The U.S. Department of Labor announces 15 new people have been appointed to serve on the committee.
By Shereen Hashem
May 28, 2021
15 new individuals were chosen to serve as members on the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health by the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh. The ACCSH provides advice and assistance to the help the secretary on occupational safety and health in construction standards.
According to a press release, members will serve two-year terms and represent the interests of the public, employers, employees as well as the state and federal government.
The appointed members include the following, shared from the press release:
05/19/21
WorkersCompensation.com
Cathedral City, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) - Just a month after the new Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City opened, a metal gate near the casino s loading dock collapsed, crushing a 41-year-old construction worker under its 3,000-pound weight.
A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation that followed the Dec. 7, 2020, tragedy found the project s contractors – Penta Building Group, No Limit Steel and The Raymond Group – failed to conduct inspections to discover hazards, instruct employees on how to recognize workplace dangers, and install caution signs to warn workers about potential hazards. The three contractors face $64,169 in combined penalties.
Illinois Distribution Warehouse Cited for Virus Exposures; Fined $12K April 29, 2021
A few days after employees at Midwest Warehouse and Distribution System Inc. gathered in its Naperville, Ill., facility breakroom for a luncheon, some workers experienced symptoms consistent with coronavirus exposure. Employees began reporting to the company that they had tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 27, 2020.
A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation alleges the company failed to take immediate steps to identify, inform, isolate and quarantine all potentially exposed employees.
By Nov. 9, 2020, 23 employees tested positive for the coronavirus, including one worker who died from complications on Nov. 4, 2020.
Minnesota Excavation Firm to Pay $380K OSHA Penalty, Increase Employee Safety Training April 22, 2021
A Minnesota-based excavation company has agreed to increase employee training on trenching and excavation hazards and pay a $380,000 penalty in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Wagner Construction Inc. additionally will develop detailed site-specific safety plans and has employed a full-time safety manager to protect workers from deadly excavation hazards.
Wagner Construction committed to changing its safety procedures and training after three North Dakota job site inspections in 2019 and 2020 that found employees of the company exposed to excavation hazards.
What s True
EtO is used in gaseous form to sterilize roughly half of all medical equipment manufactured in the U.S., including at least some nasal swabs used in diagnostic tests used to detect COVID-19. It is true that the chemical itself has been linked to cancer and other adverse health effects, specifically by exposure resulting from inhaling emissions from industrial facilities. However . What s False
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), medical equipment sterilized with EtO must meet recognized standards to ensure that levels of ethylene oxide on such equipment remain within safe limits. The FDA regards the use of EtO as a safe and effective method of sterilization.