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Monday, August 27, 2007
News Digest
The News Digest provides daily access to important events in the worker safety arena.
We seek out the most interesting and timely stories, compile them in an easy-to-navigate format and give you one-click access to the source.
Quote of the day: "I fear for the safety of the workers. The solution is not to carry armed bombs up a ski slope." Cal/OSHA Blasting Program Administrator Steve Hart, referring to controversial provisions of a snow-avalanche safety proposal approved by the Cal/OSH Standards Board Aug. 16 Go to the full story in Cal-OSHA Reporter Cal/OSHA Approves Controversial Avalanche Procedures
With the schussing season just around the corner, a ski industry association asks for changes after the Division of Occupational Safety and Health cracked down on long-standing-avalanche-control practices involving dynamite. Find out in this article if Cal/OSHA gave the industry the relief it sought.
Go to the Full Story... Form 9 Unfairness?
Cal/OSH Standards Board member wonders whether the Division of Occupational Safety and Health's long leash on safety order revision requests gives it an advantage over regulator petitioners to the board. What's the beef? Find out in Cal-OSHA Reporter.
Go to the Full Story... Nailed at the Jobsite
As Cal/OSH Standards Board works to finalize a regulatory fix to a spate of incidents involving pneumatic nailers, a worker was struck in the eye in the latest nailgun incident. Read about this and other workplace injuries and deaths in California.
Go to the Full Story... Decision on Controversial Cal/OSHA Nail Gun Language Scrapped
The Board reacts after construction industry and even some board members voice their displeasure at proposed regs on nail guns. Find out what happened, now in the Aug. 24 issue of Cal-OSHA Reporter.
Go to the Full Story... Heat Wave Warnings for Employers
Cal/OSHA is teaming up with the private sector to spread the word about heat illness prevention. Why not make a rule? Find out in Cal-OSHA Reporter.
Go to the Full Story... Machine Maims Natural Gas Well Worker Near Yuba City
A drilling accident at a natural gas well near Meridian leaves a 30-year-old worker critically injured with a broken leg and possible internal injuries, and Cal/OSHA is investigating. The crew had been using a sand-cable mechanism to purge water from the well's tubes when a worker slipped and accidentally landed on the controls, causing the braided steel cable to wrap around the victim. By Howard Yune, Appeal-Democrat (Marysville)
Go to the Full Story... State Fund to Sponsor Comprehensive Safety Seminar This Week
State Compensation Insurance Fund will sponsor a comprehensive safety seminar, "De-Mystify Safety Compliance," in Santa Rosa on Wednesday. The free seminar is designed to give employers insight into safety compliance by presenting them with legal, Cal/OSHA, and safety perspectives. Cal-OSHA Reporter
Go to the Full Story... Ontario Boosts Pandemic Protections to Healthcare Workers
At North York General Hospital, where nurses were on the front lines during Toronto's SARS outbreak four years ago, Ontario health and labor ministers announce that healthcare workers will have another line of defense against life-threatening diseases: new respirators and safety needles to guard against needle-sticks. By Steve Rennie, Canadian Press via Toronto Globe and Mail
Go to the Full Story... Could Tracking Technology Help Save Miners in the Future?
Emerging technology could allow real-time tracking of miners' locations and potentially allow two-way wireless communication with them. The goal is to prevent the fruitless "trial-and-error" approach—punching holes in the ground without any idea where they were—that characterized the search for the missing Crandall Canyon miners. By Robert Gehrke, Salt Lake Tribune
Go to the Full Story... Oregon Construction Deaths Defy Overall Statewide Numbers
Construction-worker deaths in Oregon are on pace to hit double-digits for the first time since 1997, defying a recent statewide trend of record-low overall workplace fatalities. Experts say it's probably due to an increase in inexperienced construction workers caused by recent industry growth rather than lax safety standards. By Brad Schmidt, the Oregonian
Go to the Full Story... Foundry Explosion Rattles New Jersey Town
Wet sand and hot metal combine during the pipe-making process to cause a blast a Philipsburg, N.J., foundry. Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co. officials reportedly initially tried to turn away emergency responders. By Lynn Olanoff, Easton (Pa.) Express-Times
Go to the Full Story...
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