{"id":11426,"date":"2025-04-04T07:30:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T11:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/?p=11426"},"modified":"2025-04-03T23:34:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T03:34:19","slug":"april-cruelest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jordanbarab.com\/confinedspace\/2025\/04\/04\/april-cruelest\/","title":{"rendered":"April is Still the Cruelest Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>omorrow is the 15th anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine mine explosion that killed 29 miners.\u00a0 That was only the earliest of numerous workplace safety and environmental catastrophes that occurred in the month of April over the last century.\u00a0 I am reposting below a post I wrote last year entitled “April is the Cruelist Month for Workers<\/a>” (with a few additional mine disasters at the end that I recently learned of.)<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, we now have to add the the April list one additional cruel event for workers: The elimination of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).<\/p>\n

As we discussed<\/a> earlier this week, RFK Jr., Elon Musk, and Donald Trump laid off almost the entire NIOSH staff , destroying the only US Government agency that conducts research into occupational safety and health (as well as mine safety), provides valuable educational materials and funds the pipeline for this country’s future workplace safety physicians and other experts.<\/p>\n

I ran across this epitaph on a gravestone in a churchyard in Ross-on-Wye, England many years ago:<\/p>\n

“God only knows who next shall follow me. Reader prepare!\u00a0 It may be thee!”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe someone should hang that on the front door of NIOSH.<\/p>\n

It’s only April 4. Let’s pray we have no more disasters to add to this list.<\/p>\n

But now is not the time to retreat in fear or sink into depression. April ends every year with Workers Memorial Day. As we continue to witness the never-ending slaughter in American workplaces, destruction of NIOSH and the sword of Damocles hanging over OSHA, this year’s Workers Memorial carries special significance as we — in the words of Mother Jones — mourn for the dead, and fight like hell for the living.<\/p>\n

And we have a hell of a fight ahead of us.<\/p>\n

\n

April: The Cruelest Month For Workers<\/a><\/h1>\n
\n
\n

By Jordan Barab<\/a><\/h4>\n

<\/i>\u00a0Apr 17, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Today marks the 11th anniversary of the catastrophic West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. The explosion of tons of ammonium nitrate that night killed 15 people, including 12 emergency responders, \u00a0injured 252 and damaged or destroyed 500 buildings in the small town of West Texas. You can read much more about the explosion, government action (and inaction) following the explosion, the comical, unproven attempt by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to blame the explosion on arsonists and how the Trump administration and the chemical industry used ATF\u2019s false assertion to undermine protections for workers and communities around chemical plants.<\/p>\n

But this is also April, the darkest month for workplace disaster. And the month where we commemorate Workers Memorial Day, where, in the immortal words of Mother Jones, we recommit to our vow to Mourn the Dead, and Fight Like Hell for the Living.Here is what Aprils of the past have brought us here in the U.S. and abroad:Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster<\/b>, Raleigh County, WV,\u00a0 April 5, 2010:<\/strong>\u00a0An explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine killed 29 miners. The\u00a0Mine Safety and Health Administration concluded\u00a0that flagrant safety violations contributed to the explosion. It issued 369 citations at that time, assessing $10.8 million in penaltiesAmmonium Nitrate Explosion, Texas City, TX, April 16, 1947:<\/strong>\u00a0A fire on the French-registered vessel SS\u00a0Grandcamp<\/i>\u00a0detonated her cargo of about 2,300 tons of\u00a0ammonium nitrate.<\/sup>\u00a0This started a\u00a0chain reaction\u00a0of fires and explosions in other ships and nearby\u00a0oil-storage facilities, ultimately killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City fire department.\u00a0 \u00a0It was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history and one of history\u2019s\u00a0largest non-nuclear explosions.<\/p>\n

West Fertilizer Explosion, West, TX, April 17, 2013:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0An ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the\u00a0West Fertilizer Company<\/a>\u00a0storage and distribution facility in West, Texas. Fifteen people were killed, including 12 firefighters, more than 160 were injured, and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed.<\/p>\n

Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, April 20, 2012:<\/strong>\u00a0A\u00a0fire and explosion<\/a>\u00a0on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 workers and resulted in the largest marine oil spill and environmental disaster in history.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Ambiance Plaza Collapse, Bridgeport, CT,\u00a0 April 23, 1987:<\/strong>\u00a0The L\u2019Ambiance Plaza apartment building collapsed due to a faulty lift slab construction technique while under construction, killing 28 construction workers.<\/p>\n

Rana Plaza Factor Collapse, Bangladesh, April 24, 2013:<\/strong>\u00a0The eight-story Rana Plaza factory building collapsed, killing 1134 people. \u00a0The shops and the bank on the lower floors were immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building the day before the collapse. But the building\u2019s owners ignored warnings ordering garment workers to return the following day and the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour.<\/p>\n

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster, Ukraine, USSR April 26, 1986: \u00a0<\/strong>No. 4\u00a0reactor\u00a0in the\u00a0Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded during a safety test\u00a0 It was the worst nuclear disaster in history. Dozens of operators and response workers died due to massive radiation exposure and hundreds more from the nuclear fallout.<\/p>\n

Willow Island Collapse, Willow Island, WV, April 27, 1978: <\/b>A cooling tower\u00a0under construction at the\u00a0Pleasants Power Station\u00a0at\u00a0Willow Island,\u00a0West Virginia, collapsed, killing 51 construction workers<\/a>. It was the deadliest construction accident in U.S. history<\/p>\n

Eccles Mine Explosion, Raleigh County, WV April 28, 1914: <\/strong>174 miners were killed in a violent methane explosion at the Eccles Mine No. 5<\/a>. The mine connected with Eccles No. 6, operating in another coal seam, and nine men in No. 6 died of injuries and of afterdamp, the deadly gas left after a mine explosion.<\/p>\n

Benwood Mine Explosions, April 28, 1914 and April 28, 1924:<\/strong> On April 28 in 1914, 183 miners lost their lives in an explosion at a mine in Eccles in Raleigh County. Just 10 years later in 1924, 119 miners were killed in a mine explosion in Benwood in Marshall County, West Virginia. The two disasters would become the second and third deadliest mining disasters in the state between 1884 and the present day according to the West Virginia Office of Miners\u2019 Health, Safety and Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tomorrow is the 15th anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine mine explosion that killed 29 miners.\u00a0 That was only the earliest of numerous workplace safety and environmental catastrophes that occurred in the month of April over the last century.\u00a0 I am reposting below a post I wrote last year entitled “April is the Cruelist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,134,239],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mine-safety","category-niosh","category-this-day-in-history"],"yoast_head":"\nApril is Still the Cruelest Month - Confined Space<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"April is the cruelest month for workers. 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