Bush Administration Issues Chemical Plant Security Proposal: Industry Likes It

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a proposed regulation to prevent terrorist attacks on chemical plants. Comments on the proposal are due February 7 and the new rules must go into effect by April 7. The new rules sound good at first glance:

DuPont Co., Dow Chemical Co. and other chemical companies will have to submit to government inspections of their plants' security under proposed regulations issued today by the U.S. Homeland Security Department.

Under the new rules, chemical plants considered to be high- risk must assess their vulnerabilities and provide security plans to the government. Manufacturers could be fined as much as $25,000 a day or, in the worst case, closed down for non- compliance.

Although the chemical industry applauds the Bush administration's proposal, the new proposals have come under considerable criticism

Under the rules issued Friday by the Homeland Security Department, chemical plants at high risk of terrorist attack will largely determine for themselves the level of protection they think is needed.

Nothing in the rules suggests that the plants must adopt specific security measures. A concrete barrier blocking access to toxic chemicals? A switch to safer chemicals if economically feasible? Even a chainlink fence? There is nothing in the rules requiring the chemical industry to invest in security measures or to adhere to strict standards. Instead, the nation's chemical companies will tell the government how they think the plants should be protected. And if the government rejects their security proposals, the chemical plants can appeal.

Even Republican Senator Susan Collins had problems with the proposal:

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is stepping down as head of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Collins, who co-wrote the legislation calling for the rules with Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., the committee's incoming chairman, said the department was going too far in some areas, despite having gained much-needed authority to regulate security at chemical facilities and to shut down those that are noncompliant.

The rules "appear to go beyond what Congress authorized" by the department assigning itself authority to pre-empt the legal authority of states and courts and creating other ways "to shield itself from legitimate judicial scrutiny of its own actions."

As Collins notes, DHS is now able to pre-empt state chemical plant security laws, such as New Jersey's which requires chemical plants to take measures to reduce their vulnerability to catastrophes resulting from terrorist attacks. The New Jersey law also requires 43 (of the state's 140 plants) using the most hazardous chemicals to review the potential for adopting inherently safer technologies.

So, can we trust chemical companies to ensure their own security. As with most voluntary programs, you have some who do a good job and some who don't. Given the cost cutting, maintenance cutbacks and otherwise sorry performance of petroleum giant BP over the past couple of years, the whole thing makes me a bit nervous.

Related Articles

• The US Congress: "Doing Businesses' Bidding" On Chemical Plant Security, October 2, 2006
• Congress Gives Chemical Plant Security To The Chemical Industry, September 25, 2006
  
• Chemical Plant Security: The Plot Sickens, April 17, 2006
  
• Homeland Security To Turn Chemical Plant Security Over To Industry, March 21, 2001
  
• Ho, Hum. Yet More Chem Plant Security Stuff, January 23, 2006
• NY Times Says It's Time To Take Chem Plant Security Seriously, May 22, 2005
• Itty Bitty Steps Forward On Chemical Plant Security?, December 27, 2005
• NJ Issues Chem Plant Safety Regs; Including Safer Technologies, December 1, 2005
• WMD Found! Look Over Your Shoulder, May 9, 2005
• "We can't protect ourselves if we are not part of the plan", February 20, 2005
• NY Chem Company Decides Terrorism Threat Is Over, February 6, 2005
• Department of Homeland Security: Buddy Can You Spare a Dime?, September 27, 2004
• Chris Cox & Tim Russert: Educate Yourselves!, July 17, 2004
• If Safety Was Voluntary, Only Volunteers Would Be Safe, April 8, 2004
• Chemical Industry Steps Up To the Plate...And Strikes Out, June 26, 2003
• Weapons of Mass Destruction Found -- In Our Backyards, November 17, 2003
• The War for Chemical Plant Safety, May 4, 2003

The US Congress: "Doing Businesses' Bidding" On Chemical Plant Security

Well, five years after 9/11, the House of Representatives has finally passed legislation covering chemical plant security by sticking it onto a must-pass homeland security budget bill.

In a largely party-line vote last Friday, the House of Reprentatives voted 221 to 186 not to strip some of the most harmful provisions from the bill. Earlier in the year, House and Senate committees passed much stronger bills (H.R. 5695) and Senate (S. 2145).

But as the Philadelphia Inquirer editorializes:

It's an underhanded tactic to accomplish industry's bidding, but representatives folded with rationalizations such as: "It's better than nothing," and "It's time to quit talking and get something done." The American public deserves better than this illusion of security.

The two-page rider reads like a custom order from chemical manufacturers, who only recently dropped rigorous opposition to any mandatory security regulation.

The bill will establish some kind of standards for 34,000 facilities where chemicals are made or used, and the Homeland Security Department will have the authority to inspect plants and even shut them down.

But there's little assurance that the standards will have any teeth. The rider says, "The secretary may approve alternative security programs established by private sector entities" - in other words, the very voluntary measures the industry has been pushing all along. Secretary Michael Chertoff should be proactive in creating stronger requirements.

Gone is a provision in the House bill requiring high-risk facilities to consider and, when economically and technologically feasible, to use safer chemicals or processes to protect surrounding communities. The appropriations rider also exempts water- and wastewater-treatment plants, which use and store highly toxic chlorine, from oversight.

The Senate bill specifically protected states' rights to impose stronger security requirements, as New Jersey has done. The rider leaves it to judges to sort out state and federal jurisdiction.

The American Chemistry Council, which represents 133 chemical manufacturers who encompass approximately 85% of chemical production capacity in the United States, couldn't have been more pleased.

“ACC would like to thank Congress for their work in accomplishing our shared objective of passing meaningful chemical security legislation this year. This measure represents significant progress in the effort to secure America’s chemical industry, an essential part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

“While this bill is not a home run, Congress came through in the last inning to deliver essential chemical security legislation.

According to Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA),

“There are night clubs in New York City that are harder to get into than some of our chemical plants. Yet the Republicans acquiesced to the wishes of the chemical industry behind closed doors to negotiate the weak, inadequate language contained in this conference report.

Markey had four main problems with the bill:

• It exempts all but high-risk facilities from doing any kind of risk assessments and site security plans.
• DHS is prohibited from disapproving a facility’s security plan because of the absence of any specific security measure (i.e. broken fences, cameras, etc.)
• Exempts even high-risk facilities that are regulated under other laws from being regulated for security by DHS, no matter how weak those laws are. For example, water treatment plants are exempted because EPA regulations cover many of their operations. Nearly 100 of them each put 100,000 or more people at risk.
• It doesn't give states the right to pass stronger protections.

In addition, the bill sets no deadlines by which DHS must approve or disapprove plant security plans, doesn't require security exercises or involve plant workers in the development of security plans.

Legislative Alert: Chemical Security Bill To Come Up In The House

Yesterday I described the industry-friendly travesty masquerading as a real Chemical Plant Security bill that the House-Senate Conference Committee tacked onto the Department of Homeland Security's appropriations bill last night.

The bill exempts thousands of plants from coverage, pre-empts stronger state protections, exempts water and wastewater treatment plants (even though they often use rail tankers full enough chlorine to wipe out a medium sized city) and has no requirement for plants to even consider inherently safer technologies.

The House may vote on the bill tomorrow, Friday or Saturday. Most of the Democrats will probably vote correctly, so we need a few Republicans. They all have close races, so they may be willing to listen to one of their constituents.

If you're in any of these Republicans' districts, give them a call at (202) 224-3121.

J.D. Hayworth AZ
Richard Pombo CA
Rob Simmons CT
Chris Shays CT
Nancy Johnson CT
Clay Shaw FL
Chris Choclola IN
John Hostettler IN
Mike Sodrel IN
Geoff Davis KY
Anne Northup KY
Charlie Bass NH
Mike Ferguson NJ
Heather Wilson NM
Charles Taylor NC
Peter King NY
John Sweeney NY
Randy Kuhl NY
Jon Porter NV
Steve Chabot OH
Deborah Pryce OH
Jim Gerlach PA
Curt Weldon PA
Mike Fitzpatrick PA
Don Sherwood PA
Henry Bonilla TX
Dave Reichert WA
Frank Wolf VA
Thelma Drake VA

The message is that they should vote to pass the much stronger H.R. 5695, which was passed by House and Senate Homeland Security Committees to replace the industry supported rider in the Homeland Security Funding Bill.

HR 5695 allows states to set stronger standards and gives the Deparatment of Homeland Security the authority to require the use of less dangerous chemicals at high risk facilities as long as it wouldn't impair the business of the facility.

Meanwhile, Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Frank Lautenberg (D-IL) issued a press release today blasting yesterday's closed door vote on the bill:

"The sad truth is that this legislation does far more to protect chemical industry interests than it does to protect the millions of Americans who would be at risk if terrorists were to attack a chemical plant," said Senator Obama. "Our inability to secure these sites is one of our greatest security failures since the September 11th attacks."

"We're five years out from September 11th and America still hasn't secured its chemical facilities from terrorists. Instead of adopting the House and Senate plans to protect the nation's chemical plants, the Republicans and the White House went behind closed doors and cut a deal with the chemical industry," said Senator Lautenberg.

***

"This bill explicitly bars DHS from replacing dangerous chemicals with safer alternatives, and it weakens this Administration's ability to better secure these plants," Obama said. "There are serious gaps in our nation's chemical plant security, but this legislation falls well short of fixing the problems."

OK, enough reading. Time to pick up the phone.

Congress Gives Chemical Plant Security To The Chemical Industry

After five long years with millions of Americans living in the shadow of real chemical weapons of mass destruction, the US Congress seems poised to finally pass chemical plant security legislation.

But unless you're a chemical industry executive, it couldn't be worse.

The New York Times issued a blistering editorial today, blasting Republicans and the chemical industry for proposed chemical plant security bill that undermines homeland security:

Congress still has done nothing to protect Americans from a terrorist attack on chemical plants. Republican leaders want to give the impression that that has changed. But voters should not fall for the spin. If the leadership goes through with the strategy it seems to have adopted last week to secure these highly vulnerable targets, national security will be the loser.

Well, the Republican leadership did go through with the strategy in the Conference committee today, hoping to have something to show off on the campaign trail. Congressional Republicans caved in to the chemical industry behind closed doors, attaching industry's language to a rider in the Homeland Security appropriations bill. The result is that we're all the losers -- especially those of us who live near chemical plants, refineries or wastewater treatment plants.

But, of course, not everyone was unhappy with today's vote:

The U.S. chemical industry embraced the Republican measure as a "fair compromise that will give DHS strong authority to secure America's chemical facilities," according to Jack Gerard, head of the American Chemical Council, who said his industry has already spent $3 billion enhancing security.

Dow Chemical, the largest U.S. chemical maker, also praised the bill.

Background

There are 3,400 high-priority chemical facilities in this country where a worst-case release of toxic chemicals could sicken or kill more than 1,000 people, and 272 sites that could affect more than 50,000 people. Yet despite reports from government agencies and independent journalists since 9/11 that chemical plant security is seriously flawed, the Bush administration has refused to address the issue.

Shortly after 9/11, New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine introduced legislation that would have forced the chemical industry to implement, where possible, inherently safer technologies (e.g. substituting safer chemicals, storing smaller amounts of hazardous chemicals, etc.), along with increased traditional security measures.

The bill was passed unanimously by the committee. But then the American Chemistry Council (formerly the Chemical Manufacturers Association) woke up and along with their clients in Congress kill Corzine's bill, suggesting instead an legislation that focusee almost entirely on traditional security (guns, guards and gates), and relies on compliance with voluntary guidelines -- developed by the American Chemistry Council.

And that's were things stayed (and stayed and stayed) until last December when the state of New Jersey decided not to wait around for the feds to act and passed its own Chemical Plant security bill that required all chemical plants to take measures to reduce their vulnerability to catastrophes resulting from terrorist attacks and required 43 (of the state's 140 plants) using the most hazardous chemicals are required to review the potential for adopting inherently safer technologies.

Suddenly the chemical industry -- facing the prospect of being forced to comply with multiple different state regulations -- saw the light, seeing the immediate need for a (weak) federal law (that would pre-empt state laws). A couple of months later, right on schedule, after years of not paying much attention to the issue, the Bush administration finally decided to weigh in with a statement from Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff announcing that he would propose turning chemical plant security over the to chemical industry.

Chertoff's plan would prohibit states (like New Jersey) from issuing their own plans, fearing that they would expose businesses to "ruinous liability" and would create "a regulatory regime that is doomed to failure." And any requirements for inherently safer technologies would present an "interference with business."

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) had introduced a bipartisan bill that did not pre-empt states like New Jersey from passing their own laws, but also did not require inherently safery technologies, although it did leave it to the the discretion of Homeland Security to decide whether there is any role for specific technologies. Because of the lack of pre-emption and the slight possiblity that Homeland Security might consider inherently safer technologies, the Collins-Lieberman bill was deemed unacceptable to the chemical industry -- and therefore to the Bush Administration and the Republican leaderhip in Congress as well.

What Happened Today?

Which brings us to today. Unable to pass a separate chemical security bill, the Republicans are up to their old tricks -- writing the chemical industry's bill in the conference committee as part of the Homeland Security appropriations bill.

As the today's Times editorial says:

It is outrageous that something as important as chemical plant security is being decided in a backroom deal. It is regrettable that Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, the chairwoman of the committee that produced the Senate bill, does not carry enough influence with her own party's leadership to get a strong chemical plant security bill passed. The deal itself, the likely details of which have emerged in recent days, is a near-complete cave-in to industry, and yet more proof that when it comes to a choice between homeland security and the desires of corporate America, the Republican leadership always goes with big business.

The bill

• Exempts thousands of chemical plants from any regulations unless the DHS considers them high risk.
  
• Specifically exempts approximately 3,000 drinking water and waste water facilities.
  
• Keeps DHS from requiring safer technologies or any other "particular security measure" that could enhance security and eliminate the consequence of an attack.
  
• Fails to preserve state and local government's authority to set stronger security standards than the federal government as New Jersey now does.
• Gives the DHS no criteria for choosing high-risk plants. DHS has complete discretion to ignore plants where thousands of people are at risk while relying on dubious intelligence to select so-called “high risk” facilities.
  
• Fails to require chemical plants to ever submit security plans by any date certain to the DHS for approval.
  
• Sets no deadlines by which DHS must approve or disapprove plant security plans.
  
• Fails to require “red team” security exercises or involve plant workers in the development of security plans. All of the above are contained in H.R. 5695 adopted by the House Homeland Security Committee on July 28th.
  
• Contains “shutdown” authority that is more about public relations than enforcement. If the shutdown authority were ever used it would more likely be for a day or so and masks the light civil penalties for violators contained in their bill, (only $25,000).

According to Greanpeace Legislative Director Rick Hind:

“The most well known example of proven solutions that were rejected by the Conferees is the 2001 conversion of the Washington, D.C. sewage treatment plant. Eight weeks after the 9/11 attacks that plant ceased its use of chlorine gas and no longer poses a threat to millions of DC area residents.

EPA data show that 225 plants have taken similar actions since 9/11. However, nearly 100 water treatment plants each put 100,000 or more people at risk.This bill exempts all (approximately 3,000) U.S. water treatment plants from new security measures.

One of the major problems with the bill is lack of any requirement for high risk plants to consider inherently safer technologies. One of the main advantages to inherently safer technologies is that they not only protect against a terrorist attack, but also against the every-day run-of-the-mill domestic chemical accident. But even if the only threat we had to worry about was terrorism, how much sense does it make to only commit resources to guard a target (with questionable effectiveness) when in most cases it’s entirely possible to shrink or even remove the target completely?

As outlaw Willie Sutton explained, they robbed banks because that’s where the money was. Terrorists would be tempted to attack chemical plants because that’s where the greatest potential for terror is. Take the money out of the banks -- or the catastrophic potential out of chemical plants -- and no one cares.

Chertoff and the Bush clearly don't get it (or don't want to get it):

Clearly a lot of chemical companies on their own, in meeting performance standards, will want to look at inherently safer technology as a means to reduce the risk, and therefore achieve what they need to achieve. But we have to be careful not to move from what is a security-based focus, as part of the type of regulation I'm describing, into one that tries to broaden into achieving environmental ends that are unrelated to security. There is an Environmental Protection Administration. They deal with environmental matters that are distinct from security. And I want to make sure that we don't allow our focus on security to become a surrogate for achieving ends that may very well be worthwhile but ought to be pursued in a debate in another forum. (emphasis added)

As the New York Times said last summer when an inherently safer technology amendment was being voted on:

The industry is fighting for its right to use whatever chemicals it deems best, or most profitable, no matter how much risk that poses to people who live, work and attend school nearby

What Can Be Done Now

Right now, we're the bottom of the ninth in the great Chemical Plant Security Debate, the score today stands: Chemical Industry - 1, National Security - 0. But the game isn't over yet

The entire Homeland Security appropriations bill must still be voted on by both Houses of Congress. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is reportedly planning to force a House vote on the chemical security rider later this week and hopefully there will also be a separate vote in the Senate.

So get your dialing and faxing and e-mailing finger ready. There will be some lobbying to do.

Details to follow

Related Articles

(Everything you ever wanted to know about the last four years of the chemical plant security debate)

• House Set To Do Harm To Chemical Plant Security, July 27, 2006
• Chemical Plant Security: The Plot Sickens, April 17, 2006
  
• Homeland Security To Turn Chemical Plant Security Over To Industry, March 23, 2006
• Ho, Hum. Yet More Chem Plant Security Stuff, January 23, 2006
• NY Times Says It's Time To Take Chem Plant Security Seriously, May 22, 2005
• Itty Bitty Steps Forward On Chemical Plant Security?, December 27, 2005
• NJ Issues Chem Plant Safety Regs; Including Safer Technologies, December 1, 2005
• WMD Found! Look Over Your Shoulder, May 9, 2005
• "We can't protect ourselves if we are not part of the plan", February 20, 2005
• NY Chem Company Decides Terrorism Threat Is Over, February 6, 2005
• Department of Homeland Security: Buddy Can You Spare a Dime?, September 27, 2004
• Chris Cox & Tim Russert: Educate Yourselves!, July 17, 2004
• If Safety Was Voluntary, Only Volunteers Would Be Safe, April 8, 2004
• Chemical Industry Steps Up To the Plate...And Strikes Out, June 26, 2003
• Weapons of Mass Destruction Found -- In Our Backyards, November 17, 2003
• The War for Chemical Plant Safety, May 4, 2003

House Set To Do Harm To Chemical Plant Security

A House of Representatives committee votes this morning at 11:00 a.m. EST on a chemical plant security bill (H.R. 5695).

And when it comes to chemical plant security, the New York Times is pretty fed up with the chemical industry and Congress for kow-towing to the chemical industry's dislike for inherently safer production and their desire to pre-empt state protections that are stronger than the federal government's.

Nearly five years after Sept. 11, Congress has still not passed a law reducing the risk of mass casualties from an attack on a chemical plant. A bill has been slowly working its way through the Senate and the House, but the chemical industry is committed to making it so weak that it could actually make plants less safe. The House Homeland Security Committee is expected to vote tomorrow on two amendments that are important to making this a real chemical plant security bill.

The first amendment would require some high-risk chemical plants to replace the most dangerous chemicals with safer alternatives. It is a relatively mild proposal, since it does not cover all plants, and it gives the plants a large role in the decision about which safer technologies they should adopt. But the industry is fighting for its right to use whatever chemicals it deems best, or most profitable, no matter how much risk that poses to people who live, work and attend school nearby.

A second critical amendment would make clear that states have the right to regulate chemical plant safety more strictly than the federal government. The chemical industry wants the federal bill to expressly pre-empt, or invalidate, state safety rules. It says it wants a single national standard to avoid "confusion." But what the industry really wants is a weak national standard that prevents states from taking a more serious approach to the terrorist threat.

Tomorrow's votes will likely be decided by a few moderate Republicans, including Christopher Shays and Rob Simmons of Connecticut, and Curt Weldon and Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania. They could decide whether this important homeland security bill actually makes the nation more secure.

The House vote, by the way, is Thursday (today!) at 11:00 am. If any of these are your Congressmen, they could use a call if you've got a minute:

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT)
Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT)
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA)
Rep. Dave G. Reichert (R-WA)
Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA)

Tell them that:

The bill (H.R. 5695) the Subcommittee adopted July 11th is fatally flawed as it will do little to protect communities because:

• It does NOT require the use of safer technologies to eliminate preventable disasters


• It PRE-EMPTS states (NJ) & localities from establishing more protective programs


• It contains NO meaningful role for labor in developing security plans


• It does not cover drinking water facilities;


• Only the high risk plants selected by the Department of Homeland Security are required to submit security plans for approval;

All congressional offices can be reached at the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Chemical Plant Security Bill Goes From Bad To Worse

After voting down a requirement that high risk chemical facilities use inherently safer technologies on Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee proceeded to make the bill even worse on Thursday before unanimously approving it and sending it to the Senate floor for a final vote.

The committee voted to approve an amendment by George Voinovich (R-OH) that would prohibit Homeland Security from disclosing to the public when chemical plants are not in compliance with security requirements, and restricts the public's ability to sue chemical companies for alleged violations of the act.

Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) led the opposition to Voinovich's amendments:

Lieberman called the provisions "unwise and unfair" and said he would try to eliminate the amendment when the bill reaches the Senate floor. "People who live in the shadow of chemical plants should have the right to know how safe those plants are, and they should be allowed to challenge DHS actions, or inactions, if they believe their safety is in jeopardy," Lieberman argued. Proponents said the measures would keep sensitive information out of the hands of terrorists.

Other amendments makes it harder to bring criminal charges against plants that are not in compliance:

The amendment was altered during the markup to stipulate that chemical companies must knowingly and willfully violate their security plans in order to face criminal penalties. Another change to the amendment gives Homeland Security the ability to waive annual inspections of chemical facilities if they are found to be in compliance with their security plans for five consecutive years.

Environmentalists were not happy with the result:

"Among the bill's most serious failures is the refusal to require the elimination of unnecessary risks with proven safer and cost-effective technologies," said Greenpeace's Rick Hind in a statement. "Guards, guns and gates alone will not protect millions of Americans currently at risk."

The chemical industry was mostly pleased, as might be expected. According to American Chemistry Council President, Jack Gerard,

ACC is encouraged by the direction of the debate today in which the panel clarified the bill’s essential focus on security by limiting government’s ability to mandate chemistry processes. And, we applaud the panel for strengthening the protection of sensitive security information.

The only fly in the chemical industry's ointment was the committee's failure to approve language that would have pre-empted stronger state laws. According to Gerard:

However we are still concerned the bill allows a potential patchwork of discordant and confusing state-level regulations which will weaken security. Chemical security is a national issue that requires a uniform national response which is why we have called for federal preemption. We will continue to work with Congress to ensure federal preemption is included in the bill. The 900,000 people who work in the chemical industry, the communities where they live and work, and the millions of Americans who rely on our products, deserve no less.”

New Jersey has passed its own chemical plant security legislation that requires chemical plants using the most hazardous chemical are required to review the potential for adopting inherently safer technologies. The chemical industry is scared to death that more states may decide that the chemical companies can't always be trusted to ensure the safety of the community.

Chemical Plant Security: Win a Few, Lose a Few

There are few important issues that have been more overlooked by the US Congress (and Bush administration than chemical plant security. The Environmental Protection Agency had identified 123 sites where toxic gases released in a terrorist attack could kill or injure more than one million people in or near each plant, as well as 700 other sites where the death and injury toll could reach 100,000. Media reports and government studies have shown how poorly protected this country's chemical plants and refineries are. Yet four and a half years after 9/11, no chemical plant security bill has been seriously considered in the US Congress.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee met today to "mark-up" the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2005 (S.2145). A "mark-up" is where amendments are considered and a committee vote is taken. The mark-up was not completed today, although amendments considering two major issues: mandating the serious consideration of "inherently safer technologies" and federal pre-emption of state laws were considered and voted on.

To make a long story short, the good guys lost in the "inherently safer technologies" issue, but won on the federal pre-emption issue.

I wrote previously in some detail about the major issues of this legislation. For those of you who are just now tuning in, inherently safer technologies (IST) means simply using safer chemicals, reducing inventories of highly hazardous chemicals where safer substitutes can't be found, reducing hazardous pressures and temperatures where possible, improving inventory control, and reducing or eliminating storage, transportation, handling, disposal and discharge of highly hazardous substances. It's not pie in the sky. Lots of plants have already done it. The idea is that all the guns, guards and gates aren't going to protect chemical plants as effectively as simply reducing the target -- the amount of hazardous chemicals with the potential to do great damage to the surrounding community.

A recent report by the Center for American Progress, Preventing Toxic Terrorism, found that 284 facilities in 47 states have dramatically reduced the danger of a chemical release into nearby communities by switching to less acutely hazardous processes or chemicals or moving to safer locations. Most of the improvements occurred at wastewater treatment plants which switched from treating sewage with deadly chlorine gas to much safer methods using liquid chlorine bleach or ultraviolet light.

Senator Joseph Lieberman and Frank Lautenberg supported an amendment to Collins' bill that would have required chemical facilities deemed by the Homeland Security Department as posing the highest risk to use safer technologies. The proposal failed by a vote of 11 to 5. All the Republicans except for Lincoln Chafee (RI) voted against it. Democrats were more split. The Senators from Dow and Dupont -- Carl Levin (MI) and Tom Carper (DE) -- as did Mark Prior (AK).

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) was most outspoken against the proposal:

"I simply don't think it's an appropriate role for government ... to dictate specific industrial processes," Collins said. "We don't have the expertise to do that and we shouldn't do that."

Coburn said the amendment would create a "litigation nightmare" between chemical facilities and the government.

"This reminds me of Soviet-style mandates for how we'll do things," he said. "If this is in the bill, I will do everything I can to make sure this bill never moves."

Collins betrayed her fundamental misunderstanding of the subject, arguing that IST was an environmental issue, somehow unrelated to chemical plant security.

Pryor apparently fell victim to the agricultural chemical industry which strongly opposes IST:

The Agricultural Retailers Association, made up of members such as DuPont Agricultural Products and Cargill Ag Horizons, opposes mandatory use of alternatives to the chemicals.

“Anti-chemical groups have used clean-water laws to file lawsuits or threaten lawsuits against ag businesses and farming operations, and we want to make sure that does not occur with chemical security regulations,” said Richard Gupton, legislative director and counsel of the Agricultural Retailers Association.

But all was not bad news at today's meeting. The committee also defeated a proposed amendment by Ohio Republican George Voinovich that would have prohibited states from passing chemical plant security laws that were different -- or stronger -- than the federal law.

New Jersey recently passed its own law that required chemical plants using the most hazardous chemicals to review their potential for adopting inherently safer technologies.

The pre-emption amendment failed by a 9-7 vote:

Voinovich argued, however, that there should be a single national standard for the chemical industry that pre-empts state and local government authority. He said his amendment would allow state and local authorities to apply to the Homeland Security Department for permission to pass their own regulations.

Regulating chemical plants should be considered a national defense matter, he said, adding that the federal government already has other laws that pre-empt state and local authority. "This is a war type of atmosphere that we're in, so it's within the jurisdiction of the federal government," he said.

Collins led opposition to the amendment. "On balance, I come down on preserving the rights of state and local governments to legislate in this area," she said.

The New York Times felt quite strongly about defeating the pre-emption language, saying that the bill would be "worse than nothing" if it were passed:

A pre-emption provision could wipe away New Jersey's laws, and prevent other states from protecting themselves.

George Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, is taking the lead on pushing pre-emption. It is important that Lincoln Chafee, Republican of Rhode Island, and Mark Pryor, Democrat of Arkansas, who could be the swing votes, resist along with Senator Collins, the committee chairwoman. If the final bill pre-empts state laws, it should be killed or at least be renamed, to make clear what it is: a chemical plant antisecurity bill.

Once it passes out of committee, the bill will be considered on the floor of the Senate. Lieberman says that he plans to re-introduce his IST amendment on the floor. Then it's on to the House of Representatives. Still a long way to go.

Legislative Alerts: Stickler and Chemical Plant Security

Yes, that’s plural. Lots happening in Washington these days. And here’s your chance to affect them.

Oppose Richard Sticker

I already wrote about the need to call your Senators and ask them oppose the nomination of Richard Stickler to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration. More on why Stickler is an inappropriate choice here.

All senators should be contacted, but if you live in Pennsylvania, Ohio or Alabama, Senators DeWine (OH), Specter and Santorum (PA) and Shelby and Sessions (AL) are particularly curious about what you think.

The vote is scheduled for Tuesday at 2:30.

If you don’t know your Senator’s phone number, call the Senate Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.


Chemical Plant Security Bill Needs Improving and Defending

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, June 14th the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chaired by Senator Susan Collins R-ME) will vote on comprehensive chemical security legislation.

The bad news is that the bill (S. 2145) that Collins is offering is weak and will not protect communities from the catastrophic risks they currently face.

The good news is that strengthening amendments are being offered.

The worse news is that weakening amendments are also being proposed.

I’ve written numerous times about the debate over chemical plant, most recently here, where I also summarized Collins’ bill.

All the Senators on the committee need to hear from you, but particularly Chafee (R-RI), Coleman (R-MN), Warner, (R-VA) and Pryor (D-AR). In addition to the Senators mentioned above, additional Committee Democrats are Levin (MI), Akaka (HI), Carper (DE), Dayton (MN). Republicans are Stevens (AK), Coburn (OK), Bennett (UT), Dominci (NM).

This is what you need to tell them:

• Encourage them to vote for an amendment by Senators Lieberman (D-CT) and Lautenberg (D-NJ) to require safer technologies.


• Encourage them to vote for an amendment by Senator Lautenberg that would include meaningful participation by worker in formulating plant security plans and an amendment to include the EPA in developing and implementing the law.


• Strongly oppose several weakening amendments by Senator Voinovich (R-OH) that would preempt states (such as N.J.) and localities from setting more protective security standards; that would eliminate the voluntary safer technology provision in the
  Collins bill.

A number of environmental organizations, as well as the United Steelworkers, United Auto Workers, Communications Workers of America, and United Food and Commercial Workers unions have also sent a letter to the committee.

Again, go here for more background on this issue, and the Senate Switchboard number is: (202) 224-3121.

Pick up the phone. We want them all scratching their heads, wondering where all these calls are coming from.

Weekly Toll: Mothers Day Edition

A partial listing of American workers killed on the job over the past two weeks. In this Weekly Toll, we have at least two mothers who were killed on the job, leaving children behind.

This edition of the Weekly Toll is dedicated to the memory of Detective Vicky O. Armel, mother of two children who was shot when a mentally ill youth attacked her police station, and Pamela Holmstrom, mother of three who was shot while driving a cab.

But on this Mothers Day, let's also not forget all the mothers who are mourning the children they have lost to workplace accidents, nor the wives who are spending their first Mothers Day as single parents

***

Train Kills Worker at Dupont Stop

Washington DC -- A Metro employee was struck and killed by a train yesterday at Dupont Circle Station as he performed routine track maintenance, the second workplace fatality the subway system has suffered in seven months.

Candace Smith, a Metro spokeswoman, said Jong Won Lee, 49, of Springfield was working on track equipment about 50 yards from an entrance to the station when he was hit by a train about 10:15 a.m. She said two employees working nearby were unharmed


Man killed in industrial plant accident

Athens, GA -- A 45-year-old Athens man was killed Friday in an industrial accident at a Lawrenceville plant cited last year for workplace violations.

When firefighters arrived at Valentine Enterprises Inc. on Collins Hill Road just after 11 a.m., they found the body of Jerry Hill inside a large industrial mixer, authorities said.

It was not known if Hill worked for Valentine or for a company maintaining the 150,000-square-foot plant’s equipment.

The 35-year-old company develops, processes and packages powder nutritional and dietary supplements, according to the firm’s Web site.

In July 2005, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Valentine for 15 safety violations the agency rated as “serious,” according to data on the OSHA Web site. The federal agency originally proposed fining Valentine $16,225, the data indicated, but a settlement of $9,735 was reached between the company and OSHA as the problems were corrected.


OSHA looks into carpet cleaners' deaths

Moorpark, CA -- A state agency will investigate the suffocated deaths of two carpet cleaners from carbon monoxide fumes in Moorpark, officials said Tuesday.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration will talk to owners and employees of Coast and Valley Carpet Care and determine what information regarding hazardous conditions the employees should have known and what they were provided with, said Dean Fryer, OSHA spokesman.

Friday night, cousins Victor Manuel Monroy Cortez, 20, and Jose Luis Monroy Cortez, 25, were cleaning carpets at 11808 Torino St. to prepare it for an open house the next day.

The cousins backed their van into the garage, which faces the front of the condominium and is connected to the residence, and started working with a gasoline-powered carpet-cleaning device mounted to the vehicle.

They died from asphyxiation by inhaling exhaust fumes and carbon monoxide, said Senior Deputy Medical Examiner Craig Stevens. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that enters the bloodstream and prevents oxygen from entering the body.


Road worker hit, killed by pickup

Ann Arbor, MI -- A 34-year-old construction worker died Friday night after being hit by a pickup truck in the construction zone on westbound I-94 underneath the northbound US-23 overpass.

Steven Wayne Leelean of Harrison was employed by Midwest Bridge Co. of Williamston, a contractor of the Michigan Department of Transportation. The company is working on the US-23 and I-94 interchange bridge and road repair project, which has had intermittent single-lane closures.

From evidence at the scene and witness statements to police, Leelean was using a push broom to clean up debris from the road around 11 p.m. when he stepped out of the closed left lane and into the open right lane, directly into the path of an oncoming pickup truck, said Michigan State Police Sgt. Tony Cuevas.


Sheriff's Deputy Shot to Death in Tenn.

KINGSTON, Tenn. -- A sheriff's deputy and a friend riding with him on patrol were shot to death Thursday night and one suspect was in custody.

Deputy Bill Jones and his friend, Mike Brown, were found dead along state Highway 58 in eastern Tennessee, Roane County Sheriff David Haggard said.

"It looks like somebody opened fire on them and shot the officer and the ride-along," Haggard said.


Man killed in crane accident identified

VALLEY CENTER, CA – An avocado grove worker who died in a crane accident Wednesday has been identified by the county Medical Examiner's Office as Luis Juarez, 40, of Oceanside.

Juarez died when a crane boom that was being used to load avocados hit power lines on Castlecrest Drive about 7:10 p.m., authorities said.

The cause of death was high-voltage electrocution, according to the county Medical Examiner's Office.


Live Oak man killed in farm accident

Branford, FL -- It was a nightmare no one ever wants to experience when a wife found her husband pinned underneath a burning, overturned tractor Saturday evening, Apri 22.

John Clare Saunders apparently died after his tractor overturned and the seat pinned him to the ground.

An investigation is continuing to determine if Saunders, 52, of 169th Road, died from the tractor’s impact or the fire that engulfed the tractor afterward.


MAN DIES IN FORKLIFT ACCIDENT

A 52-year-old man was crushed to death Tuesday after the forklift truck he was driving flipped over, a Sterling Heights police spokesman said.

The accident occurred at about 7:30 p.m. at Teleflex Fluid Systems Inc., 42600 Mound Road in Sterling Heights, Police Lt. Michael Reese said. The man was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Troy where he later died.


Farm worker dies after being run over in field

Woodland, CA -- A 21-year-old farm laborer has died as the result of injuries received from being run over by a tomato harvester, the state's Department of Industrial Relations reported.

Details were incomplete due to conflicting jurisdictions, however, The Democrat has learned that a CalOSHA investigation is under way into the death.

According to Dean Friar, a spokesman for the Department of Industrial Relations, the accident occurred around 8 a.m. last Wednesday morning in a field near Zamora owned by D. Campos Inc.

Friar reported CalOSHA officials arrived around 10 a.m. They reported the woman was apparently walking alongside or behind a tomato truck as it was backing up into a field when the accident occurred and she was run over.


Truck driver crushed by cargo of logs

FORT SMITH, AR -- A truck driver hauling logs in a rainstorm was killed when his rig slammed into a 10-vehicle pileup and the logs crushed his cab.

State police said the truck driven by Chester Jones, 47, was the last vehicle in the crash on Interstate 540 Monday evening in northwest Arkansas. A police report said the logs he was hauling shifted and crushed him.

Four other persons were injured in the wreck, police said.


Brakes may be culprit in truck driver's death

DRAPER, UT -- The 30-year-old driver of a dump truck was killed Monday after the vehicle's brakes apparently failed.

Just after 3 p.m., Devin Cordes, of Orem, was driving two trailers full of gravel near 13500 South on the Bangerter Highway when, according to a preliminary investigation, something went wrong with the brakes, Draper Police Sgt. Gerry Allred said.

The truck was heading out of the Suncrest Project area, he said.

Cordes lost control of the load on a curve and was killed instantly when the cab was crushed by the heavy load, Allred said.


Solon farmer killed in tractor rollover

SOLON, Iowa -- A Solon farmer was killed Tuesday after he was pinned underneath his tractor, authorities said.

Michael Divoky, 50, was driving his tractor at about 11:30 a.m. southeast of this eastern Iowa town when it veered off the road and into a ditch. The tractor rolled over and pinned Divoky underneath, the Iowa State Patrol said.

He was transported to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead.


Man charged in death of co-worker

PASSAIC, NJ — Police arrested a 44-year-old man Saturday and charged him with the stabbing death of a co-worker after the two got into a fight over money at a construction site last week.

Frank Maltese was arrested about 11 a.m. at a phone booth on Park Avenue in Newark and charged with homicide in the death of Nicholas Luciano, 43, said Passaic Detective Sgt. Stewart Kennedy.


Police Hunt For Security Guard's Killers

LA PUENTE, CA -- The security guard, identified as 59-year-old Frutso Anuino, who had been on the job for only one week, was shot to death Thursday night when four men robbed a La Puente market.

Police are still looking for the suspects, described only as being in their late 20s.

The robbery took place at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday night in the 800 block of Hacienda Boulevard at Northgate Market in the Hacienda Plaza shopping center, sheriff's officials said.


Suspect arrested in hit-and-run death of truck driver

San Pablo, CA -- A Richmond man has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run for allegedly running down a truck driver on eastbound Interstate 80 in San Pablo Friday morning as the victim was trying to warn motorists away from his disabled big-rig.

Investigators believe Gabriel Kanani Acosta, 21, was intoxicated at 4:15 a.m. when the car he allegedly was driving hit the truck driver on I-80 near San Pablo Dam Road, throwing the victim 200 feet, said California Highway Patrol Officer Trent Cross.

The victim has been identified as Charles Johnson Jr., 51, of Hayward.


Man killed, 3 hurt in collapse of gas rig, Rain-soaked ground may have caused accident

Binghamton, NY - A worker was killed Friday morning and three others were injured when the natural gas drilling rig they were working on collapsed and fell onto a nearby trailer in the Schuyler County town of Dix. The Schuyler County Sheriff's Department identified the man killed as Burton Stebbins, 27, of Wellsville. He was tethered to the rig about 30 feet above the ground when it collapsed and fell on him, Schuyler County Sheriff William Yessman said. The injured men were identified as: * John Matheny, 21, of Ohio, who was treated at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira and released. * Richard Waters, 21, of Whitesville, who was listed in good condition at Arnot Ogden Medical Center. * Kenneth Schoonover, 41, of Renovo, Pa., who was listed in fair condition at Arnot Ogden Medical Center. The drilling rig was located on Baker Hill Road and owned by Union Drilling Inc., which has corporate offices in Fort Worth, Texas, and a regional office in Buckhannon, W.Va. The company was drilling the well for EOG Resources, which is based in Houston.


Georgia Officer Dies Of Suspected Asthma Attack

Columbus, Georgia-- An autopsy is being conducted on a Columbus police officer who died on the job Thursday. The coroner says 39-year old Robert Kearse may have had an asthma attack while sitting in his patrol car at a Wynnton Road gas station. Kearse reportedly tried to radio for help, but could not catch his breath to complete the call. Police say he was under a doctor's care for the respiratory ailment.


Officer Dies In Motorcycle Crash, Motorcycle Collided With Car, Burst Into Flames

SAN DIEGO, CA -- A San Diego police officer was killed Friday when his motorcycle collided with a car and burst into flames in Lincoln Park, authorities said. Officer David Moya, 29, of Campo, had been with the department for five years. He was headed to his parents' house when his civilian motorcycle struck a vehicle on Imperial Avenue at Interstate 805 at about 1:30 a.m. on Friday, San Diego police said. Moya had just left his patrol shift at the department's Southeastern Division. He planned on spending the night at his parents' home because he was due in court in San Diego this morning, said Gary Hassen of the SDPD.


Man's body found at car lot

DURHAM, NC - An elderly man was found dead inside a northern Durham business early Friday. Durham police think it was a homicide but did not release the cause of the man's death. The man, identified as James Morris, 77, of Mebane, was discovered about 9:30 a.m. when a part-time employee went into the office at Growing Motors, a used-car sales lot at 4416 N. Roxboro St., said Durham police spokeswoman Kammie Michael. Michael said Morris was seen alive at his business at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The employee called for help, and police sealed off the area as a crime scene. Soon, traffic at North Duke and North Roxboro streets had backed up, and several men had congregated in adjacent gravel parking lots, wondering whether the victim was their friend, the man who owned the business. One of the cars owned by the business also was missing, Michael said. Officers were combing the city Friday for a two-door, white 1990 Oldsmobile Toronado. The missing car has a burgundy leather interior and possibly has dealer plates that bear these numbers ID016052, ID016054 or ID016055, according to a police news release. The signs outside the business indicate the operation is at least 20 years old. Shiny used cars are lined up in a row facing the street, their selling points scrawled across their windshields. "Drives x-x-nice," one said.


Bouncer Shot And Killed Outside Walnut Hills Bar

Walnut Hills, OH - A bouncer at a local bar Friday night was shot and killed as he worked the door carding and searching patrons. Police say Adrian Battle was searching a man at the door of the First Note bar on Chapel Street in Walnut Hills around midnight when he found a gun on the man. Police say that's when Battle was shot. The suspect fled the scene. Officers found Battle outside the bar, dead of a gunshot wound. Police say they interviewed people inside the bar which was open when the body was found. One of the bar's workers, who asked to remain anonymous, made a plea to witnesses to come forward. "If you're any type of human being, they'll help," said the bar worker.


Officer Fatally Shot Outside Police Station

Chantilly, VA -- A Fairfax County police detective was killed and two officers were wounded yesterday afternoon after a gunman opened fire with high-powered weapons in the parking lot of a police station during a shift change, law enforcement officials said.

The gunman, who was awaiting trial on carjacking charges in Montgomery County, was killed during the ensuing shootout with police, the officials said.

Police and county officials identified the slain officer as Detective Vicky O. Armel, 40, a nine-year veteran who was assigned to the Sully District station in Chantilly in western Fairfax where the shooting occurred. Her husband is also a Fairfax detective. The couple has two elementary school-aged children, neighbors said.

It was the first fatal shooting of a Fairfax officer in the line of duty in the department's history.

Taxi driver killed in crash

Fayetteville, NC - A taxi driver was killed Saturday morning in a collision on Sante Fe Drive, Fayetteville police said. According to a release, the driver of an Audi lost control and crossed the center line of the roadway, striking the taxi head-on. Investigators believe the Audi was travelling at a “high rate of speed,” the release said. The wreck happened at 1:20 a.m. near Lariat Drive. The driver of the taxi, Jimmy Earl Locklear, 38, died at the scene, police said. Locklear worked for LM Taxi and Shuttle Service. No other details about the collision including the identity of the Audi driver, were available Saturday.


Fast-Food Worker Shot To Death

SAN DIEGO, CA -- A 23-year-old man was killed by a gunman at a Jack in the Box in Sherman Heights, NBC 7/39 reported.Yassir Amarant was rushed to UCSD Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 10:04 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.Amarant was gunned down at about 9:20 p.m. at the Jack in the Box at 2404 Market St. He was working at the cash register. Witnesses said the gunman walked behind the counter, pushed Amarant and shot him with a handgun.


AK Steel: Temporary replacement worker dies at Middletown Works

MIDDLETOWN, OH — A central Ohio man who was a replacement worker at AK Steel in Middletown died after he was struck by a piece of equipment.

Curtis Johnson, 54, of Newark, died Thursday night after being struck by a large coal cart, the Montgomery County coroner’s office said.

Johnson and about 1,500 others began working at the plant after AK Steel’s union employees were locked out more than two months ago in a contract dispute.
The company bought classified advertisements in several Ohio newspapers, including The Dispatch, seeking millwrights, electricians, pipefitters, welders and others to keep the plant running.


Chief: 'No time to react', Chesterfield officers shot, one fatally, in domestic confrontation

Richmond, VA - Chesterfield County police officer Gary J. Buro had been working without a supervisor only two days when he was fatally shot by a man who had been arguing with a girlfriend early yesterday.

Although Buro had 11 years' police experience before coming to Chesterfield, he had been working with a field training officer until Tuesday, Police Chief Col. Carl Baker said yesterday.Buro, hired Jan. 17, was put through the six-week field training officer program to learn the department's procedures.

He's an experienced officer, there's no doubt about that," the chief said.Buro, 34, a former New York City and Lantana, Fla., officer, was killed after he and officer Joseph G. Diman, 26, responded to a domestic disturbance call about 1:20 a.m. in the 3700 block of Totty Street in Ettrick.


Gilbert officer dies of hit-run injuries

Tempe, AZ - A Gilbert police officer died early Sunday from the type of crash he dedicated his life to preventing. Officer Rob Targosz, 37, who spent years arresting drunken drivers, died during surgery at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn hospital about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, several hours after a car driven by a man arrested on suspicion of drunken driving slammed into his motorcycle near the intersection of Price Road and Apache Boulevard in Tempe, police said.

Tyler Fahlman, 20, who Tempe police say is an Arizona State University student, was arrested in connection with the crime at his apartment at University House at Tempe, 2323 E. Apache Boulevard.


Concrete slab falls, kills landscaper

Norwich, OH - A man working a residential landscaping job in Norwich Township was killed yesterday after a concrete patio slab fell on him, police said.Emergency crews called at 8:30 a.m. to a $600,000 home at 4880 Bellann Rd. found the man severely injured and bleeding from his ears in the back yard. He died at Ohio State University Medical Center.Hilliard police said they were having trouble identifying the man, who looked to be in his 20s or 30s. A second worker told police they were employed by Gomez Painting and Drywall at 5969 E. Livingston Ave., but police weren't sure the name was accurate. The company is not listed in the phone book, and officials could not be reached for comment.


Oil field worker killed in equipment accident

SEMINOLE, Okla. - Seminole County authorities say an oil-field worker was killed when the brake failed on a pump jack he was repairing and the weights wedged him in a deadly lock. Sixty-year-old Seminole resident Larry Newby was changing a bolt on the frame of the pump jack when the accident occurred. Seminole County sheriff deputy Charlie Miller says he had placed a pump jack in neutral when the weights came down and trapped him between the weights and pump jack frame.


Three die in Bal Harbour construction accident

Bal Harbour, FL -- Three workers were killed Saturday when the roof of a condominium under construction in Bal Harbour partially collapsed and buried them in drying concrete that ultimately crushed them, authorities said.(The deceased are Torivio Acevedo, 36, of Pompano Beach; Menes Daniel, 52, of Miami; and Endy Guirland, 34, of Miami, Miami-Dade police said.)

Hours after the accident, workers tethered above the victims swung pick axes to hammer away at three-foot-deep concrete so they could extricate the bodies from the 26-story construction site at 10295 Collins Ave., just south of Haulover Inlet.

"These people were basically buried alive in concrete," said Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Lt. Eric Baum.


Man charged after store worker dies

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A Columbia man has been charged with murder after a convenience store manager beaten during a robbery died. Frank Furtick Jr., who was being held on charges of robbery and assault, was charged Friday with murder in the death of Louise Dodds of Lugoff. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said Dodds, 61, died Thursday from injuries she got during a robbery at her store April 25.


"Popcorn lung" victim Linda Redman dies

JOPLIN, Mo. - Linda Redman, one of 30 popcorn factory workers who sued a flavor manufacturer over lung damage, died after a long lung illness, her family said. Redman, 57, of Joplin, had to use oxygen and was confined to a wheelchair for the last year of her life. She died at her home Sunday. Redman was among 30 current or former workers at a Jasper popcorn plant who sued International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. and its subsidiary, Bush Boake Allen Inc. The lawsuits in Jasper County Circuit Court claimed the workers suffered lung damage because they breathed fumes from the chemical diacetyl, used in butter flavoring for microwave popcorn. They alleged the manufacturers should have known diacetyl was hazardous and failed to inform employees of the dangers. Jasper Popcorn Co. and Glister-Mary Lee Corp., which bought the popcorn factory in 1999, were not defendants in the lawsuits. Government health workers said the butter flavoring likely caused the outbreak of lung disease.


San Francisco officer dies during training exercise

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- San Francisco Police say a 41-year-old officer died during a training exercise.

Sergeant Darryl Tsujimoto was a 15-year department veteran. Police say he collapsed and died during a canine training exercise on Treasure Island last night. San Francisco police chief Heather Fong says police are "immeasurably saddened" by the death. Coroners will perform tests to determine the cause of death.


Worker dies after falling in canal

SLIDELL, La. -- A Houston man apparently drowned after falling into a canal while repairing a Hurricane Katrina-damaged boathouse south of Slidell. Saint Tammany Parish Sheriff's deputies say the 29-year-old man's name is being withheld until relatives are notified. Divers searched for about 45 minutes before recovering the body from the muddy waters of the canal, which feeds into Lake Pontchartrain.


Worker dies in fall at water tower

LAWTON, Iowa -- A Des Moines man is dead after falling in a water tower while installing antennas in the northwest Iowa town of Lawton. The Woodbury County sheriff's office says the man, who was working for a company subcontracted by Cingular Wireless, fell about 40 feet yesterday afternoon. His name was not immediately released. Deputies says four men were feeding antenna cable through the top of the tower into the interior when the worker fell and hit a landing. He died at the scene.


Man killed at LA work site

LOS ANGELES, CA - A 19-year-old worker was crushed to death Tuesday when a tractor backed up and rolled over him at a demolition site site near Vernon, authorities said. The man was pronounced dead at the job site at 3032 E. Washington Ave. Vernon police, responding to an emergency call placed at 1:11 p.m., were the first to arrive at the scene. Ten minutes later, Los Angeles firefighters were called. The Los Angeles Police Department and Cal-OSHA were also sent to investigate the workplace death, said city fire's Jim Wells.


Harbor Worker Crushed By Elevator, Critically Hurt

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- A maintenance worker was critically injured when he was crushed by an elevator while working on the Sea Launch satellite platform in the Long Beach Harbor. Firefighter Paul Rodriguez said the 37-year-old worker was repairing and cleaning the platform when the accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon. He was hanging by a harness on the side of the structure in the path of an exterior elevator.


Man crushed to death at dairy farm

MYAKKA CITY, FL -- For the second time in less than a year, a man has been crushed to death in an industrial accident at a Manatee dairy farm. The latest victim, identified as 21-year-old Javier Luis Mendoza, was killed Saturday at Jerry Dakin Dairy in the 30700 block of Betts Road in East Manatee. Authorities said Mendoza became pinned by a Bobcat front-end loader bucket. He died from chest trauma, according to sheriff's reports. Mendoza was sitting in the operating seat when he leaned through the opening of the Bobcat to switch loading instruments, authorities said. He did not lock the safety bar, sheriff's investigators said. Mendoza mistakenly leaned on the pedal and the bucket pinned him against the machine. A fellow worker found Mendoza trapped and shut off the Bobcat. Mendoza was pronounced dead at the scene.


Paper-plant worker dies after accident

Chillicothe, OH - A worker at a coated-paper distribution center died after being pulled into a machine, authorities said. William Mullins, 54, of South Webster, was trying to fix paper being fed into the machine Sunday at NewPage Corp.'s converting and distribution center, authorities said. Mullins was operating a machine that cuts paper from a large roll into separate pieces, Ross County Sheriff Ron Nichols said. Mullins died at Adena Regional Medical Center.


Construction worker dies in fall from bridge

ANGOLA, IN - A worker fell to his death from a bridge under construction over Interstate 69, police said. James Spears, 52, of Roanoke, fell about 25 feet from the bridge to the pavement below in a lane that was blocked to traffic Wednesday, the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. Spears was an employee of Primco, a company contracted by the Indiana Department of Transportation to upgrade the overpass at County Road 400 North near Pokagon State Park.


Trucker Killed In Rollover

Sioux Falls, SD - One person is dead after a semi truck rolled over. The accident happened at about 7:30 on Highway 34 southeast of Flandreau. The road was blocked for an extended amount of time today as officials cleaned up after the accident. A witness’s account to the highway patrol that tells how it started. South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Josh Olson says, “Advised that the vehicle veered off the roadway, attempted to correct and rolled.” That rollover sent the massive eighteen-wheeler into the ditch, smashinga sign, cracking the tanker and spilling hot tar into the ditch. Cleanup will take some time. “They're making arrangements with emergency management to clean up the rest of the hot tar,” says Olson. But troopers say what's worse, is that the driver, 29-year old Eric Berreth of Redwood Falls, was not wearing his seat belt. He was thrown from the cab and killed. The Highway Patrol hopes the oozing black mess serves as a reminder to buckle up, no matter what kind of vehicle you drive. The South Dakota Highway Patrol says they are continuing their investigation into why the truck went off the road. The witness reports the driver had not been driving wildly until going into the ditch.


Utility worker killed while fixing power lines

Wausaukee, Wis. - A worker was killed while he was trying to fix some power lines downed by a storm, a utility company said Friday. Tim Howard, 45, was killed Thursday afternoon in an incident involving a tree, though Wisconsin Public Service Corp. said the exact circumstances were still being investigated. "We're not quite really sure what happened," spokeswoman Jenny Short said. A co-worker found Howard in a rural area of Wausaukee, she said. About 28,000 customers lost power after a storm Thursday brought gusting winds that knocked down trees and limbs, the utility said. Hundreds of people in Wabeno, Wausaukee and Door County were still without power Friday evening, though the utility expected to restore power to most customers by midnight.


Fall from bridge

Kansas City, KS - Police on Thursday identified Dan Denzer, 47, of Pettigrew, Ark., as the worker who fell to his death while painting the underside of a bridge Wednesday afternoon. The Lexington Avenue bridge at North Chestnut Trafficway has been closed since January for repairs. Denzer stepped back on a platform, fell through a hole and landed on the ground about 50 feet below. The platform had holes to accommodate girders. About a dozen workers were at the bridge at the time. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was investigating whether workers had a required fall-protection system, such as guardrails or safety nets.


County employee dies in County Building bathroom

Chicago, IL - A Cook County comptroller’s office employee collapsed in a County Building bathroom and later died of natural causes, an autopsy determined Thursday. An autopsy on William Reilly, 64, of 531 N. Wells St., determined he died from coronary atherosclerosis, according to a report from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. He died of natural causes, the report showed


Illinois man killed in garbage truck accident

ELKHORN, WI - A 56-year-old garbage hauler was killed Wednesday morning when a recycling truck backed over him at Southern Lakes Recycling on Broad Street. Michael B. Minnegan, of 1640 Mulford Road, Esmond, Ill., died at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center, said Elkhorn Police Chief Joel Christensen. An autopsy was inconclusive, and the official cause of death was not yet released, Coroner John Griebel said.



Worker dies after being shot in face at auto repair shop

Englewood, CO - An unidentified gunman walked into an Englewood auto repair shop Thursday afternoon and shot an employee in the face with a shotgun, police said. The employee was taken in critical condition to Swedish Medical Center, where he later died. Police responded about 3:30 p.m. to 2 Brothers Automotive, 2720 S. Tejon St., but the gunman had already fled. Investigators recovered a shotgun about a block from the scene, and the shooter left behind a ski mask, police said. No motive has been given, but police are speculating that the shooter might have been a disgruntled customer who was in the shop earlier Thursday. Employees told investigators the customer had made threats to employees. Witnesses who saw the gunman flee described him as Hispanic- looking, between 20 and 30, about 6 feet tall, with a medium build and possibly wearing a yellow shirt with khaki pants.


Worker dies, another severely burned after fumes ignite fire in Wellington home

Wellington, FL -- A blackened window frame was the only visible sign of a house fire that killed a man Wednesday and severely burned another when lacquer fumes ignited in a bedroom where they were working. "The homeowners were there in another room and they heard like a `whoosh,'" Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Capt. Don DeLucia said outside the yellow house at 13281 152nd Place South in Wellington. "It ignited twice." Tim Grant, 34, of Boynton Beach, died in the bedroom, authorities said. Anthony Andrews, 41, of Dania Beach, suffered severe burns and jumped out a window to escape the flames. He was taken to the burn unit of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. His condition was not available.


Transit Authority Investigates Worker's Death

New York, NY - A New York City Transit report on the investigation into the death of one of its workers has revealed problems with a motorman's radio equipment. Lewis Moore, 35, died after being crushed while walking through an open-air car on a moving work train last December 1st. His co-worker couldn't reach Transit Authority emergency dispatchers with his radio to let them know Moore had been injured. Instead, he had to use his cell phone to seek help. The TA investigation concluded that inspecting radio-signal relaying equipment only twice a year is not enough. But it also blames Moore for his own death, saying he violated TA rules on worker safety.



Man killed in workplace accident

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA— A local business where an Athens man was killed Friday was cited last year by federal investigators for workplace safety violations, some of them serious. Jerry Hill, 45, died Friday morning when he became caught in a large industrial mixer at Valentine Enterprises Inc., which makes dietary supplements at its Lawrenceville plant at 940 Collins Hill Road, authorities said.


Spreading Manure, IL Farmer Killed By Tractor

Pinckneyville, IL-A rural Pinckneyville father of five dies in a tractor accident. Authorities say 54-year-old Jim William Lunnemann was spreading manure on a hilly field Monday when the tractor he was driving overturned on him.


Farmer killed in farm accident

GLENVILLE MN- A local farmer was killed Monday when the bucket of his skid loader came down on top of him. Bruce Mittag, 65, was working between a hay field and a plowed field when the accident happened.


Worker dies from injuries at Degussa plant in Theodore

MOBILE, Ala. A 40-year-old worker has died from injuries after he got caught in a conveyer at the Degussa plant in Theodore. Police said 40-year-old Arthur McAlloy was airlifted to the University of South Alabama Medical Center at 6:20 p-m- Friday.



Tree Service Employee Dies in Freak Accident

Mongomery, AL-A freak accident in Montgomery killed a tree service employee Tuesday. The accident happened in the Beauvoir subdivision off Bell Road. Police say Terry Parker died when a large pine tree was cut, fell to the ground, and bounced back up -- hitting him in the upper body. Montgomery Police Officers say Parker died at the scene. Parker worked for Bullseye Tree Service.


Philadelphia police officer fatally shot during bar robbery

PHILADELPHIA, PA — A police officer was fatally shot while responding to a robbery at a bar.

Officer Gary Skerski, 46, was heading to the rear entrance of the bar in the city's Frankford section about 10 p.m. Monday when a man came out and fired a shotgun blast, striking him in the neck.

"This officer didn't appear like he even had an opportunity to pull his weapon," Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said.


Solon farmer killed in tractor rollover

SOLON, Iowa -- A farmer is dead today after being pinned underneath his tractor near the eastern Iowa town of Solon. The State Patrol says 50-year-old Michael Divoky was driving his tractor at about 11:30 a-m when it veered off the road and into a ditch. The tractor rolled over and pinned Divoky underneath. He was transported to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead.


Man dies in accident at quarry

Philadelphia, PA -- A Perry County man died yesterday afternoon after an accident at a Pennsy Supply quarry near Newville. James "Leroy" Kratzer, 42 of Buffalo Twp. died from a fall while working on a concrete batch plant that Pennsy Supply is building at its quarry operation on Jacobs Ridge Lane near Routes 11 and 233, officials said.


A Palestine man was killed Friday in an industrial accident at a steel company in Jewett.

Waco, TX -- Roland Bartley, 44, was doing routine maintenance on a machine at Nucor Steel at about 7 a.m. when the machine switched on, catching Bartley between it and another machine, said Brent Walter, chief deputy with the Leon County Sheriff’s Department.


Worker dies in fall from Cambria County cell tower

EBENSBURG, Pa. -- A worker died after falling about 90 feet from a cell phone tower on the campus of a high school, the Cambria County coroner said. Michael Sellers, 25, of Lebanon, was climbing the tower to install an antenna when the accident happened shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski said.


Truck Driver Hauling Logs Crushed by Cargo

FORT SMITH, Ark. — A truck driver hauling logs in a rainstorm was killed when his rig slammed into a 10-vehicle pileup and the logs crushed his cab. State police said 47-year-old Chester Jones' truck was the last vehicle in the crash on Interstate 540 Monday evening in northwest Arkansas. A police report said the logs he was hauling shifted and crushed him.


Stratford employee dies from wounds

STRATFORD, CT — A town public works employee who narrowly escaped being pulled into a wood chipper has died from his injuries. Theodore Johnson, 59, died late Saturday in Bridgeport Hospital. On Thursday, Johnson was feeding branches into a wood chipper in Paradise Green when a rope on one of the branches wrapped around his throat and began pulling him into the chipper


Separate accidents leave 2 men dead

GLENVIEW IL-- Two men died Friday evening in separate accidents in Glenview, police said Saturday.

About 4:50 p.m., police officers and paramedics responded to a report of an unresponsive man trapped beneath a vehicle at the Bredemann Ford dealership, 2038 Waukegan Rd. Police discovered that Alvaro Hernandez, 45, a Bredemann employee, had been working on his personal vehicle in the dealership's lot. Co-workers raised the vehicle off Hernandez with floor jacks and paramedics tried to revive him, police said. Hernandez, of the 5800 block of North Maplewood Avenue in Chicago, was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. He was pronounced dead at 5:17 p.m., police said.


Sevier construction worker killed in bobcat blaze

SEVIERVILLE, TN - A man was killed Friday when the Bobcat he was operating caught fire, according to Sevier County Sheriff Bruce Montgomery.

The victim was identified as Darrell Stewart, 46, of Gatlinburg.

Stewart was operating the bobcat in the Summitt Development on Little Laurel Road in the Waldens Creek Community when the vehicle became stuck in a muddy area around a burning brush pile, according to a statement released by the sheriff's department. Stewart was unable to get out before the fire spread to and consumed the Bobcat.


Worker falls 70 feet, dies at Florida construction site

HOLLY HILL Fla. -- A worker died after falling 70 feet from a condominium under construction, authorities said.

Jose Gonzales-Perez, 22, fell from Marina Grande's north tower Monday, said Mark Barker, Holly Hill police commander.

"It is apparent that he was not properly tethered at the time he fell," Barker said.
Gonzales-Perez was hired as a form carpenter by Austell, Ga.-based United Forming Inc., to work on the project, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.


Worker dies after falling from cell phone tower

EBENSBURG Pa. -- A worker died after falling about 90 feet from a cell phone tower on the campus of a high school, the Cambria County coroner said.

Michael Sellers, 25, of Lebanon, was climbing the tower to install an antenna when the accident happened shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski said.

A second worker on the ground was feeding up safety rope, Kwiatkowski said. "The initial climb is always the most dangerous until they get all the safety lines in place," he said. Sellers wore a harness, but it was impossible to hook it on to the tower while he was climbing, Kwiatkowski said.

Sellers, an employee of Sting Communications Inc. of Lebanon, was pronounced dead at the scene.


Man dies after being struck by end-loader

WILKES-BARRE Pa. -- A worker at a recycling center died when an end-loader that was backing up drove over him, authorities said.

John Koscak, 74, of Wilkes-Barre, died of a head injury after the accident Thursday afternoon at Solomon Container Service, officials said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating to see if any violations occurred. The agency is not commenting until its investigation is complete, local director Andy Hedesh said.


Man killed by falling patio slab identified

Columbus, OH -- Investigators yesterday identified a landscape worker who was fatally injured when a concrete patio slab fell on him Thursday morning.

Carlos Ochoa died of blunt trauma to the head, Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis said. He died at Ohio State University Medical Center after the accident outside a home on Bellann Road in Norwich Township, just northeast of Hilliard.

Lewis did not have an age or address for the man and had been unable to find any relatives. "By releasing his name, hopefully we?ll hear from next of kin," he said.
Health Administration.

Police said excavation work on a landscaping project left about half of the concrete slab unsupported. Ochoa was standing beneath the slab with a shovel when it fell on him.


Deliveryman's death likely accidental;

Philadelphia, PA -- A doughnut deliveryman who disappeared last week, leaving his idling truck on the Schuylkill Expressway, apparently died accidentally after climbing out of the vehicle and falling 50 feet into the river, police said.

Yesterday morning, a Philadelphia police marine unit recovered the body of James Polisano, 43, of Upper Darby, from the Schuylkill.

"The working theory right now is that he climbed out the window attempting to step on the cement barrier and missed or slipped and fell in the water," said Lt. John Walker of the Southwest Detectives Special Investigations.


Man dies after fall at business

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA -- A man died Tuesday after falling through a skylight at a business.

Kevin Girard, an employee of Rasmussen Mechanical Services, was working on a roof-mounted air-conditioning unit at Warren Distribution, 2850 River Road.

He apparently stepped through the skylight while trying to get the serial number off the air conditioner, and fell 25 feet to the floor.

He was pronounced dead at Jennie Edmundson Hospital.


One worker killed, two others hurt after crane collapses

HOUSTON, TX -- One worker was killed and two others were injured Wednesday after a construction crane collapsed in northeast Houston. A crew was working on a highway billboard around 10 a.m. when the crane toppled, sending workers tumbling to the ground about 50 to 60 feet below.

Houston police spokesman Sgt. Nate McDuell said one worker died and two others were taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where they were listed in critical condition. The workers' names were not immediately released.

Houston police Sgt. D.J. Crain said it appeared the weight of the crane shifted and part of the equipment slipped down in the mud, causing the crane to tip.


Police probe death at work site

ASBURY PARK, NJ -- Detectives have begun an investigation into the death of a 52-year-old man who appears to have fallen from a ladder at a construction site this weekend, authorities said Monday.

Roberto Serrano, whose address was not available Monday, died a short time after he fell about 25 feet Saturday. He was working at a construction site on Fourth Avenue and Kingsley Street, Detective Capt. Anthony Salerno said.

It appears that Serrano was climbing the ladder and had some material in his hand when the ladder appears to have slipped, and he fell, Salerno said.


Cab driver, mother of three shot to death during pickup

ROCKFORD, Ill. Rockford police are investigating what many believe is the first murder of a cab driver in the city's history. Fifty-three-year-old Pamela Holmstrom died Sunday after being shot in her cab.

Police had found the mother of three slumped over the wheel of the car.

She had been driving a taxi for about a year.

Other cab drivers said yesterday that the shooting has them rattled.


12-year-old dies in accident on farm

KENTON Ohio -- A 12-year-old boy lost control of a team of horses and was killed in a fall from the seat of a manure spreader, authorities said.

The coroner ruled that Perry Bontrager died from head injuries, the Hardin County sheriff's office said in a news release.

He lost control of the horses, which were pulling the spreader, as they returned to the barn for another load of manure about 11:45 a.m. Monday.

The boy was thrown into the back of the horses and then fell to the ground after the spreader struck a gate post, the sheriff's office said.


Truck driver killed on I-85

Charlotte, NC -- A tow-truck driver was killed early this morning when he ran into a bridge on Interstate 85 in north Charlotte.

The highway patrol says the wreck happened around 3:30 a.m. Troopers say the driver, who has not been identified, apparently fell asleep.

According to police reports, the driver was southbound on I-85 when he apparently went off the road near the Interstate 77 interchange. The driver was killed at the scene.


Truck driver killed near Deer Park

DEER PARK, WA -- A semi driver was killed after his truck tipped over into a creek. The crash happened at Buroughs and Monroe Roads, southwest of Deer Park.

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office says Terry Lee Sharp, 61, was coming up behind a truck stopped at the intersection, when, for some reason he could not stop. Investigators say it looks like he tried to go around the other truck, but the big rig tipped over, and the cab went into the creek.

A Med-Star helicopter took Sharp to the hospital, where he died a short time later.


Cabdriver dies 2 days after crash

WHITE PLAINS, NY - A 39-year-old Mamaroneck village resident who struck a utility pole and a tree while driving his livery cab this week has died from his injuries, authorities said yesterday.

Cesar Moreno-Otavo was pronounced dead at 5:08 p.m. yesterday at Westchester Medical Center, according to the Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office. An autopsy to be performed later should reveal the extent of Moreno-Otavo's injuries, authorities said.

The accident occurred Monday as Moreno-Otavo, who was traveling south on Soundview Avenue in a Ford Crown Victoria, slammed into the pole and tree, and was thrown from his vehicle at least 8 feet, police said. Capt. Paul Lundin said Moreno-Otavo was breathing but wasn't conscious when emergency crews arrived.


Officials ID worker killed on the job

FALLBROOK, CA -- A worker who was crushed to death by heavy equipment on Thursday was identified by the county Medical Examiner's Office as Roberto Pedroza Mendez of Lake Forest.

The 49-year-old man was operating the machinery on Country Road near Canonita Drive at 7:30 a.m. when it rolled over him, Sheriff's deputies said.


Worker killed in fall

GRANVILLE W.Va. -- A construction worker was killed when he fell about four stories while disassembling scaffolding at a shopping complex. The man, a 33-year-old resident of Jefferson, Pa., was not identified pending notification of relatives.

State Police Trooper 1st Class D.E. Barger said the accident occurred Friday morning at the University Town Centre in Granville. The man, who was employed by M.I. Friday Inc. of Pittsburgh, was pronounced dead at the scene.

M.I. Friday is a masonry company that specializes in schools, office buildings, large retail/commercial establishments and other large projects, according to the company's Web site.