Workplace safety

Expedite Mine Permits Issuance

November 03, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today announced that he has approved an increase in the number of mine inspectors and the number of mining permit reviewers in the Energy and Environment Cabinet. Speaking with miners and local officials at three stops in eastern Kentucky today, the Governor said making sure Kentucky coal miners are safe must be a priority.

“The addition of 15 mine inspectors in the Office of Mine Safety and Licensing will not only help with our efforts to complete the number of required inspections, but will also enhance our nationally recognized mine rescue team capabilities and response,” said Gov. Beshear.    » read more »

10/30/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced it is issuing $87,430,000 in proposed penalties to BP Products North America Inc. for the company’s failure to correct potential hazards faced by employees. The fine is the largest in OSHA’s history. The prior largest total penalty, $21 million, was issued in 2005, also against BP.    » read more »

Bill will Prevent Injuries Among Nurses and Health Workers

Washington, D.C. -- Oct 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) introduced the Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009, which would set standards on safe patient handling and injury prevention. Companion legislation has been introduced in the House by Rep. Conyers (D-Mich.).

“Nurses and health care workers shouldn’t have to sacrifice their safety and their livelihood to help others,” said Sen. Franken. “Especially when many of these injuries could be prevented. All of us benefit from the services these professionals provide, and by passing this legislation, we can help ensure they’re able to safely continue in their important careers.”    » read more »

Savannah, Ga—Several international unions representing hundreds of thousands of chemical and food industry workers today again criticized the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) for not recommending strong standards to prevent deadly explosions in factories handling combustible dusts, despite the board’s prior endorsement of such a step.

The unions reacted to the CSB’s new report on the deadly sugar dust explosion on Feb. 7, 2008, at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga. The explosion killed fourteen people, injured scores of others and severely damaged the plant.    » read more »

Unveils various initiatives across all sites to encourage smoking cessation

Mumbai, India - May 28, 2009 -- As part of its Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) initiatives and global commitment to support employee health, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. (Dow India), announced active support to employees in their effort to quit use of tobacco in recognition of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2009. This effort is part of the Dow India vision to make Dow workplaces, as well as its employees, tobacco free.    » read more »

Payments Made Under Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act

05/26/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has paid more than $500 million in compensation and medical benefits to 4,798 current and former employees of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and their survivors under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

The EEOICPA was created to assist individuals who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry. Survivors of such individuals may also be eligible for benefits.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, located in Paducah, Ky., produced more than one million tons of uranium during the plant's Cold War history.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- IRVING, Texas -- ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) today issued its 2008 Corporate Citizenship Report5 detailing actions to improve environmental, economic and social performance, while providing energy to meet the worlds’ growing demand.

The report details how ExxonMobil reduced greenhouse gas emissions, led the industry in worker safety and oil-spill prevention, and contributed more than eight times its earnings -- a record $402 billion -- to economies around the world through taxes and purchases of goods and services.    » read more »

05/11/2009 -- WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has paid more than $400 million in compensation and medical benefits to Colorado residents under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). The act was created to assist those individuals who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry.

Survivors of such individuals may also be eligible for benefits. Since the implementation of the act, the Labor Department has paid 50,574 claimants more than $4.7 billion in compensation and medical benefits nationwide.    » read more »

Commemorates Those Lost on Workers Memorial Day

April 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following is a statement from Change to Win Executive Director Chris Chafe on Workers Memorial Day, April 28, 2009.

“Each year, thousands of workers are killed on the job and millions more sustain workplace injuries. According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than four million workers were injured on the job and nearly 6,000 were killed by injuries due to job-site hazards in 2007 alone. Thousands more died of job-related diseases.    » read more »

New Data Available in Report Released Today to Mark Workers Memorial Day

April 27, 2009 -- The nation’s workplace safety laws and penalties are too weak to effectively protect workers, according to the new AFL-CIO annual report released today: Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.

There were a total of 5,657 fatal workplace injuries in 2007, a slight decrease from the year before, according to the AFL-CIO’s analysis of the newly available data. In 2007, employers reported more than 4 million workers having a work-related injury or illness, more than 10,950 each day. Due to the impact of underreporting of injuries and illness, the true toll may be as high as 12 million workers experiencing an injury or illness in 2007.    » read more »

03/16/2009 -- WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the withdrawal of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for occupational exposure to food flavorings containing diacetyl.

The withdrawal will facilitate the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) timely development of a standard to protect workers from bronchiolitis obliterans, a serious and potentially fatal lung disease associated with such an exposure.    » read more »

Ban will protect workers and patrons and will be strongest in traditional tobacco states

March 09, 2009 --    » read more »

8/12/2008 -- Raleigh - North Carolina Governor Mike Easley today signed into law Senate Bill 847, “An act to add agricultural workers to those protected against retaliation in the workplace and to direct the Pesticide Board to adopt rules requiring licensed pesticide applicators to record the specific time of day when each pesticide application is completed, as recommended by the Governor's Task Force on Preventing Agricultural Pesticide Exposure.” This new law, along with funding approved by the legislature in the governor’s budget, will help protect agricultural laborers, farmers and applicators who work with and around pesticides.    » read more »

Washington, D.C, July 02, 2008 -- The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have renewed their Alliance and will continue to focus on advancing a culture of prevention of safety and health hazards for the nation’s working men and women. Dow and OSHA will jointly promote the case for safer, healthier workplaces by sharing proven practices and technical knowledge in areas such as process safety management, safety and health management systems, emergency preparedness, and employee wellness programs.    » read more »

Midland, MI, July 02, 2008 -- A safety train equipped with a classroom and training center on rails has rolled into Lansing to provide free railroad and chemical transportation training to local firefighters and other emergency response personnel. The Michigan TRANSCAER Training Tour, presented by The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), has brought chemical and rail industry professionals to several communities in Michigan to provide hands-on training, the training will begin Midland May 22 and conclude in Lansing July 2.    » read more »