator” had three major components: a lifting mechanism,...

Two chemical plant operators, 40 and 50, died after suffering burns to their bodies when a runaway reaction caused an explosion of flammable liquids.  The two victims were working in a building which contained several tanks of chemicals.  An employee in an adjacent area reported an ammonia odor coming from the building.  The two victims and their supervisor searched the building and...

A boiler maker, 36, suffered fatal burns after an explosion occurred at a refinery. The victim and two injured co-workers were employed by a contractor at the facility. The three were hospitalized as a result of the explosion. The victim died four days later from burns over approximately 90% of his body. The events occurred in the area of the Flare and Knock-Out (KO) Drum. A 36-inch pipe delivers hydrocarbons...

Let’ not fool ourselves or let the media attempt to fool us!  As safety professionals, we all know that the LACK OF INSPECTION by either OSHA or EPA played NO ROLE in the tragic accident in West, TX.  Just ask yourself this simple question:  How many accident investigations have you conducted and determined that a causal factor in the accident was the lack of OSHA or EPA involvement?  We know...

Since the tragic loss of life in the West Fertilizer explosion, the topic of access to “safety codes/standards” and their “availability” has been brewing underground once again.  But with regards to Ammonium Nitrate (AN) safety, there is NO EXCUSE, as the three (3) MOST reputable safety organizations: 1) NFPA, 2) FM Global, and 3) International Fire/HAZMAT Codes can ALL...

This week at the AIHce 2013 in Montreal, Canada Mr. Michael’s had the following to say about the current status and future of OSHA’s VPP… … HomeRead More »

The National Academies Press has released the fourteenth volume ofAcute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, a publication that covers the acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for seven of the approximately 400 extremely hazardous substances that have been identified by EPA. AEGLs are exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur. These threshold...

Based on a compliance monitoring inspection conducted at the Respondent’s facility on August 16, 2012, EPA alleges that the Respondent violated the Act’s Chemical Accident Prevention Program, when at the time of inspection, the Respondent did not provide evidence that: … HomeRead More »

On September 14, 2011 EPA conducted a compliance inspection to determine its compliance with the Risk Management Plan (“RMP”) regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 112(r) of the Act,. and set forth at 40 C.F.R. Part 68. Based on the Inspection and documents submitted by Respondent, EPA has determined that Respondent violated the following regulations: … HomeRead More &raqu...

CLICK HERE to download the pdf  http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/coffee-break/cb_fp_2013_21.pdf

  Many THANKS to my NEWEST and RENEWING Corporate Partners in Safety… returning from 2007 since 2004 since 2013 since 2008 2013 Fatality Tracker Electrical 7 (2012 = 68) (2011 = 81) (2010 = 90) (2009 = 100) Forklift/Manlift 23 (2012 = 52) (2011 = 84) (2010 = 110) (2009 = 88) Mining* 35 (2012 = 92*)  (2011 = 248) (2010 = 480) (2009 = 586) *no longer includes China accidents Explosions...

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