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Parter Medical Products, Inc., of Carson, California, failed to protect its employees from overexposure to ethylene oxide (EtO), a toxic chemical, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), prompting the agency to issue 18 citations, including 6 citations for willful, serious violations. Penalties total $838,800, the state agency announced March 21. […]
Improperly handling highly hazardous chemicals can result in chemical accidents: unexpected releases of explosive, flammable, reactive, or toxic gases and liquids. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) process safety management (PSM) standard sets out industry requirements for preventing or minimizing catastrophic releases of chemicals, and it applies across many industries. Preventing chemical accidents involves […]
The owner and operator of a 472-ton Alaskan seafood processing vessel faces $208,983 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties, the agency announced February 16. OSHA cited Christos Tsabouris and East West Seafoods LLC for 2 repeat serious violations, 17 serious violations, and 1 other-than-serious violation on the F/V Pacific Producer. During a joint […]
On January 19, 2023, the EPA announced its proposed 2024–2027 National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECIs). Every 4 years, the Agency selects national initiatives to focus resources on serious and widespread environmental problems where federal enforcement can make a difference. The primary objective of these initiatives is to protect human health and the environment by […]
On January 26, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued new enforcement guidance, allowing “instance-by-instance” citations for “high-gravity” serious violations of several agency standards. Regional administrators and area office directors will have the authority to issue instance-by-instance citations for violations of fall protection, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, permit-required confined space, respiratory protection, and trenching standards, […]
A Trenton, New Jersey, roofing contractor faces Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties totaling $584,333 for fall protection and other violations at a Toll Brothers Inc. residential construction project, the agency announced January 12. The agency cited Guelsin Lima, operating as Extreme Roofing and Siding LLC, for nine willful and three serious violations. During […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited two project contractors after a demolition contractor lost his legs when a concrete mezzanine platform on the west wall of a building at the former Boston Edison power plant in south Boston collapsed during demolition and asbestos abatement operations. Two other workers suffered injuries, the agency announced […]
On May 19, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced a combined $1,753,375 in fines for the Valero Refinery of Benicia and 3 of its contractors following an investigation into the confined space death of a 35-year-old worker. On November 12, 2021, a worker lost consciousness after descending into a regenerator overflow […]
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) began 2022 with new responsibilities and enhanced safety and health enforcement authority. A new state law regarding the use of productivity quotas at warehouse distribution centers requires Cal/OSHA to inform the state’s labor commissioner whenever an employer or a site has an annual employee injury rate […]
Risk managers take note: Environmental enforcement, particularly criminal enforcement, is expected to rise in the coming months. In their remarks at the American Bar Association’s annual National Environmental Enforcement Conference, Chief of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Environmental Crimes Section Deborah Harris and Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim, head of the DOJ Environment and Natural […]