A federally funded study has found "a strong association" between imported wallboard made in China and metal corrosion in homes in the U.S., the Consumer Product Safety Commission says. Two other preliminary studies, of electrical-component and fire safety-component corrosion also support that finding, CPSC says. But no definitive tie has been found yet between the wallboard and health problems that home owners have reported. Photo: Office of Sen. Bill Nelson Nelson contends agencies are taking too long to find tie between drywall and corrosion and health problems. Related Links: Chinese-Drywall Probe Finds No Link Yet to Health Problems Chinese-Made Drywall
The investigation into a 100-ft-tall boom lift that tipped over in downtown Kansas City, Mo., may drag on for several months, say officials with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “At this point, we are not seeing any obvious reason why the accident occurred,” says Donna Robertson, OSHA’s acting area administrator. On Nov. 10, two workers for Detroit-based Midwest Steel were elevated inside the basket to place beams at the $405-million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. After the lift suddenly tipped over, one worker died and another was seriously injured. Under statute, OSHA has six months to levy
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office says employers consistently underreport worker injuries and illnesses and concludes that some employer safety programs can create disincentives for reporting injuries. Union groups say the findings, released on Nov. 16, confirm safety programs that discourage the reporting of workplace injuries are undermining the safety and health of American workers. But employer groups maintain federal and state policies that emphasize fines and penalties over assistance create a culture that discourages employers from addressing safety problems before they lead to injuries. GAO examined Occupational Safety and Health Administration audits from 2005 to 2007
The cause of yesterday's failure of a JLG boom lift on the site of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, under construction in downtown Kansas City, Mo., is not yet clear, says Dan Euston, president of local general contractor J.E. Dunn Construction Co. Photo: Ed Sturga/AP An investigator photographs lift involved in fatal accident. Related Links: K.C. Lift Tips Philly Lift Victim Was Experienced Blog: Dissecting the Philly Lift Video: JLG's New Featherweight Lift "We're just in the beginning throes of the investigation," Euston told ENR on Nov. 11. The accident has project officials "scratching our heads," he says.
One steel erector died and another injured when a boom lift tipped over in the early afternoon of Nov. 10 at the $405-million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, under construction in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Employed by Midwest Steel, a subcontractor to locally based general contractor J.E. Dunn Construction Co., the workers were elevating the boom from the basket when the machine tipped, according to Darin Snapp, a spokesman for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Dept. The workers fell approximately 100 ft. Both were ejected from the platform and landed on the street. According to first responders, the machine
Five workers died and six more were injured when they fell 15 meters as bridge falsework they were working on collapsed around noon on Nov. 7 in the tiny Pyrenees principality of Andorra. Emergency teams on brought a large crane Nov. 9 from neighboring Spain to help remove bodies of four workers buried by construction debris. The accident occurred at the western portal of the recently completed Dos Valires tunnel, which is a few kilometers north east of the principality�s capital Andorra La Vella. The men were working on falsework of twin deck, partially cable-stayed bridge being built as access
Preliminary findings from a federal investigation into potential health problems from drywall imported from China are inconclusive, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Oct. 29. CPSC has received nearly 1,900 complaints from residents in 30 states about effects of Chinese-made wallboard. CPSC says preliminary tests found Chinese drywall has elemental sulfur and higher strontium concentrations than other types of drywall. But it says more studies are needed to show a link between the drywall and reported health problems. In the meantime, the commission is working with the Dept. of Homeland Security to identify and stop imports of drywall
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Oct. 30 levied the largest proposed fine in its history against oil company BP Products North America for failure to correct hazards associated with a 2005 explosion at its Texas City, Texas, refinery that killed 15 employees of its contractors, Fluor Corp. and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. About 170 people were injured in the blast. OSHA seeks to fine BP $87.4 million for a total of 270 violations linked to the explosion, plus 439 new willful violations for failing to adopt effective controls on the refinery’s pressure-relief safety system. OSHA and BP
The construction industry's jobsite injury rate dipped in 2008, its fifth-consecutive annual decline, the Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. Construction's rate of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses decreased last year to 4.7 cases per 100 full-time workers, from 5.4 in 2007. Related Links: BLS Press Release BLS's latest annual workplace injuries and illnesses report, released Oct. 29, also shows that the overall rate for U.S. private industry fell in 2008, to 3.9 cases per 100 workers, compared with a 4.2 rate the year before. Construction Industry Nonfatal Injury/Illness Rate(cases per 100 full-time workers) 2008 4.7 2007 5.4
Federal safety regulators in Philadelphia are eyeing a fiber-reinforced sidewalk vault cover as the smoking gun that caused an aerial work platform (AWP) to tip over, killing the operator and injuring three bystanders. The accident also is raising eyebrows over the proper use of AWPs and whether or not they are regulated vigorously enough. Photo: AP/Widewold Investigators are eyeing a Comcast vault cover as the smoking gun that caused a 20-ton aerial work platform in Philadelphia to tip over. On Oct. 12 in downtown Philadelphia, 41-year-old James Wilson was using the 125-ft-tall AWP to inspect the facade of the city’s
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