Caught-in or caught-between incidents resulted in 275 construction worker deaths from 2011 to 2015 — the most of any major industry — according to a recent report from the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).
About 69% of the deaths were attributed to “being caught or crushed in collapsing materials,” a 50% increase over the five-year period, the report states.
Other findings:
- In 2015, 68 construction workers died from a caught-in or between incidents. That is a 33% increase from 2011, when 51 workers were killed.
- Ironworkers experienced the highest rate of caught-in or between fatalities.
- Older construction workers experienced an elevated fatality risk.
- Among other major industries, manufacturing (244 deaths) and agriculture (197) experienced the next highest totals of caught-in or between fatalities from 2011 to 2015.
“Caught-in or between injuries and deaths are preventable,” the report states, pointing to training, engineering controls, safety protocols, and personal protective equipment as possible solutions.
Caught-in or between incidents are among OSHA’s “Construction Focus Four” hazards, which also include electrocution, falls and struck-by incidents.
Charleston Hazardous Waste and DOT Hazardous Materials Training
Register for Hazardous Waste Management and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in Charleston, SC, on March 19–21 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800–537–2372.
Jacksonville Hazardous Waste and DOT Hazardous Materials Training
Register for Hazardous Waste Management and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in Jacksonville, FL, on March 27–29 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800–537–2372.
New Orleans Hazardous Waste and DOT Hazardous Materials Training
Register for Hazardous Waste Management and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in New Orleans, LA, on April 3–5 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800–537–2372.
$40,096 OSHA Fine for Employee Death
OSHA has cited L.I. Aluminum Design Inc., a Naples-based patio and pool enclosure manufacturer and installer, for failing to protect employees from fall hazards. Proposed penalties total $40,096.
OSHA investigated the company after an employee installing patio screen enclosures suffered a fatal fall. L.I. Aluminum was issued four serious citationsfor failing to provide fall protection to employees working at heights of 10 feet or more; exposing employees to falls; and failing to train employees on fall hazards and the proper use of ladders.
“This tragedy could have been avoided if the employer had ensured that workers were adequately trained and wearing appropriate fall safety equipment,” said Condell Eastmond, OSHA Office Director for the Fort Lauderdale Area. “Falls are preventable if required safety measures are implemented.”
Free, Confidential Black Lung Screenings to Coal Miners
Beginning in March 2018, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will offer a series of free, confidential health screenings to coal miners as part of the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP). The screenings are intended to provide early detection of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as black lung, a serious but preventable occupational lung disease in coal miners caused by breathing respirable coal mine dust.
The health screenings are provided through the state-of-the-art NIOSH mobile testing units at convenient community and mine locations. This year’s first week of surveys will begin March 19 — March 23 in coal mining regions throughout Western Kentucky. The following week, March 26–30, screenings are offered throughout Mingo, Logan, and Wayne Counties in West Virginia. Additional survey locations include coal mining regions throughout the rest of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland. Twelve weeks of surveys are planned this year.
“If black lung is caught early, steps can be taken to help prevent it from progressing to the most serious forms of the disease,” said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. “The NIOSH surveillance program provides both underground and surface miners with confidential screenings that can enable and motivate action towards reducing their exposure to coal dust.”
Screenings provided by NIOSH will include a work history questionnaire, a chest radiograph, a respiratory assessment questionnaire, spirometry testing, and blood pressure screening. The screenings typically take about 30 minutes and each individual miner is provided with their results. By law, each person’s results are confidential. No individual information is publicly disclosed.
Participation in this program gives the coal miner:
- An easy way of checking on their health;
- A confidential report regarding whether or not they have radiographic evidence of CWP;
- A confidential report about their lung function.
Miners can look for survey announcements on the program’s website, Facebook and @NIOSHBreathe twitter. Local and individual outreach will be done in all specific locations. All coal miners — current, former, underground, surface, and those under contract — are welcome to participate.
NIOSH encourages miners and their families to go to the CWHSP website to get additional information about the program. People may also call toll free 888–480–4042 with questions.
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