Posts Tagged ‘workplace safety’
Saturday, July 19th, 2008
There was a deadly crane accident in Houston on Friday when a 30-story crane failed and collapsed at a Lyondell Basell refinery, killing four workers and and injuring seven others. The crane is owned by Deep South Crane & Rigging of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Crane safety has been under scrutiny in recent months because of several crane-related deaths in Miami, Las Vegas, and two separate incidents in New York which left 9 people dead. Texas, which lets cranes operate with no state or local oversight, led the nation with 26 crane-related fatalities in 2005 and 2006.
Tags: crane accidents, cranes, workplace safety
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Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Allegations of corruption and shaky oversight are plaguing the construction industry following two fatal crane collapses in New York City earlier this year. Critics point to failures at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in explaining the deaths of at least 72 workers in crane-related accidents since 2006. For its part, the construction industry maintains that it has a strong safety record and is working closely with officials to prevent other accidents.
Here in the Metroplex, we’ve seen more crane activity due to new construction in Fort Worth and Arlington and due to Barnett Shale activity. This has caused an increase in injuries, unfortunately. Incidents we’re seeing are most often caused by operator error and poor maintenance rather than structural failure or weather-related problems. Stricter oversight, better training and more preventative maintenance would all go a long way towards alleviating some of these problems.
Tags: arlington, crane accidents, cranes, fort worth, workplace safety
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Thursday, March 20th, 2008
Good editorial in today’s Houston Chronicle from Alex Winslow of Texas Watch:
Recent reports paint an ugly picture of irresponsible behavior by oil and chemical companies in Texas and across the country. In response to the BP Texas City tragedy, the federal agency responsible for policing workplace safety has started a review of the safety habits of U.S. refineries. The preliminary results paint a picture of carelessness, including 11 violations at a Port Arthur refinery. Meanwhile, the chemical industry continues to thumb its nose at Mayor Bill White’s call to reduce caustic benzene emissions in and around Houston.
The backdrop to all of this is Entergy v. Summers, a recent Texas Supreme Court decision allowing oil, chemical and manufacturing interests to escape accountability when they fail to ensure the safety of their work sites. When they cut corners on workplace safety, oil and chemical companies not only place their workers at risk, they also endanger the communities that surround the plants through increased chances of violent workplace and environmental disasters. The Texas Supreme Court has a chance to reconsider its position, and it should do so. In the meantime, big oil and chemical industries need to clean up their acts by putting public, workplace and environmental safety first.
Tags: chemical companies, oil companies, texas, texas supreme court, workplace safety
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Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
FWST covers the story here.
This seemed to me to be an incredibly challenging case. The wife of a long-time BNSF employee alleged that her stomach cancer was caused by years of cleaning chemicals off her husband’s work clothes. He and other workers used creosote in making railroad ties and they testified that they often went home caked in the chemical. The plaintiffs apparently presented evidence linking creosote to the wife’s cancer but it wasn’t enough to overcome the defense that she had a pack-a-day cigarette habit.
Tough case, particularly in Tarrant County, home of BNSF. Hats off to the plaintiffs’ attorneys for teeing it up, though.
Tags: workplace safety
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Monday, March 12th, 2007
Every day, more and more gas drilling rigs pop up all over north Texas, mainly around Tarrant, Johnson and Parker Counties. And with the increased drilling activity comes a greater risk of injuries, both to workers and to those living around the wells. Today many residents in this area watched as huge flames and a billowing cloud of black smoke erupted near Aledo in northern Parker County following a gas pipeline explosion. Fortunately for the dozen workers and many residents nearby, there have been no serious injuries reported, although thousands of area residents are without power for the foreseeable future.
North Texas is booming from gas production in the Barnett Shale, sometimes quite literally. We all applaud the increased business and tax revenue generated by this industry, but in the haste to punch holes in the ground, we can’t forget that working men and women and their families are often the ones who live with the consequences when mistakes are made. Find out how you can get involved in your community to help ensure that drilling operations are done safely.
Hats off to the Parker County emergency crews who responded to this explosion.
Tags: texas, workplace safety
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