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A 48-year-old shipyard welder was welding on a barge that was undergoing renovation, working from an elevating work platform. A pinhole leak developed in the hydraulic lines on the lift, and the escaping hydraulic oil was ignited by sparks from the welding operation. The worker was taken to a burn unit, but later died.
Before the Flood: UST Prep Tips One of the greatest natural threats affecting the United States is flooding that can result from a variety of events—from heavy rain to earthquakes and tsunamis to hurricanes. Floods can also result from man-made events like dam and levee breaches and poor stormwater management. Knowing what can happen and […]
Whether you’re a large, heavy equipment manufacturer with a stable of experienced welders or a small job shop where welding equipment is used infrequently, odds are you use the same type of equipment: a metal inert gas (MIG) welder.
A 26-year-old knitting machine operator needed to make an adjustment to the machine. The machine had interlocks that stopped it when its safety gate was opened—but the interlocks were easily disabled, and the worker simply stuck a needle in the “on” button so that he could open the gates and adjust the machine while it […]
2014 TSCA Work Plan Assessment Update—How It Works In the beginning, back in 2012, the EPA first used several sources to identify chemicals meeting prioritization factor criteria as potential candidates for review, a process that initially identified 1,235 chemicals. Next, the chemicals were screened to determine if any chemicals should be excluded due to other […]
A 52-year-old welder was removing a jammed piece of metal from the hydraulic door of a scrap metal shredder but did not de-energize and lock out the shredder first. He also failed to release the residual hydraulic energy in the system and block the door open.
EPA Levies Second Largest Civil Penalty for Alleged CWA Violations In a joint enforcement action announced in September 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) settled with a West Virginia-based oil and natural gas company for multiple violations of the CWA. […]
EPA’s Corrective Actions to Tighten Control of Unmonitored Chemical Releases In September 2014, the OIG released its report titled, More Action Is Needed to Protect Water Resources From Unmonitored Hazardous Chemicals, which provided a look at how, despite current regulations, hazardous chemicals continue to be discharged from publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). The OIG investigations […]
Off-the-job injuries and fatalities cost the country more than $500 billion, and cost employers more than 200 million lost workdays each year, according to the National Safety Council. And the holidays can be especially damaging, with the upswing in holiday travel and other holiday-related activities. Make sure that when the holidays are over, you get […]
10 Things to Know about the Proposed Dental Amalgam Rule—Part 2 6. New Category—Dental Industrial Users. When the EPA promulgates categorical industrial pretreatment standards, the affected dischargers are called, in general, “Categorical Industrial Users (CIUs).” For the proposed new rule, the EPA is establishing a new CIU tailored to the dental offices covered, which is […]