Occupational Health and Safety Administration Story Archives

Rail/Train Workers' Deaths Prompt National Study

Railroad regulators say some federal workplace safety standards should be extended to workers on and near the tracks.

The National Transportation Safety Board is issuing a draft report after investigating 15 deaths of railroad “roadway” employees in 2013. The number was up from eight in 2012 and five in 2011.

Among the report’s findings is that differences between regulations of the Federal Railroad Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can be confusing.

It recommends that the railroad administration include OSHA standards during job briefings for roadway workers.

It said causes of deaths included workers hit by trains, falls from bridges, electrocution and a mudslide.

Accidents such as train crashes and derailments were not part of the study.

Feds: W.Va. Prison Had 10 Serious Safety Issues

A federal investigation has found employees at a McDowell County federal prison were allegedly exposed to blood-borne pathogens and other safety hazards.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s January investigation into the Welch prison found 10 serious violations. This was OSHA’s first inspection of the facility.

OSHA says the prison failed to train employees on pathogen issues and didn’t ensure trainers were knowledgeable. Employees didn’t use puncture-resistant containers for contaminated sharp objects.

The facility didn’t provide health care professionals relevant medical records, information about pathogen regulations, employees’ duties or how they were exposed.

It didn’t require puncture-resistant gloves during pat-downs.

OSHA can’t propose monetary fines to federal agencies failing to comply with its standards.

The prison has 15 business days to comply or request a conference with OSHA’s area director.

Freedom Industries Pays $11,000 Fine For January Spill

A company that spilled chemicals into West Virginia’s largest water supply has paid an $11,000 fine for a pair of violations.

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Freedom Industries $7,000 earlier this month for keeping storage tanks containing crude MCHM behind a diked wall that was not liquid tight.

On Jan. 9, roughly 10,000 gallons of MCHM leaked from one of the tanks and through the riverside diked wall and left 300,000 residents in nine counties without clean water for days.

OSHA also fined Freedom Industries $4,000 for failing to have standard railings on an elevated platform.

The Charleston Gazette reports Freedom Industries elected not to challenge the fine.

Firm Involved in Tower Collapse Was Fined in '09

The company that employed two workers killed in the collapse of two cellphone towers in Clarksburg was fined after a fatal accident in 2009 in Missouri.

     The Exponent-Telegram reports that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration cited S&S Communications with two “serious” violations after an employee fell from his death from a 330-foot communications tower. OSHA said the worker detached his harness but should have had a secondary tether. The company was fined $3,000.

     Two workers for the Oklahoma-based company were killed last Saturday when a 300-foot tower collapsed. A firefighter also died after a second, smaller tower collapsed. OSHA is investigating.

     S&S Communications declined to comment Thursday.