May 6, 2013 by Fred Hosier
Prior, less serious safety violations often foreshadow future, more tragic events. They did in the case of an employee who met his death in a meat blender.
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Tags: death in meat blender, Interstate Meat Distributors, lockout, Oregon OSHA
April 5, 2013 by Fred Hosier
Update: After Nevada OSHA said he posed a possible workplace safety hazard, the state Assembly has voted to oust Rep. Steven Brooks from his elected office.
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Tags: Nevada OSHA, unstable employee, workplace hazard, workplace violence
February 13, 2013 by Fred Hosier
A report from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) says a large explosion at Carbide Industries (CI) in Louisville, KY, that killed two workers and injured two others resulted from a failure by the company to investigate similar but smaller explosions over many years.
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Tags: Carbide Industries, Chemical Safety Board, explosion, furnace explosion
January 23, 2013 by Fred Hosier
OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) standard applies to fireworks manufacturing but not to fireworks disposal. Had the standard applied to disposal, a required hazard analysis could have saved five workers who were killed in an explosion.
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Tags: Chemical Safety Board, Donaldson Enterprises Inc., explosion, process safety management
December 11, 2012 by Fred Hosier
How could one employee rack up $2.7 million worth of workers’ comp fraud? It can really add up when the case dates back 17 years.
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Tags: corrections officer, Florida Bureau of Workers' Compensationn Fraud, rat feces, workers' comp fraud
October 8, 2012 by Fred Hosier
When a farmer didn’t return for several hours after going out to feed his hogs, a family member went to look for him. The farmer’s remains were found in the hog enclosure. A law enforcement official calls the accident “doggone weird.”
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Tags: eaten by hogs, farmer, lone workers
September 14, 2012 by Fred Hosier
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released preliminary information about a fire that destroyed part of a Chevron oil refinery in Richmond, CA. There are two potential take-aways for companies:
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Tags: Chemical Safety Board, Chevron fire, preventive maintenance, safety standards
August 6, 2012 by Fred Hosier
More reaction to the fatal movie theater shooting in Colorado: A major city releases a public service announcement with tips for surviving a workplace shooting. Also: New developments in the UCLA death of lab assistant Sheri Sangji. Is it time for a universal, nationwide motorcycle helmet law? And investigators look into why a Six Flags roller coaster malfunctioned.
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Tags: motorcycle helmet laws, movie theater shooting, Superman roller coaster, UCLA lab researcher death
July 25, 2012 by Fred Hosier
“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” an old saying goes. A federal investigation into the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers says BP was doing just that at the expense of paying attention to more serious safety hazards.
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Tags: BP, Chemical Safety Board, Deepwater Horizon, process safety
June 12, 2012 by Fred Hosier
The CEO of a brewery in Portsmouth, NH, says it may prove impossible to determine what caused a plastic beer keg to explode, causing fatal injuries to a worker who was cleaning it with compressed air.
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Tags: beer keg explosion, Craft Brew Alliance, investigation into fatality, Redhook Ale Brewery