Safety Culture Plus

Apr 04, 2009

OSHA has cited Phillips Construction in Hernando, Miss., with nine safety violations following an October 2008 trench collapse in Horn Lake, Miss., that resulted in the death of one worker and injury to another. The total $73,500 in proposed penalties the company faces includes one willful citation that alone is worth $49,000 for failing to provide cave-in protection, such as shoring, sloping, or a trench box, for its employees. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

In addition, the agency has cited six serious safety violations with $21,000 in proposed penalties for the company’s failing to develop and maintain safety and health programs, provide training on trenching hazards, provide personal protective equipment, provide a means of egress from the trench, keep excavated soil at least two feet away from the trench edge, and remove surface encumbrances from the trench side. A serious violation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.

Mississippi Trench Death Leads to $73,500 Fine — Occupational Health & Safety

1:09 PM | April 4, 2009

A 38-year-old construction worker was killed this morning in South Los Angeles when a garage collapsed on him during a remodeling project, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Firefighters arrived at about 9:40 a.m. to a single-family home along the 1500 block of East 51st Street just as  other workers were pulling the man out from the debris, said Fire Spokesman Brian Humphrey. The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene. It was unknown if he was a licensed construction worker or a day laborer, Humphrey said.

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Worker killed in garage collapse in South L.A. | L.A. Now | Los Angeles Times

Saturday, 04 Apr 2009 07:26am

Detectives are examining the cause of a fatal industrial accident at a Hunter Valley coal mine this morning.
About 3am today, a 34-year-old Maitland man was working underground in the mine on Stoneycreek Road at Glennies Creek near Singleton.
Inquiries into the incident continue, however it appears that the man may have been struck by a piece of machinery while working underground.
The man suffered head injuries and died at the scene.

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Latest Media Releases – NSW Police Force

Posted: 5:29 pm PDT April 3, 2009

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health this week issued $28,685 in penalties against BART for alleged safety violations related to the death of an employee who was killed on the tracks in October.

BART is appealing the Cal/OSHA citations on the grounds that some of the laws BART allegedly violated may not apply to the transit agency.

James Strickland, 44, was struck and killed by a Pittsburg/Bay Point-bound BART train as he walked along the tracks parallel to David Avenue in Concord the morning of Oct. 14.

Trains were single-tracking through the area that morning to make way for routine maintenance, and the train that struck Strickland was traveling north on the southbound tracks.

On the day of the accident, Strickland and another BART employee, both structures inspectors, were assigned to perform an inspection between Oak Grove and Bancroft roads, according to an accident report completed by BART safety investigators last month.

To read the rest of the story click on the link below.

BART Fined For Safety Violations In Fatal October Accident – Reno News Story – KRXI Reno

by North Platte Bulletin Staff – 4/3/2009

A Gering Nebraska company was fined $25,000 and placed on two years probation for not protecting a worker who was killed when a ditch collapsed.

United States Attorney Joe W. Stecher announced that the Midwest Farm Service Company, Inc. was sentenced today for violating the Occupational Safety and Health laws Act of 1970.

Midwest Farm Service pled guilty and was sentenced on April 1, 2009, to an information charging the offense. The violation resulted in the death of Travis Ballinger, a laborer employed there. Midwest Farm Services drills wells and irrigation systems throughout Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota. On March 7, 2007, near Scottsbluf. Travis Ballinger and two other laborers were attempting to remove dirt from a trench that was inaccessible by a backhoe. The trench was 3 feet wide by 8 feet deep and contained no protective support or shield system, nor was the trench sloped. This violated safety standards that required such excavations to be protected by an adequate protection system. While removing the dirt from the trench, a section of the wall of the trench collapsed and Travis Ballinger was completely covered by the dirt. He died of suffocation.

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North Platte Nebraska’s favorite newspaper – The North Platte Bulletin

The Ministry of Labour and the County of Brant OPP are investigating an industrial accident at HGC Management Inc. that killed a city man last Wednesday.

The police were called to HGC Management on Shaver Road and an investigation revealed that 63-year-old John Losey, of Brantford, was killed as a result of an incident involving a fork lift.

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Industrial accident claims life of city man – Paris Star – Ontario, CA

IATAN, Mo. — A contract employee died in an industrial accident at the Iatan II construction site Tuesday.

The accident happened at approximately 5:45 a.m. inside the plant’s boiler, according to Katie McDonald, spokeswoman for Kansas City Power & Light.

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stjoenews.net | Iatan II worker killed in industrial accident

Wednesday, April 01, 2009, 07:27

A 37-year-old Plymouth man has been killed in an industrial accident in Crapstone, Yelverton.

Police attended a report of an industrial incident at Yelverton Business Park at approximately 1.20pm yesterday.

Pallets full of dry plaster powder were being unloaded from a lorry at the time of the accident.

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Plymouth man Phil Ring killed in industrial accident at Yelverton Business Park, Crapstone

OSHA has cited John Prouty Construction, Inc., of O’Neill, Neb., for alleged violations of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act following an investigation of a trench collapse near Verdel, Nebraska, that killed four workers, on Sept. 12, 2008.

OSHA’s investigation of the excavation company’s site found three alleged willful and two alleged serious violations of the OSH Act.

"There is no excuse for this accident and these workers did not need to lose their lives. It is appalling to realize there are companies that would allow, or even require, their employees to enter excavations without having cave-in protection," said Charles Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "It is imperative that employers take the necessary steps to eliminate hazards and provide a safe working environment for all of their employees to prevent accidents like this from occurring."

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OSHA cites John Prouty Construction, Inc., following trench collapse that killed 4 in Verdel, Neb., Sept. 2008 – 04/1/09

Staff Report
Published: March 29, 2009

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office reports that a man was accidentally killed in an industrial accident Thursday.
Rufus Dudley, 48, was struck by a 12-foot two-by-four Thursday at 3 p.m. after it was ejected from a planer machine at Spanish Trail Lumber in Cypress.
Dudley was struck in the upper torso and died at the scene, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

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Man killed in industrial accident | Jackson County Floridan