A newsletter of workplace safety and labor issues
“We need to be protecting our workers as much as protecting our shores.” So says former OSHA head Dr. David Michaels in response to a report by Reveal and PBS about fatalities and injuries at shipyards that receive billions in contracts from the US government. The reporters point out intentional, knowing violations of the law,…
Five fatalities in Pennsylvania this week and three in Colorado. Work accident kills Mansfield business owner MANSFIELD, PA — A Mansfield business owner was killed Tuesday when he was pinned under a piece of farming machinery. Lane Smith, 57, owner and operator of L. P. Smith Co., was working on farm equipment when a manure spreader…
UGI worker killed in Pa. home explosion, company confirms Lancaster, PA — A UGI worker was killed and two others were injured in a house explosion early Sunday afternoon in Lancaster County, according to the Reading-based gas company. A woman was told to leave the home while UGI and a Lancaster Area Sewer Authority employee checked on a gas…
So what’s going on here? OSHA investigates second fatal explosion in a month at Barbour Co., WV plant ARDEN, W.Va. (WDTV)-– One worker is killed in an explosion at Midland Resource Recovery, in Barbour Co., WV, less than one month after a similar explosion there killed 2 workers and seriously injured another. “Apparently when they…
Construction Worker Dies After Falling From Brooklyn Building: NYPD New York, NY — A construction worker fell from a building and died in Brooklyn on Sunday, authorities said. The 58-year-old man fell from scaffolding at 1382 Nostrand Ave. in East Flatbush, police said. The address is of a brick building that is a couple of…
Since late April, OSHA has issued only three additional enforcement press releases (listed below, Gulf Cable, the Saipan casino case, and Republic Steel). Whereas the Obama administration issued press releases for any case greater than $40,000 (as well as “novel” cases like workplace violence and heat stroke), there seems to be no rhyme or reason…
Milford Woman In Norwood Skyline Fall Dies MILFORD, MA — A worker who fell through a skyline on Broadway in Norwood Tuesday has died. Norwood Chief William Brooks announced on Twitter Thursday that the victim has succumbed to injures sustained in the fall. The woman has been identified as Jessica Castro of Milford. Tuesday, police…
Owner killed in explosion PHILIPPI, WV — After further investigation of an explosion in Barbour County on Wednesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that one of the two individuals killed was the owner of the gas company. An explosion at Midland Resource Recovery Inc., a gas company located on Barbour County Highway in…
JCP&L employee dies after Freehold electrocution FREEHOLD, NJ – A Jersey Central Power & Light employee died after touching live high-voltage wires — but not immediately: He was able to walk, talk and describe exactly what happened before suffering a fatal medical episode. Andrew Powers, 56, of Metuchen was working on a piece of transforming…
Don Blankenship got out of jail this week and instead of taking the path of penitence after a year of quiet contemplation, he went right back on the warpath. Blankenship, you may recall, was the CEO of Massey Energy who was convicted in 2015 of a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards at…