Blog Archives

Serious Machine-Guarding Allegations in July Sonora Sawmill Fatality

A Sonora sawmill worker died in a lumber edger last July because the machine was not properly guarded and the employer did not perform monthly inspections to identify unsafe conditions, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health alleges. The Division cited Sierra Pacific Industries for five alleged serious and several other violations and proposed almost … Read More »

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Worker Killed by Huge Door

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the Feb. 14 death of a worker at a mushroom farm near Gilroy. The fatality occurred at Countryside Mushrooms in San Martin. The employee was moving a 12-foot by 12-foot door weighing about 500 pounds when it became dislodged and fell on top of him, according … Read More »

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Cal/OSHA’s Confined Space Program to Continue in 2013; Investigations Continue

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health says it will continue its confined space special emphasis program this year, after it instituted the program in 2012 to combat a surge in fatalities and injuries. The Division hasn’t finalized its plans yet, but says it will offer more webinars and training sessions. DOSH also says it … Read More »

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AIDS Group Files Complaints with Cal/OSHA on Gay Adult Film Practices

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has long sought to mandate the use of condoms during production of adult films in the Los Angeles area’s “Porn Valley.” Now the organization has taken aim at gay production companies in the Bay Area, Southern California and even other states with formal complaints filed with the Division of Occupational Safety … Read More »

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Chevron Pipe Failure: Severe Corrosion, Low Silicon Seen as Culprits

Results of metallurgical tests conducted on the pipe that ruptured last August at the Chevron refinery in Richmond demonstrated that it was severely corroded from exposure to sulfide. The finding serve as a precaution to the petrochemical employers to pay closer attention to the potential for corrosion, say Cal/OSHA and the U.S. Chemical Safety and … Read More »

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Thomas Named Standards Board Chair; Quinlan Named Public Member

The Cal/OSH Standards Board has a new chair and a new public member, with the appointment of labor representative Dave Thomas to the former and Patty Quinlan to the latter. Both positions have been vacant since former chair/public member John MacLeod retired last December. Thomas, 54, of Modesto, has served on the board since 2010. … Read More »

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Cal/OSHA’s Long Wait to Get the Lead Out

OAKLAND — One of Ellen Widess’ earliest goals as chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) was to “do something about lead,” she says. “I’ve spent a good part of my life on lead,” she told the Feb. 7 meeting of the Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee. DOSH started work on a revised lead … Read More »

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Another Construction Employer Cited after 2012 Heat Illness Fatality

Recently the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) cited a Riverside construction company in a 2012 heat illness death, one of three confirmed heat illness fatalities last year, two of them construction employers. DOSH cited the other contractor, Friant Masonry,  for two alleged serious and three general violations in the May 9 death of laborer Cory … Read More »

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