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(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

OSHA cites Creamer Sanzari Joint Venture for safety hazards at Passaic River bridge project in Clifton, NJ


The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Creamer Sanzari Joint Venture of Hackensack for seven alleged serious safety violations found at the Passaic River bridge project in Clifton. 
Proposed penalties total $41,580.

The work site, where the company was installing a replacement bridge as well as making major road improvements along state Route 3, was one of many area construction sites to undergo a planned inspection by OSHA due to the high-hazard nature of the industry.

The following conditions resulted in citations: Ring buoys, a lifeboat and fall protection from a walking surface were not provided for employees exposed to a fall in excess of 12 feet. High-visibility materials were not used to mark the top rails of a guardrail system made of wire rope material. Bidirectional machines were not equipped with an operational horn. All protruding steel was not protected against impalement hazards. Employees were permitted to work with machines that had a deficient lockout/tagout system to prevent unexpected start ups. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

"The construction industry continues to remain one of the most dangerous, and heavy highway and bridge work entails a variety of unique hazards," said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. "The company needs to ensure that violations of this nature are not repeated."

Creamer Sanzari, a heavy highway and bridge construction company, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, ask for an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses. 

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Mitt Romney Plans to Cut Benefits to Disabled

The Mitt Romney campaign, on the eve of the Iowa Caucuses, is now refining a campaign strategy, to reduce benefits for the disabled. He is beginning to take aim at any and all programs, regardless of funding, that provide assistance to those who are unable to work.

As state workers' compensation programs are,  both substantively and procedurally, entangled into a complex web of Federal subsidies and reimbursements, he too maybe taking aim at state workers' compensation systems.


Read: The Anti-Entitlement Strategy (NYTimes)
"Romney and his aides have designed his rhetoric to define pretty much all spending on entitlements, including provisions for the injured, unemployed, sick, disabled or elderly as benefits to the poor who, Romney implies, are undeserving. And it doesn’t matter whether the money to pay for these programs comes from employer and employee contributions and not just tax revenue — they are all under suspicion."
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Monday, December 19, 2011

The Top 10 Workers' Compensation Blog Posts for 2011

The Workers' Compensation Blog has made enormous strides this year.  Over 80% of our readers have been new visitors. The blog readers, now spanning the globe, have rated the following posts as their top 10 favorites this year:
  1. The Next Wave of Workers Compensation Claims: WHO Calls Cell Phones a Potential Cancer Risk
  2. OSHA To Fine Employers for Distracted Driving Accidents
  3. Court Permits Deduction of Procurement Costs From Medicare Set-Aside in Liability Claim
  4. A Nuclear Workers' Compensation Disaster
  5. Workers' Comp, Walker, and Wisconsin’s Wailing
  6. The Top 10 Drugs Prescribed For Workers Compensation Claims
  7. Gingrich: Workers' Compensation is History
  8. Changing the Fundamental Rules of Workers Compensation
  9. NJ Public Employee Pensions Headed for Major Changes
  10. Cell Phones Usage For Commercial Interstate Drivers to be Banned

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Automobile Mechanics Should Be Cautious About Asbestos Exposure

Many brakes and clutches used in new and recent model automobiles do not contain asbestos. However, it has not been totally eliminated. Some reports have indicated that many mechanics and employees in the automotive repair shops as well as do-it-yourselfers are unaware that asbestos may be present in both old and replacement brakes and clutches.

OSHA’s asbestos standard requires the use of controls and safe work practices when employees work with brake shoes and clutches that contain asbestos. These requirements are detailed in 29 CFR 1910.1001 and specifically 1910.1001(f)(3) and Appendix F of the standard - Work Practices and Engineering Controls for Automotive Brake and Clutch Inspection, Disassembly, Repair and Assembly (http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/index.html). The requirements also are discussed in the Federal Register at 59 FR 40964, 40985-87 (August 10, 1994) and 60 FR 33983 (June 29, 1995), as well as in OSHA Directive CPL 2-2.63 (revised).

Asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral fiber that is highly heat resistant, can cause serious health problems when inhaled into the lungs. If products containing asbestos are disturbed, thin, lightweight asbestos fibers can be released into the air. Persons breathing the air may breathe in asbestos fibers. Continued exposure can increase the amount of fibers deposited in the lung. Fibers embedded in the lung tissue over time may result in lung diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma. It can take from 10 to 40 years or more for symptoms of an asbestos-related condition to appear. Smoking increases the risk of developing illness from asbestos exposure.

All automotive brake and clutch repair facilities in the United States must comply with the OSHA asbestos standard. The proper use of engineering controls and work practices by properly trained employees working on automotive brakes and clutches will reduce their asbestos exposure below the permissible exposure level of 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air, expressed as an 8-hour time-weighted average. Respiratory protection is not required during brake and clutch jobs where the control methods described below are used.

The two preferred OSHA methods to control asbestos dust during brake and clutch repair and service are: (1) a negative pressure enclosure/HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) vacuum system, and (2) the low pressure/wet cleaning method. The employer may use other methods (in conjunction with written procedures), to reduce exposure to levels equivalent to the negative pressure enclosure/HEPA vacuum system. For facilities that inspect, disassemble, reassemble and/or repair five or fewer brake or clutch jobs per week, the wet method (described in paragraph D of Appendix F) can be used. The spray can/solvent system method can be used as an alternative preferred method since it meets the equivalency criterion of the negative pressure enclosure/HEPA vacuum system method. Proper training is essential to ensure that employees use the methods in an effective manner.

More information:
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses. 
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

National Highway Safety Board To All States: Ban Cellphone Use in Vehicles

To the 50 states and the District of Columbia:
(1) Ban the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices (other than those designed to support the driving task) for all drivers; 
(2) use the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration model of high visibility enforcement to support these bans; and 
(3) implement targeted communication campaigns to inform motorists of the new law and enforcement, and to warn them of the dangers associated with the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices while driving.

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

$2 Million Verdict to Plastic Compounder Suffering Mesothelioma - Call For Asbestos Ban

This week a New York state jury awarded $2 Million dolars to a former plastic compounder who was exposed to asbestos fiber and was subsequently diagnosed with mesothelioma. The employee worked in a plastic factory in 1966 and poured raw asbestos fibers to make molds. Some of the asbestos fiber was supplied by Hedman Resources Ltd., a Canadian asbestos mining company.

Mesothelioma is a rare and fatal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fiber. Hundreds of thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the asbestos manufacturers and producers since the early 1970's in the US seeking benefits. Despite the continuing epidemic of asbestos related disease and massive weight of scientific evidence of the deadly carcinogenic qualities of asbestos, Canada continues to mine asbestos fiber and sell it worldwide. It is estimated that that 107,000 workers die annually from asbestos-related diseases.

To this day there is no asbestos ban in effect in the US. The Canadian asbestos industry still exports asbestos fiber used in the US and other parts of the world. On Thursday, The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) which combines education, advocacy, and community to provide a unified voice for asbestos victims, today announced with the Canadian Voices of Asbestos Victims the release of the North American Declaration to Eliminate Asbestos-Related Diseases.

The Declaration initiates an enhanced collaboration between the U.S. and Canadian asbestos disease victims and their families, public health organizations, environmental non-governmental organizations, occupational safety and health (OSH) specialists, and politicians. While ADAO has been individually partnering with Canadian counterparts for education, advocacy, and community initiatives for several years now, the North American Declaration for the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases unifies the demands voiced by American and Canadian asbestos victims to eliminate asbestos-caused diseases.


To sign the petition to ban asbestos fiber click here: Petition to Ban Asbestos Fiber 
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses. 
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Cilantro Recalled for Possible Salmonella Health Risk

Pacific International Marketing (“Pacific”) is working with the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and California Department of Public Health to coordinate a recall of Cilantro for potential contamination with Salmonella. FDA has advised that a sample of Pacific Cilantro has tested positive for Salmonella. A total of 6,141 cartons of Cilantro are being recalled.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

The product is distributed in Pacific International Marketing cartons of 60 bunches, 30 bunches and 20- 3 bunched sleeves. The product is bunched cilantro with “Pacific” on the twist tie and the UPC code, which is 33383 80104. The UPC code for sleeves is 40695 80104. The product was distributed in California, Arizona, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Indiana, South Carolina, and Missouri through retailers. Consumers should return cilantro purchased after November 16th but before December 10th. The carton codes are as follows:

19 78
111411
19 78
111811
19 84
111811
19 94
111811
19 78
111911
19 84
111911
19 94
111911
19 78

No Illnesses have been reported to date. The recall is the result of a positive FDA Salmonella test taken at the distributor level. The product originates from Salt River Farming, located in the Phoenix, Arizona area. The source of contamination is unknown.

Consumers who have purchased the cilantro are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Customers can also contact Pacific International Marketing at 831 755 1398 from 8:00 am PST to 5:00 pm PST Monday through Friday or by mail to: P.O. Box 3737, Salinas, CA 93912-3737
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
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