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On June 14, OSHA cautioned emergency responders, recovery workers, and residents in areas of Florida recently flooded by intense rainfall to exercise caution when facing the hazards of a storm’s aftermath. Once storms subside, workers are needed to restore electricity, communications, water, and sewer services. These activities may involve removing standing floodwater from structures, performing […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Belle Glade, Florida, farm labor contractor McNeill Labor Management Inc. in the heatstroke death of a migrant sugar cane farmworker, the agency announced April 15. Because there’s no federal standard for heat exposures or heat illness prevention and the agency cites employers under the General Duty Clause […]
A measure signed into law recently by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that prohibits local workplace standards requiring drinking water and cooling measures increases the risk of worker deaths from heat exposure, according to worker safety advocates. “The bill in Florida threatens to strip millions of workers of fundamental heat protection measures, such as access to […]
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently ruled that the EPA violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in granting the state of Florida Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permitting authority. The court’s order in the case, Center for Biological Diversity et. al., v. Michael S. Regan et al., vacates the Sunshine […]
A pair of employers are facing six-figure Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties following workplace explosions. Air Liquide Advanced Materials, Inc., of High Springs, Florida, a global manufacturer of industrial gas, faces $201,573 in penalties following a May 2023 explosion that severely injured several employees, OSHA announced November 16. The employer could have prevented […]
Florida grocer Kissimmee Meat & Produce Inc. faces $95,315 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines following a 65-year-old clerk’s fatal fall from a defective ladder, the agency announced October 27. OSHA cited the employer for 11 serious safety violations. OSHA inspectors found that the employee fell about 9 feet when a ladder rolled […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has resumed regular enforcement in 18 Florida counties affected by Hurricane Ian, the agency announced January 24. In the hurricane’s aftermath, the agency suspended most programmed enforcement actions in Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, and Volusia […]
On July 27, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced citations for J & L Roofing Inc. of Pompano Beach, Florida, following an employee’s fatal fall and proposed $74,751 in penalties. On July 28, OSHA announced it also cited Lopez Roofing of Appleton, Wisconsin, with one repeat and one serious violation and proposed penalties […]
Industrial reuse Reclaimed water can be used in industrial applications and facilities, power production, and extraction of fossil fuels. When reclaimed water was first used for industrial purposes (dating back to the first pulp and paper industries), it was generally treated and reused on-site. As water resources in the arid states have become increasingly stressed […]
UST O&M—Release Detection Changes in the Works Leak detection is a key component of a compliant UST operation, but one that is often found to be lacking when it comes to ongoing system O&M. According to the EPA, although inspectors often find release detection equipment installed on UST systems, they also routinely find that it […]