Not many people outside the safety community relaize that the month of November has seen two of the biggest USA fatal fires over the past 70 years.  November 28, 1942 was the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire where 492 people died and November 21, 1980 was the MGM Grand fire where 85 guests and hotel employees died and another 600 were injured.  Two fires that had a dramitic impact on fire...

This week’s photo is a “Warning” message on the back of a respirator cleaning wipe.  We have all seen the list of stupid warnings on everyday products, but this one took me back a bit.

  Many THANKS to my newest Corporate Partners in Safety… since 2012 since 2012 since 2012 2012 Fatality Tracker Electrical 67 (2011 = 81) (2010 = 90) (2009 = 100) Forklift/Manlift Mobile Equipment 51 (2011 = 84) (2010 = 110) (2009 = 88) Mining 66 (2011 = 248) (2010 = 480) (2009 = 586) Explosions 237 (2011 = 218) (2010 = 246) (2009 = 302) Cranes 46 (2011...

October 1st of this year, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive insitituted a “Fee for Intervention” (FFI) cost recovery scheme.  Under The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulations 2012, those who break health and safety laws are liable for recovery of HSE’s related costs, including inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action.  Novel idea?  Good idea?  Imagine...

Unsafe line break into an Anhydrous Ammonia line results in three workers hospitalized and more than $55,000 in fines – and some valuable lessons for emergency responders.  … HomeRead More »

On June 22, 2012, OSHA published a direct final rule (DFR) in the Federal Register that revised its Head Protection standards for general industry at 29 CFR 1910.135, shipyard employment at 29 CFR 1915.155, marine terminals at 29 CFR 1917.93, longshoring at 29 CFR 1918.103, and construction at 29 CFR 1926.100 by updating a reference to the American National Standards Institute...

OSHA has cited an energy services company with 13 safety and health violations – including two willfuls and three repeats – for exposing workers to flash fires and other hazards. OSHA opened an inspection after two workers were injured by a fire that occurred in an oil and gas field tank (e.g. frac tank). Proposed penalties total $246,000.  OSHA found that the employer had failed to ensure that...

Since we are sharing NIOSH Investigative Reports tonight, I thought I would share one of the reports that floors me every time I see it!  In March 2011, a safety manager for the government agency that inspects “dairy plants” was concerned that the inspectors were not being properly protected from Confined Space hazards, so he requested NIOSH conduct one of their investigations.  The...

On the morning of June 27, 2011, human error resulted in the mixing of an acidic solution of Fresh FX, an antimicrobial used in poultry processing, with a sodium hypochlorite solution. This mixing of chemicals caused a release of chlorine gas into the plant. About 600 employees who were at work at the time of the release were evacuated.  NIOSH received a request for technical assistance from OSHA...

My apologies for missing this one back earlier this year!!!  OSHA has cited an adhesives manufacturing facility with 50 alleged violations of workplace safety standards following a March 13 explosion in which four workers were injured. The  faces a total of $917,000 in proposed fines.  OSHA’s inspection identified several serious deficiencies in the company’s PSM...

The UK’s HSE is issuing this notice to those who use, install, maintain or distribute wood pellet boilers or manufacture/store/distribute wood pellets. Since 2002 there have been at least nine fatalities in Europe caused by carbon monoxide poisoning following entry into wood pellet storage areas. … HomeRead More »

NFPA Data UPDATE on 11/13/12:  The NFPA has updated their Loss calculations from the Magnablend fire, as well as some causes of the damage. … HomeRead More »