The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on May 5 that it has proposed a $55,000 fine against Mollenberg-Betz Inc., a Buffalo, N.Y., mechanical contractor, for eight serious violations of workplace safety standards following a fatal explosion last November at a Tonawanda, N.Y., chemical plant. The blast killed Richard Folaron, a welder who worked for Mollenberg-Betz. OSHA also proposed a $61,000 fine against DuPont Corp., the plant's owner, for nine serious violations. It says Folaron was welding atop a 10,000-gallon slurry tank when sparks ignited vapors, causing the blast that killed him and injured another employee. OSHA cited Mollenberg-Betz
As testimony continued in early May in the ongoing manslaughter trial of three construction managers linked to the fatal August 18, 2007, fire at a former high-rise site near Ground Zero, firefighters focused on the tension and frustration that characterized the day. Credit: District Attorney's office Defense attorneys say their clients are being scapegoated for a disaster that involved many hazards and revealed myriad regulatory failures. Related Links: Firefighter Testimony in Manhattan Building Fire Trial Raises Questions Construction witnesses discussed the dismantled standpipe in the Deutsche Bank building’s basement that prosecutors contend prevented water from reaching the fire’s 17th floor
On May 2, as the manslaughter trial of three construction firm managers in the fatal Ground Zero building fire entered its fifth week, 28 prosecution witnesses had been called and 78 more were set to testify. Citing the potential for redundant and irrelevant testimony and noting that jurors appeared fatigued, New York State Supreme Court Judge Rena K. Uviller ordered the prosecution to cut its witness list and rest its case by May 31. New York County District Attorney's Office Firefighters exited fatal 2007 building blaze using scaffolding when access by interior stairwells was blocked. The Aug. 18, 2007, fire
Following the eighth traffic death linked to tunnel railings in Boston, the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation released a report in April recommending that some of the Sumner Tunnel's 58,000 railings be removed or covered. According to state police, a truck driver from Salem, Mass., died on March 27, when he was thrown from his vehicle into handrails after hitting a Jersey barrier while exiting the tunnel at high speed without a seat belt. Recommendations include removing 14% or roughly 8,000 linear ft of maintenance walkway railing not needed for emergency egress, covering some railing in curved areas with chain link
As the first month of testimony ended April 29, New York Fire Dept. witnesses in the manslaughter trial of three construction managers in the 2007 Deutsche Bank fire in Manhattan painstakingly narrated the role of site conditions, particularly a dismantled standpipe, in the disaster that killed firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph P. Graffagnino. Credit: District Attorney's office Firefighters respond to fatal blaze at Deutsche Bank in August 2007. Credit: District Attorney's office Related Links: NYC Report & Recommendations The slow pace of testimony so far in the trial, which opened April 4, caused State Supreme Court Judge Rena K. Uviller
Testimony April 21 and 25 in the manslaughter trial of three construction supervisors related to the fatal 2007 fire at the former Deutsche Bank building site in lower Manhattan focused on the removal several months before of hangers supporting a basement standpipe—and the subsequent dismantling of a section of the pipe itself during asbestos abatement. Prosecutors contend that the missing pipe made it impossible to deliver adequate water to fight the fire in an abatement containment area of the building. Abatement of the building, damaged during the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001, was ongoing prior to demolition.
A subcontractor’s employee on an eastern New Orleans pump station project died April 12 from crushing wounds sustained in an accident. William Morgan, 32, of Abita Springs, La. died from injuries including a crushed chest. He was working on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project in eastern New Orleans. Morgan was an employee of Great Southern Dredging, Inc., Mandeville, La. a sub-contractor to a joint venture of Archer Western, Atlanta, Ga. and Alberici, St. Louis, Mo., which holds a $300 million contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The work includes widening and elevating five miles of earthen
A Knoxville, Tenn., engineering firm is investigating the Gatlinburg Wastewater Treatment Plant where two workers died on April 5 after an equalization basin wall collapsed and more than 2 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Little Pigeon River. Photo: By AP Worldwide An equalization basin wall collapsed on April 5 at a wastewater treatment plant in Gatlinburg, Tenn., following heavy rainfall. Photo: By AP Worldwide Two workers employed by plant operator Veolia Water North America were crushed to death. Construction Engineering Consultants is investigating the cause of the structural failure. Gatlinburg city officials on April 8 hired Construction
The Indiana Dept. of Labor has issued six safety violations and fines of $77,500 to the University of Notre Dame relating to the investigation of a fatal scissor-lift accident last fall. According to the violations, the school had instructed untrained employees to go up in lifts in high winds, directly violating manufacturers' warnings and generally accepted work practice. On Oct. 27, one lift tipped over, killing 20-year-old student Declan Sullivan while he was videotaping football practice. The decision to use the lift in adverse weather conditions prompted a “knowing” citation, the most serious safety violation under Indiana law. The university
In opening statements on April 4 and 5 in the New York City trial of three construction managers related to a 2007 fire at a former Ground Zero high-rise that killed two firefighters, the prosecution and defense painted vastly different portraits of the officials charged with criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter. Photo: AP Trial of construction defendants in fatal 2007 New York City high-rise fire could last four months or more. The inferno killed firefighters Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia. About 100 others were injured. In proceedings that could last more than four months, on trial are Jeffrey Melofchik, former
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