OSHA Insider

Essential Updates

First Edition of 2024

Safety Spotlight: A Tragic Lesson in Chemical Safety from Cartersville

Today, I bring to you a sobering story from Cartersville, where a chemical manufacturing company, Chemical Products Corp., faces a hard lesson in safety negligence. A 52-year-old leach tank operator, barely two months into the job, tragically lost his life due to preventable chemical and thermal burns. This incident, and a subsequent one leading to another employee’s injury, have led OSHA to propose penalties totaling $55,403.

The root of this tragedy? A series of safety oversights. The worker, investigating a noise, opened an air intake valve on a barium sulfide wash cone. Unbeknownst to him, a steam line left open from the previous day created a lethal scenario. A rush of cold air caused heated sludge to surge up, inflicting fatal burns. Not long after, another worker suffered chemical burns in a separate incident. These incidents paint a grim picture of a workplace culture lax in safety standards.

Here's where OSHA stepped in, identifying five serious violations:

1. No established energy control procedures, leading to thermal and chemical hazards.

2. Lack of periodic inspections of these procedures, crucial for safe lockout/tagout practices.

3. Slip and trip hazards from unkept catwalks.

4. Poorly marked emergency exit routes, raising entrapment risks.

5. Inaccessible safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals.

As a safety community, we must learn from such incidents. If your workplace involves handling chemicals, here’s what you can do to prevent similar tragedies:

1. Establish Robust Energy Control Procedures: Implement clear procedures for managing energy sources, including lockout/tagout protocols to prevent accidental release of hazardous energy.

2. Regular Safety Audits: Conduct thorough and frequent inspections of safety procedures and equipment. Ensure these checks are documented and acted upon.

3. Safety Training: Regular and comprehensive training for employees, especially new hires, on handling hazardous materials, emergency response, and equipment operation is crucial.

4. Clear Signage and Housekeeping: Keep work areas clean and ensure emergency exits and routes are clearly marked and unobstructed.

5. Accessibility of Safety Information: Ensure all safety data sheets for chemicals are readily available and understood by all employees.

This case underscores the critical importance of not just having safety procedures in place, but rigorously implementing and reviewing them. Remember, a safe workplace is not a matter of chance; it’s a matter of choice and action.

Let’s use this unfortunate event as a catalyst for strengthening our commitment to safety.

Trench Safety Alert: Minnesota Contractor's $1.8M Wake-Up Call

Today, we turn our attention to a serious trenching safety breach by Wagner Construction Inc., a Minnesota-based contractor. Despite previous commitments to safety, the company now faces a staggering $1.8 million in penalties for recurrent trenching hazards, marking their fourth violation since 2019.

Back in 2021, Wagner Construction made a deal with OSHA to up their safety game, especially in trenching and excavation. They promised better training, hired a safety manager, and even bought new equipment. But fast forward to June 2023, and we find them back in hot water. OSHA inspectors, acting on a complaint, found workers in Minot, ND, in unprotected trenches – a direct threat to their lives.

This isn’t just about Wagner Construction breaking promises. It's about a bigger issue in the industry. In 2022, trenching and excavation work took 39 lives, the most in nearly two decades. This tragedy highlights the crucial need for stringent safety measures in trenching work.

OSHA's findings were alarming:

1. Six repeat violations for not using proper protective systems against cave-ins.

2. Five violations for unsafe entry and exit from trenches.

3. Failure to maintain a safe distance of spoil piles from trench edges.

4. Lack of required head protection for workers.

Each of these points to a blatant disregard for well-known trenching safety protocols.

So, what can we learn from Wagner Construction's costly oversight?

1. Consistent Safety Training: Continuous and comprehensive training in trenching safety is non-negotiable. This includes familiarizing teams with the use of protective systems like shoring and shielding.

2. Regular Safety Audits: Ensure that all trenching sites are regularly inspected for compliance with safety standards.

3. Maintain Protective Systems: Always use adequate protective systems to prevent cave-ins and ensure safe access and egress from trenches.

4. Safe Distance for Spoil Piles: Keep spoil piles at a safe distance from trench edges to prevent collapses.

5. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Always provide and enforce the use of necessary PPE, including head protection.

Let’s take this incident as a stern reminder: cutting corners on trench safety isn’t just risky, it's deadly. As we continue to see an uptick in construction projects, let's reaffirm our commitment to trench safety, not just during Trench Safety Stand Down Week, but every day.

Fall Protection Failures: A Costly Oversight by R&R Construction Services, Inc.

In today’s focus, we examine a troubling pattern with R&R Construction Services, Inc., based in Palatine, IL. This company has been cited for the fifth and sixth times since 2019 for neglecting crucial fall protection for its roofing employees. These repeated violations have led to an additional $275K in penalties.

In the summer of 2023, OSHA inspectors caught the company twice in one month disregarding fall safety protocols. On June 15, eight roofers were spotted working without fall protection at a site in Palos Heights. Again, on July 18, employees were found working unprotected on a Joliet roof. This blatant neglect for fall safety is alarming, especially considering falls are the leading cause of fatalities in construction.

OSHA’s findings didn’t stop at the lack of fall protection. The company also overlooked training employees in using fall protection equipment and failed to provide necessary eye protection for workers using pneumatic hammers.

With a history of similar violations in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and an existing debt of $163,199 in unpaid OSHA penalties, R&R Construction’s pattern of safety negligence is clear. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that in 2021, out of 1,015 construction worker fatalities, 379 were due to falls from elevation.

So, what can be learned from R&R Construction’s costly mistakes?

1. Mandatory Fall Protection Training: It’s crucial to regularly train all employees on the proper use and importance of fall protection gear. This is especially vital for those working at heights over 6 feet.

2. Regular Safety Audits: Consistently review and ensure that all safety equipment, including fall protection gear, is used correctly on-site.

3. Equip for Eye Safety: When using tools like pneumatic hammers, providing and enforcing the use of eye protection is non-negotiable.

4. Compliance is Key: Adhering to OSHA’s safety regulations isn’t just a legal obligation – it’s a moral one, essential for protecting the lives of workers.

For those looking for resources, OSHA’s stop falls website offers valuable safety information and training materials in both English and Spanish.

You can also get online video training and certification in Fall Protection HERE

R&R Construction’s situation serves as a stark reminder of the importance of fall protection in preventing workplace fatalities. As industry professionals, it’s our duty to uphold these standards and protect our workers from preventable risks.

Stay Safe and Compliant,

Dale

About the Author

Hey Everyone,

It's me, Dale, wrapping up our first newsletter of the new year. I've been working in safety for a long time and know a lot about OSHA. I've learned from all kinds of jobs, from manufacturing in factories, to hands-on building at construction sites, and even working in healthcare environments.

All this experience means I know lots of ways to keep you safe at work and how to make sense of OSHA's rules. I'm always learning new things about safety, and I use what I learn to make our newsletter helpful and easy to understand.

I'm excited to share this journey with you. This isn't just regulations and white-papers to read – it's a conversation. I'm here to help answer your questions and make sure you get the info you need to make your job safer.

Let's work together to understand OSHA's rules and make our workplaces safer for everyone. I can't wait to hear from you and see how we can make things better together.

Take care and stay safe,

Dale