OSHA Inspectors: Left Twisting In The Wind

Whistleblower Vindicated

In times such as these, when government agencies are asked to ignore their Congressional mandates to protect workers, the environment and the public; when government employees are required to ignore their mission and take orders from political appointees determined to deliver the agencies to the highest bidders; when we have too few journalists with the knowledge, interest or curiosity to report on what's happening to what is supposed to be a government by and for the people -- it's good to know that there are some brave whistleblowers out there who will risk their reputations and livelihoods to make sure that workers are protected and that truth sees the light of day.

A bit of background: In the Fall of 2002, OSHA Regional Administrator Adam Finkel disclosed to the press that OSHA Assistant Secretary John Henshaw had pulled the plug on a plan to test OSHA inspectors for exposure to beryllium as a result of inspections conducted in contaminated facilities. Beryllium is an extremely toxic metal that carries a high risk of causing chronic beryllium disease, a fast-progressing and potentially fatal lung disease.

In return for his service, Finkel was removed from his position and filed a whistleblower complaint against OSHA. Last April, after much fanfare in the national press, Henshaw announced that OSHA would offer testing for beryllium disease to inspectors who may be been exposed to the toxic dust in the course of inspections.

Earlier this week, Chicago Tribune reporter Sam Roe reported that OSHA has found that

several of its employees have been affected by exposure to the deadly metal.

The Tribune has learned that ongoing medical testing shows that at least three OSHA workers have developed blood abnormalities linked to beryllium exposure--the first such cases at the agency. The workers are thought to have been exposed while conducting safety inspections in industries using beryllium, a lightweight metal whose dust can cause an often-fatal lung disease.

Beryllium is used in a variety of industries to help make products ranging from missile components to laptop computers to golf clubs. The safety agency estimates that 1,000 inspectors, or three-fourths of its force, have conducted inspections in industries handling the metal

***

There is no cure for beryllium disease, but early detection can aid treatment. Symptoms include shortness of breath and fatigue, and some people eventually cannot breathe without the aid of an oxygen tank.

For Finkel, who reached a settlement with OSHA, it was a bittersweet victory:

Finkel, who now teaches health policy at Princeton University, said he was saddened to learn some workers have developed blood abnormalities, but "it's exactly what I said would happen."

He said OSHA officials knew inspectors were exposed to high levels of beryllium dust and that agency officials should have offered testing sooner. "They let them twist in the wind for many years," he said. Finkel, who remains on OSHA's payroll until next year as part of the whistle-blower settlement, emphasized that he was speaking for himself and not the agency.

Henshaw resigned from the agency last month, and his Deputy, R. Davis Layne also retired last month.

In an interview with Confined Space, Finkel (speaking for himself and not the agency) described the harassment he has experienced from high OSHA officials which was mystifying, considering the low cost of the tests ($150) and the severity of the disease. Finkel also expressed concern about the OSHA retirees who have not yet been offered testing, as well as inspectors in the 21 states that run their own occupational health and safety programs.

In response to Roe's article, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, who supported Finkel's whistleblower complaint, sent a letter to Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor, the agency that oversees OSHA. PEER called on Chao to "open an investigation into the four-year delay before testing commenced and the campaign of deception that accompanied it."

PEER also called on Chao to warn retirees, state plan inspectors and Environmental Protection Agency inspectors to get tested, ascertain the levels of beryllium that inspectors have been exposed to and notify those with the highest exposure, and to revise its beryllium standard which is still based on a 50 year old level.

The Bush administration and the Republican Congress has four more years to wreak havoc on protections that have been legislated over the past decades to protect workers, consumers and the environment. Our only protection for the near future will be whistleblowers like Adam Finkel and journalists like Sam Roe who are able and willing to find the truth and tell the people. They all need and deserve our support.

Social Security Debate

This is not a blog about the great social security privatization debate. But in case the subject ever comes up, here's some reading material.

Go here for

A WEBSITE: There Is No Crisis

SUBSTANCE:Just the Facts, Ma'am, from the New York Times.

BUSH'S GAME PLAN: Sounds familiar, from Whiskey Bar

AFRICAN AMERICANS: Is social security unfair?

Misfiled Mine Maps Could Have Averted Flood

One of the first stories I wrote for Confined Space was about the July 2002 near-catastrophe at the Quecreek Mine in Pennsylvania where nine miners were "miraculously" rescued after the mine flooded when they broke through to a flooded adjacent mine.

I summarized an article by Charles McCollester, director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Study of Labor Relations at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, that argued that

Prior to the flooding of the mine there had been multiple warnings about the inadequacy of the 1957 map that showed the adjoining Saxman mine that was flooded with water and was the source of the flood in the Quecreek mine. After the disaster, several elderly former Saxman miners claimed on local television that they had gone to the owner of the mine, Black Wolf, in the months just preceding the breach to warn the company that its map was inadequate and that Black Wolf was nearing the Saxman Coal Harrison #2 mine workings.

Turns out that not only was the 1957 map inadequate, but the maps that could have helped prevent the near-disaster were tucked away in a closet at the Consol Energy office in Upper St. Clair, PA.

Consol had misfiled the maps before selling the mine to its current owners in the early 1990's. The company is being sued by eight of the nine Quecreek miners, who allege the nation's largest coal mining corporation failed to inform investors and regulators that the seam was flooded.

Live Like Slaves, Part II

I wrote last week about newly elected Missouri Governor Matt Blunt repealing collective bargaining rights for public employees. Newly elected Governor Mitch Daniels has now done the same thing to Indiana public employees.

Daniels said those restrictions are especially troublesome for child welfare programs, whose structure could not be changed without significant notice to unions.

He also said anecdotal evidence abounds that union representation has hurt employee performance and public safety. Without specifics, he cited a "real world example" where union grievance procedures kept a snowplow driver on the road despite multiple failures on drug screens.

"It really encumbers the ability of state government to make the changes it needs to make," he said of the bargaining agreements.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette was not amused:

Indiana voters impressed by the down-home, good ol’ boy feel of Mitch Daniels’ backroads campaign tour must be surprised this week to find an all-business corporate executive in the governor’s office. In his first full day on the job, Daniels stripped 24,000 state employees of their collective bargaining rights and made it clear that business interests will come before public health and the environment by firing the state’s top environmental administrators.

***

Daniels’ election victory certainly gave him the authority not to renew an executive order granting collective bargaining rights, but the quick, partisan swipe at labor was unnecessary. It’s not as if state employees have grown rich at the state’s expense – half of them earn less than $29,738 a year.

Wild Animals? Lock the Cage -- Even if there's no OSHA standard

OSHA doesn't have standards that cover everything. When workers are threatened or hurt by hazardous conditions for which no standard exists, OSHA can still cite the employer under the "General Duty Clause," paragraph 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act if the hazard is serious and there are recognized measure to prevent it.

Apparently OSHA has forgotten about the General Duty Clause.

A federal investigation of Wildlife Prairie State Park, where an employee was severely mauled by a bear Sept. 11, concluded the park did not violate federal workplace safety and health regulations.

***

"We did not find information that showed they were in violation of an OSHA standard," said Tom Bielema, acting area director. "There's nothing in the book that would say for a zoo, 'This is what you're required to do.' In the OSHA books, there isn't a standard that addresses the hazards of wild animals vs. humans."

OK, true but...The bear's keeper, Curtis Bach, 27, of Peoria, was severely mauled by a black bear after a gate to the bear's den was left unlocked. He was bitten on his right shoulder and left leg, and the flesh and muscle were missing from his right leg below the hip and above the knee.

I don't know much about zookeeping, but it sounds lie leaving the gate to the bear's den unlocked might be a "recognized hazard" for which there are some obvious solutions.

By the way, OSHA recommended that the zoo:

improve safety for employees, including den doors that close and lock by themselves. The agency also recommended the park get pepper spray for animal keepers, audible alarms and a keeper entry control system to prevent dangerous animals from being in the same area with park employees.

Weekly Toll

Taxi driver killed in an accident

WESTAMPTON, PA- A Mount Holly taxi driver was killed and two of his passengers were injured early yesterday morning after his cab crashed into a tractor-trailer making an illegal U-turn on Route 51, police said. Charles Terry, 65, was declared dead shortly after the 4:18 a.m. accident, police Detective Anthony Marino said. Terry was employed by Mount Holly Taxi.


Two people killed in North Side taxi crash

Chicago,IL — Two people were killed and two others were in serious to critical condition early Saturday after a Crash on Chicago's North Side. A car traveling south on Ashland Avenue slammed into the side of a taxi at the intersection of Wellington Avenue just before 6:00 a.m.
According to Fire Media Chief Kevin MacGregor the driver and passenger of the taxi were killed in the accident. Two other people were taken in serious to critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, MacGregor said.


Auto repair shop employee shot dead during robbery

DETROIT, MI- An employee of a Detroit auto repair shop was shot dead during robbery yesterday. Thirty-six-year-old Ali Abutan was found dead on the floor of the safe at Airport Quick Lube and Service Center.


Four local service men

Just a few days before Christmas, Halliburton employee Brett Hunter, 29, was killed when someone bombed a military mess tent at lunchtime. Timothy Bell, another Halliburton employee, has been missing since his supply convoy was attacked in April.


Raleigh worker dies under pile of dirt

RALEIGH, NC -- Rescue efforts futile at Wakefield Plantation site in northeast Raleig. A construction worker died in the trench he was digging Friday morning after 10 feet of clay and dirt buried him, according to authorities. Jose Santo Hernandez Martinez, 32, of 2547 New Hope Church Road, Raleigh, was digging holes for a Wakefield Plantation home in northeast Raleigh, officials said. Beazer Homes is developing the subdivision where the accident occurred.


Police officer dies in standoff

Albany,NY- A 14-hour standoff in Connecticut has ended with the death of a police officer and a former state corrections officer who'd been holding him hostage. Police said the hostage-taker killed the police officer, and then took his own life. Thursday night, Newington police officer Peter Lavery was shot and wounded as he handled a domestic violence call at a home. When he didn't respond to calls, state and local police came to his aid.


Teens rode along when officer was killed

Gainesville,GA- Two 16-year-old girls, part of a police apprentice program, were riding with Pendergrass police officer Chris Ruse and a fellow officer when Ruse was shot and killed Wednesday night. One of the teens was in Ruse's patrol car, Police Chief Rob Russell said Friday. The other was riding with an officer Ruse called for backup as he began chasing a pickup truck that wouldn't pull over for a traffic violation. Ruse, 45, the father of three daughters, was shot as he approached the two men in the pickup after it crashed near Talmo.


Autopsy: Batten died from head trauma

MACEDONIA - An autopsy on the body of Pottawattamie County road worker, Edward W. Batten, indicates he died from blunt force trauma to his head. Pottawattamie County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jim Matthai said Batten's death has been ruled an accident, based on all the evidence. Matthai said a farmer plowing near the culvert where Batten's body was found Thursday reported seeing nothing suspicious in the area. A motorist came upon the empty road grader Batten had been operating near 385th Street and Aspen Road. The motorist found Batten's body at the bottom of the 10-to-13-foot-deep culvert, the sheriff's office office reported. "It appears he fell and hit his head," Matthai said. "There is no sign of any suspicious activity." The autopy was performed by the Douglas County coroner. The 48-year-old Batten, a Carson resident, will be buried Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. from Carson United Methodist Church.


1 killed, 5 injured in I-65 accidents

Indianapolis, IN- Investigators believe the accidents began just south of the Ind. 39 exit when returning holiday travelers encountered heavy traffic near Lebanon. Keller said a woman was driving south when she saw the traffic stopped before her. As she tried to avoid a collision, her car crossed the median and was broadsided by a van driven by Christopher J. Bryan, 43, Tipp City, Ohio. Bryan, an employee of Gordon Food Products, was pronounced dead at the scene. He did not appear to have been wearing his seat belt although an air bag deployed, Keller said. He was driving to a job northwest of Indianapolis, Keller said.


Adult gift store clerk killed in Santa Clarita shooting; three others wounded

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - A man shot and killed a clerk at an adult gift store and may have shot and wounded two other people nearby before shooting himself, authorities said Sunday. Robert Wheeler, 25, returned to the store 20 minutes after the first attack Saturday to shoot the clerk again, sheriff's deputies said. The slain clerk was identified as Christopher Ray Simons, 24, of Saugus, the coroner's office said. Wheeler called deputies from a pay phone to say he had killed the employee, then shot himself, sheriff's Deputy Josie Woolum said.


Restaurant worker killed, Rowdy teens ejected, attacked pair, cops say

WEST NEW YORK - One employee was beaten to death and another was hospitalized with injuries after the pair chased a group of rowdy teenagers out of a Chinese restaurant just before midnight Saturday, officials said yesterday. Lu Xian, 38, of Flushing, Queens, went into cardiac arrest and died early yesterday after sustaining extensive internal injuries in the Saturday night attack, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. Dejian Gheng, of Guttenberg, remained hospitalized at the Jersey City Medical Center last night with non-life threatening injuries, DeFazio said.


Salem men killed when van leaves icy road

Salem, OR- Two forest contractors from Salem were killed Monday morning when a van they were riding in slipped off an icy road, careened down an embankment and struck a tree on Highway 38 near Reedsport. The driver, Leobarto Velazquez, 41, of Salem, and a passenger, Juan Carlos Rios, 22, of Salem, died at the scene, said Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Police. The van, carrying employees of BP Reforestation of Salem, was traveling west on Highway 38 about seven miles east of Reedsport about 6:10 a.m. when the eight-passenger vehicle lost traction and went off the north side of the highway.


Murder suspect waited on customers as victim died in bathroom

CARIBOU, Maine — A 19-year-old coffee shop employee kicked his female supervisor in the head, mouth and chest, then served customers while the victim died of injuries in the bathroom, according to an affidavit released Tuesday. Christopher Shumway told Maine State Police detectives that he killed Erin Sperrey and provided details that were included in the affidavit released in conjunction with his initial court appearance on a murder charge.


Man Killed After Being Struck, Sent Over Guardrail, TRIMARC Worker Was Helping In Traffic Problem

LOUISVILLE, KY -- A local AAA worker [Gary Resnik] was killed Tuesday when the driver of a sanitation truck hit him and sent him over a highway guardrail, causing him to fall several stories to his death. The tragedy took place at about 9 a.m. near the Sherman Minton Bridge, WLKY NewsChannel 32's Allison Gardner reported. TRIMARC was called in to help with a traffic problem in the westbound lanes of Interstate 64. As the worker, who also works for the American Automobile Association, was directing motorists in the right lane to get over into the left lanes, the sanitation truck collided with a cattle truck in one of the left lanes.


Wisconsin man dies when salt pile collapses on him

ARCADIA, Wis. - A Wisconsin man is dead after being buried under a pile of salt in a Trempealeau County highway department shop in Arcadia. County highway commissioner Jim Johnson says 78-year-old Edward Woychik of Arcadia was in the county's salt shed today when a pile of road salt collapsed on top of him.


Work crew prisoner killed on I-65

Birmingham, AL- A state prisoner on a highway work crew was killed Tuesday, the third in less than two years, when a driver swerved off Interstate 65 north of Montgomery and struck him. A second work crew prisoner was hospitalized with serious injuries, officials said.


Barberton worker is killed on job

BARBERTON, OH - A 21-year veteran of the Barberton Street Department was killed Wednesday when he was struck by a pickup truck. Barberton Police Lt. William Pfeiffer said Robert Krska, 44, of Barberton, was working on Wooster Road North when he was struck by a GMC pickup driven by Clyde Dolly, 56, of Massillon. Pfeiffer said the case is under investigation and no charges have been filed.


1 killed, 1 injured in Flatiron District shooting

NY- A man was fatally shot and his son-in-law wounded Wednesday inside a building in the Flatiron District where scores of merchants sell bootleg clothing, police said. The slaying, the first in Manhattan this year, is the latest in a string of fatal incidents connected to the booming counterfeit goods industry. Yesterday's 4:15 p.m. shooting happened on the second floor of 15 W. 27th St., a 17-story building between Fifth Avenue and Broadway. Police said the suspect made his way to the second floor, where a handful of merchants sell their wares, mostly stylish clothing and sneakers, from small stalls. The victim, identified by friends as Ali Nasseral Din, a 40-something Lebanese immigrant who sent much of his earnings to his wife and four children overseas, was standing by his stall near the top of the stairs when the suspect approached, police said.


Officer Dies After Being Shot During Apparent Bank Robbery, Elementary School Under Lockdown

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A Columbus police officer has died after being shot Thursday morning during an apparent bank robbery. The shooting took place at about 10:45 a.m. at a Fifth-Third Bank. Columbus police said Officer Bryan Hurst was working special duty inside the bank when a man in a ski mask tried to rob it, WCMH-TV reported.


Hialeah driver killed on I-95

Hialeah, FL- A truck driver was killed Thursday on Interstate 95 while walking back to his semitrailer, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Adrian B. Avila, 52, of Hialeah, was pulled over on the side of the road in the southbound lanes near the Okeechobee Boulevard exit, police said. He was hit by a 2004 Lexus about 1:45 p.m. while walking back to the cab of his truck.


Trash company employee killed in accident

Allentown, PA- A 62-year-old employee of J.P. Mascaro and Sons has died after he was run over by a garbage truck at the company's trash transfer station in Franconia Township Thursday. Francis J. Pienta, of Spring City, was struck when the truck backed over him as it attempted to unload trash into the transfer station on Wile Road. Peinta was taken to Grand View Hospital in West Rockhill Township, where he was pronounced dead.


Worker dies in church construction mishap

OAK GROVE, Ala. A 42-year-old Sylacauga man died in a construction accident Thursday when an awning collapsed at First Free Will Baptist Church on U-S Highway 280. Talladega County Chief Deputy Jimmy Kilgore said the worker -- James Orvell Patterson -- was working on the front-entrance awning when it split causing a large wooden beam to fall pinning Patterson against a utility trailer. He said the accident occurred at about 9:30 a-m. Kilgore said investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will try and determine what caused the structure to collapse.


Former Truro police chief dies in SEMASS accident

TRURO, MA - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation into possible workplace safety violations by J&L Enterprises of North Truro, after one of its trash truck drivers died following an accident at the SEMASS plant in Rochester. Former Truro Chief of Police John Hurd, 62, died Sunday, Jan. 2, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston as a result of injuries sustained in an accident at SEMASS on Dec. 29.


Railroad contractor dies after being struck by train

Amarillo, TX- An Amarillo man died Wednesday night after a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway train hit him. Gene Blackburn Harrison, 42, was pronounced dead at the scene, said Scott Sutton, chief deputy for the Carson County Sheriff's Office.


Officer Dies After Being Shot During Attempted Bank Robbery, Elementary School Under Lockdown

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police released surveillance photos taken inside a bank where a Columbus police officer was shot and killed earlier Thursday. The shooting took place at about 10:45 a.m. at Fifth-Third Bank, located at the 6200 block of East Broad Street, near McNaughten Road. Columbus police said Officer Bryan Hurst was working special duty inside the bank when a man in a ski mask tried to rob it, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported.


Freak crash turns fatal

HAMILTON, NJ -- Three Trenton city workers watched in horror yesterday as a Princeton Township man -- apparently stunned from a traffic accident --stepped in front of a tractor- trailer on Route 29 southbound and was crushed to death. Police identified the victim as Gerald R. Covello Jr., 50, of 90 Christopher Drive, Princeton Township.


Highway Worker Killed in 880 Crash

San Francisco, CA- A van crashed into two workers on the side of Interstate 880 Thursday afternoon, killing one of them. It happened in the northbound lanes south of Marina Boulevard in San Leandro, when a Chrysler van veered off the road just before 1:30pm. The California Highway Patrol says both people who were struck were subcontractors working for the Adopt-a-Highway program. One man was taken to the hospital. Authorities did not release the identity of the man who died. No charges have been filed against the driver. "I believe eyewitnesses say he was just driving normally and came down the tracks and struck the people," said Sgt. Bob Buckles. The CHP is investigating whether a tire blowout caused the crash.


D.C. Worker Collapses at DMV, Dies

Washington, DC- Colleagues Say Fumes Hampered Breathing. A D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles employee collapsed Tuesday while working at the city's inspection station on Half Street SW and later died. Department officials said Alfred L. Staton, 41, an inspector, collapsed shortly before 8 a.m. Employees called 911 and went across the street to a fire station for help, but Staton later died.


Recycling Worker Breaks Neck, Dies

Churchton, Md. (AP) - Anne Arundel County police say a Laurel man died Thursday as he adjusted a load on a recycling truck in Churchton. The State Medical Examiner's Office says an autopsy shows 54-year-old Benjamin Estrada's neck was broken, but authorities aren't saying how that happened. It happened around 1:20 Thursday afternoon at Venetian Way and North Shore Parkway. Police say Estrada went up in a bucket-type lift on a Bates Trucking Company recycling truck. Another employee, who was using a lever to raise the lift, told police he heard Estrada say something before slumping over. Police say there were a few bruises on Estrada's face and chin, but no signs of bleeding.


Police union: Officers lack emergency training

STAMFORD, CT -- The city's police union claims that officers are not provided the training and equipment that would have helped save the life of a sergeant who died last week after having a heart attack on duty. Sgt. James Delano, 51, collapsed while working at the front desk at police headquarters on Dec. 28. Other officers on duty tried to revive him until paramedics arrived. He was in a coma for a week before dying Tuesday at Bridgeport Hospital. His funeral and burial took place Friday. Officer Michael Merenda, president of the Stamford Police Association, said last week that the city has failed to train officers in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and has not purchased defibrillators for the department's headquarters or officers' squad cars.


Three dead, one missing after tugboat and barges swept over spillway of Ohio River dam

INDUSTRY, Pa. (AP) -- A tugboat and three barges sank Sunday after being swept over a dam spillway on the Ohio River by currents made stronger by heavy rains, killing three crew members. One person was missing and believed to be aboard the sunken boat. The deceased crew members were identified as Scott Stewart, 36, of Wheeling, W.Va.; Tom Fisher, 25, of Latrobe, Pa.; and Edward Crevda, 22, of West Brownsville, Pa.


Second Death In Suspected CO2 Poisoning At McDonald's

SANFORD, Fla. -- A second victim has died as the result of suspected carbon dioxide poisoning at the Sanford McDonald's. Christopher Edgar died Sunday morning, according to Sgt. Dave Morgenstern, of the Sanford Police Department. Edgar had been taken to the Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford after being overcome by fumes in the restaurant on U.S. 17-92 in Sanford on Saturday. George Torres, 50, of Apopka, died Saturday. He was a driver for the NuCO2 company, which delivers the carbon dioxide used by area McDonald's restaurants to put the fizz in soft drinks.



Ceres officer dies and other is injured in gunfight

CERES, Calif. - A police officer died and another was in critical condition Monday morning after a gunfight in which the shooter was also killed, officers said. Sergeant Howard Stevenson died from the multiple gun shots he suffered Sunday evening, according to a release from the Modesto Police Department. The department was "deeply saddened" by the loss, the release stated.


Convenience Store Worker Shot In Gentilly

NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans police are investigating the overnight shooting of a convenience store worker in Gentilly during an apparent robbery attempt. The 32-year-old worker's name is not being released. He was being treated Monday at Charity Hospital for gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.


Trucker’s death leads to ‘what if’ questions

Columbia, SC- Truck driver Joey Stone, a 22-year-old asthmatic, learned to be a trucker to get away from the fumes he inhaled as a welder in his native Canada. Yet a toxic chlorine cloud poisoned Stone’s lungs last week in Graniteville, killing the outgoing Canadian in his sleeping bag as he waited to deliver his cargo to Avondale Mills. “It’s so ironic. The gas got him,” said Kathy Curtis, 42, who said her son, Chris, is like a brother to Stone. “It’s like it just chased him.” Stone, of Stanstead, a town near the Quebec-Vermont border, was found Thursday in the sleeper compartment of his Freightliner. It was parked in a mill parking lot about 250 yards from where a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials struck a stopped rail car.


Three killed in rampage at maintenance garage

Dixon, IL— A man was being held Wednesday after a bloody rampage at a state maintenance garage. The man's estranged wife and two others were killed, and two others were wounded. According to police, Jordan — armed with an assault rifle, a 12-gauge pump shotgun, a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol and a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol — walked into the Department of Transportation garage Tuesday and opened fire on his wife, department employee Donna Renee Jordan, 31. She died at the scene. Walking back outside, he then shot David Gordon, an employee of HCI Delivery Services who was dropping off a package, and Jerry Wayne Hopper, a Forestry Department employee who was having work done on his state vehicle, police said. The garage is used for maintenance on state vehicles. Gordon and Hopper both died at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.


Worker dies in fall from house roof

VA- A construction worker fell to his death this morning while working on the roof of a house under construction in western Henrico County. The name of the victim, in his 50s, was being withheld by police until his family can be notified.


D.C. crash is 2nd fatal accident in a week for Air Methods Corp.

Denver, CO- Three people were killed in the last week in emergency medical helicopters flown for Denver-based Air Methods Corp. On Monday night, a Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter plunged into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., after delivering a patient to a nearby hospital. It likely collided with a 300-foot- tall construction crane on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge while approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport, the company said. The pilot is missing and presumed dead, a paramedic died and a nurse survived. Last Wednesday, a Eurocopter AS-350 helicopter crashed in the woods near Faulkner, Miss., after returning to its base in heavy weather. The pilot died.


Fatal crash closes Interstate 94 again

CLEARWATER, Minn. - Authorities closed Interstate 94 in both directions Sunday because of a fatal crash near Clearwater, the second time in two days that a fatal accident had forced a closure of the freeway. Initial details were sketchy. The crash happened just before 4 p.m. in the eastbound lanes and involved several vehicles, the State Patrol said. At least two people were killed. Steven M. Toth, 51, of Bradford, Ontario, died at the scene of injuries he suffered in the crash, the Hennepin County medical examiner's office said.


Worker Shot, Killed At Michigan Bowling Alley

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Police in Kalamazoo are investigating a shooting death during a robbery at a bowling alley in Kalamazoo on Sunday. Investigators said Steven Kerr, 41, of Kalamazoo, was shot several times at AMF Harpo's Lanes. Police Capt. Jim Mallery said two masked men armed with handguns entered the bowling alley shortly after it opened at 11 a.m. The men were there for several minutes as they tied up employees and demanded money, police said. There were four workers, but no customers inside the business at the time. Mallery said Kerr was in a separate part of the bowling alley -- away from the other employees -- when he was shot.


Second Death In Suspected CO2 Poisoning At McDonald's

SANFORD, Fla. -- A second victim has died as the result of suspected carbon dioxide poisoning at the Sanford McDonald's. Christopher Edgar died Sunday morning, according to Sgt. Dave Morgenstern, of the Sanford Police Department. Edgar had been taken to the Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford after being overcome by fumes in the restaurant on U.S. 17-92 in Sanford on Saturday. George Torres, 50, of Apopka, died Saturday. He was a driver for the NuCO2 company, which delivers the carbon dioxide used by area McDonald's restaurants to put the fizz in soft drinks.


Courthouse death inquiry

A fatality inquiry starts today into the death of 16-year-old Kyle Young. The Edmonton youth was shackled and handcuffed when he fell five stories to his death down a closed elevator shaft at the Edmonton courthouse last January. A review of Kyle's death by Alberta's Justice Department says the guards pushed the boy against the elevator door, the door opened and he fell to his death. Police investigated the boy's death, but no charges were laid.
Ceres officer dies and other is injured in gunfightCERES, Calif. - A police officer died and another was in critical condition Monday morning after a gunfight in which the shooter was also killed, officers said. Sergeant Howard Stevenson died from the multiple gun shots he suffered Sunday evening, according to a release from the Modesto Police Department. The department was "deeply saddened" by the loss, the release stated.


Trucker killed

SADSBURY, PA-- It took three hours for emergency personnel to extricate a man killed in a mid-morning tractor-trailer accident Monday. A call for the accident involving two tractor-trailers went out at 9:41 a.m., said Dave Reynolds, deputy fire chief of the Sadsburyville Fire Company.When emergency personnel arrived at the intersection of Route 30 and Compass Road, one driver was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other driver sustained only minor injuries.


Worker Killed In Bizarre Bakery Accident

LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (KYW) An employee (Alex Santizo-Ramirez, 34)died Monday at a South Jersey bakery after falling into a 500-gallon mixer. According to officials, the process worker who was killed was looking into the top inspection hole of the 20-foot-deep giant mixing vat when he apparently fell in.


16-Year Veteran CDC Correctional Officer Dies From Inmate Stabbing Attack

SACRAMENTO, Calif., -- Correctional Officer Manuel A. Gonzalez, Jr., 43, a 16-year employee of the California Department of Corrections, died today following a stabbing incident involving an inmate at California Institution for Men (CIM). Today's tragic murder of a California correctional peace officer is the first in nearly 20 years.


Convenience Store Worker Shot In Gentilly

NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans police are investigating the overnight shooting of a convenience store worker in Gentilly during an apparent robbery attempt. The 32-year-old worker's name is not being released. He was being treated Monday at Charity Hospital for gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.



Worker dies in fall from house roof

VA- A construction worker fell to his death this morning while working on the roof of a house under construction in western Henrico County. The name of the victim, in his 50s, was being withheld by police until his family can be notified.


Survivor guides rescuers with cellphone

Wyo.- Three members of a Steamboat Springs air-ambulance crew were killed in a plane crash near Rawlins, Wyo., and a fourth person was rescued early Wednesday after a four-hour search during a snowstorm. The crash of the Yampa Valley Air Ambulance flight Tuesday night about 3 miles east of Rawlins Municipal Airport claimed the lives of Mountain Flight Services pilot Tim Benway, 35, air-ambulance director and flight nurse Dave Linner, 36, and nurse Jennifer Wells, 30.


Small plane clipped fence during landing; passenger seriously hurt

EL CAJON, CA – A single-engine plane crashed while landing at Gillespie Field here yesterday afternoon, fatally injuring the pilot and seriously injuring a female passenger. The woman was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital in Kearny Mesa; the pilot, James Thompson, 67, of Anacortes, Wash., was airlifted to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, said Michael Scott, Division Chief with the El Cajon Fire Department.



Man dead in plane crash

LEESBURG FL— A Groveland musician was killed late Monday night when his Cherokee Piper airplane crashed during heavy fog into a swampy area three miles away from Leesburg Regional Airport. John Porter McGaughy, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene about 4 a.m. Tuesday after emergency responders found the four-seat, single engine aircraft nose-down in about three feet of water on property off State Road 44. Neighbors reported hearing a crash on the Cutrale-owned land off of Shady Acres Road about 11:30 p.m. Monday.


Workers find body of pilot in river

OXON HILL, Md. -- Helicopter may have hit a crane that lines the Wilson Bridge. The body of the pilot whose Virginia-based medical helicopter crashed in the Potomac River was pulled from the water yesterday. "The body was found about 40 yards from where the helicopter initially went in the water," said Maryland State Police Sgt. Rob Moroney. The front half of the helicopter and tail had been sheared off from the midsection. Joseph Schaefer, 56, of Sterling, Va., was the second person confirmed dead in Monday night's crash. The body of paramedic Nicole Kielar, 29, of Henrico County, was recovered from the wreckage Tuesday. Flight nurse Jonathan Godfrey, 36, of Chesapeake Beach, Md., was the lone survivor and was expected to recover from broken bones and bruises.


Road maintenance worker killed in hit-and-run crash

A Newberry Township road maintenance worker was killed yesterday in a hit-and-run accident near the intersection of Sipe and Culhane roads. An adult man and a juvenile who were seen running from the scene were later picked up and were questioned by police but not charged as the investigation continues, according to reports. According to the York County Coroner's Office, Perry Bupp, 42, of Etters, was fatally injured just after 2:30 p.m. when a car struck a township truck, then hit him. The victim was clearing brush at the time of the accident. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the coroner


Worker killed after site's walls collapse, Concrete slabs trap and kill a Freeport man and leave a co-worker in serious condition

LOVES PARK -- Investigators will spend the next several weeks trying to determine how a Freeport man was crushed to death and another man was seriously injured when concrete walls fell on top of them at a home construction site. The accident occurred Thursday morning on Golden Eagle Drive in the foundation area of a new home site in King's Acres subdivision. Authorities said the men were employees of Stateline Concrete Sawing and Drilling in Rockford who were in the process of removing concrete walls from the home's foundation when two of the walls collapsed. Craig Bicker, 47, of Freeport was killed in the accident. An autopsy performed Thursday showed that he died of crushing chest injuries. Loves Park Fire Chief Phil Foley estimated the weight of the two walls at 8,000 pounds.


Local man dies in Florida fall

Cleveland,GA- A Cleveland man died last Thursday when he fell three stories while installing a skylight panel on an office building near Miami. Jerome Pruitt, 42, of Cleveland, was employed by W.S. Neilson in Alpharetta, said his aunt, Gloria Sutton of Cleveland. Pruitt was part of a crew contracted to work on an office building under construction at 2331 Ponce De Leon in Coral Gables, Fla., said Randy Rossman, spokesman for the Miami-Dade County Police.


Horse ranch foreman found shot to death

BEAVERCREEK -- There are no suspects in the death of Francisco Javier Basto Tuyub, whose body was found at the Clackamas County ranch. A man was found shot to death Thursday morning on a horse ranch in rural Clackamas County where he lived and worked.


Small plane's wreckage removed from crash site

Birmingham,AL- A helicopter lifted the wreckage of a small private plane out of a swamp Thursday afternoon where it crashed Tuesday, killing two brothers. The plane parts, set on a trailer bed by a Sikorsky helicopter, were then trucked to nearby Huntsville International Airport, where investigators will try to discern the cause of the crash. Killed in the accident were licensed pilots David Craig Hogan, 42, of Madison and Steven Patrick Hogan, 40, of Huntsville. They were the only people on the plane that crashed at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, shortly after takeoff.


Man charged with murder in death of burley warehouse watchman

HARRODSBURG, Ky. - A central Kentucky man was charged with murder Friday in the death of a night watchman for a tobacco warehouse. James M. Crews, 51, of Salvisa, was lodged in the Boyle County jail after officers found him near the Kentucky Burley Tobacco Warehouse where 34-year-old Darren Maddox was shot, Harrodsburg police said.



Legionnaires Disease Fears Close Building

TAMPA - A building leased by Tampa's veterans hospital was closed Friday after an employee diagnosed with symptoms of Legionnaires disease died and two other workers developed respiratory illnesses, said hospital executives and employees. Sandra Holley, a nurse who worked in the building, died Monday at Tampa General Hospital of ``atypical pneumonia and its complications,'' according to her obituary.


Pilot from Hampden dies in crash at fogbound Granite State airport

SWANZEY, N.H. - A Hampden, Maine, pilot was killed Thursday night when his cargo plane crashed in heavy fog at Dillant Hopkins Airport. Police said Douglas Nelson, 46, was believed to be the only person on board. Authorities said a report came in at 10:18 p.m. that the plane crashed upon landing and caught fire after impact. Emergency crews quickly extinguished the fire. Nelson, a full-time employee of Bennington, Vt.- based air carrier AirNow, had departed from Bangor International Airport in his twin-engine turboprop plane. His cargo was a load of packages to be delivered overnight, and he was bound for Manchester, N.H.


Second job-related accident in 8 days kills Sylacaugan

SYLACAUGA — For the second time in eight days, a job-related accident in Sylacauga has resulted in the death of an employee. Friday morning’s accident occurred at Farr Metal, just off Alabama 21, south of Sylacauga. Farr Metal is a metal fabricator, heating and air conditioning, commercial roofing and sheet metal company. Sgt. Kenny Archer with the Talladega County Sheriff’s Department said 44-year-old Dale L. (Doc) Branson was killed when he was struck by a 44 foot long, 6 inch in diameter steel pipe that rolled off a forklift. The first accident occurred Thursday, Jan. 6, at a church construction site in Oak Grove. James Orvell Patterson, 42, of Sylacauga was working on an awning under construction on the front entrance of First Free Will Baptist Church on U.S. 280 when it collapsed.


FINAL HEROIC GESTURE: 27-YEAR-OLD ATTEMPTED TO ASSIST CO-WORKER WHO WAS BEING BEATEN

Newark, CA- grocery employee fatally shot during robbery. Rodrigo De Loza cared so much about people, he didn't think twice before jumping in to help someone. Thursday night, that instinct cost De Loza his life. Three masked robbers stormed into Ramirez Market in Newark about 8:30 p.m. and scooped more than $2,000 from the cash register. The owner, Carlos Aleman, was face down on the floor when an employee tried to flee. One of the robbers caught him and was beating him when De Loza emerged from the back, where he had finished cutting meat for the night. He saw his friend in trouble and tried to intervene. He was shot in the back and died an hour later at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.


Two Die in Plane Crash

LAKELAND, FL -- Flight instructor and doctor are killed in Cessna accident shortly after takeoff. A twin-engine Cessna plane crashed and burned at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Friday afternoon, killing both its pilot and passenger. The plane crashed about 3:30 p.m., seconds after taking off from runway 27, headed west, according to Lakeland police. Danny Ferrer, the owner of the Cessna Skymaster, identified the pilot as Lakeland flight instructor Don Palas. Ferrer said Palas was about 53 years old, the father of several children and an accomplished pilot.


Hillsboro community helps widow, children

Hillsboro, TX- More than a week after a 32-year-old city of Hillsboro employee was buried alive in a trench cave-in, local leaders, city officials and a spunky neighborhood association remain focused on helping his widow and two small children. The tragedy may be unusual for Hillsboro, Mayor Will Lowrance says, but the community's reaction isn't. "It's the character of the people here," the Hillsboro native said of public concern for the family of Vicente Garcia. "To us, it doesn't make any difference whether it's a kid with a malignancy or a family that's lost everything in a fire. They're part of our extended family."



Lost wing a prob fucus in fatal plan crash

HOUSTON - A lost wing will be a focus of a federal investigation of the crash of a vintage plane near Lake Conroe that killed its pilot and a passenger, officials said. The crash occurred near the site of another crash involving a similar plane that also lost a wing, killing the president of Texas Air Aces. The aerobatics company also employed the pilot involved in the latest crash. It was the third in five years involving T-34s that lost wings in flight. Conroe pilot Richard Gillenwaters, 51, and passenger Pietro Migliori of Venezuela were killed in the crash.


A ROBBERY TAKES FATAL TOLL ON CLERK

NY- A QUEENS GROCERY clerk who feared going to work because of previous robberies died, apparently of a heart attack, after his shop was held up by bandits, cops said yesterday. Tasawar Hameed, 46, was riding in a police cruiser helping cops search for the masked gunmen Tuesday night when he began complaining of chest pains, cops said. The cops pulled over and Hameed got out, only to collapse onto the sidewalk. He died at Mary Immaculate Hospital despite efforts by cops and paramedics to save him.


MORE CLUES SOUGHT IN SLAYING OF CLERK

FORT BELVOIR - Fairfax County police yesterday returned to the scene of a deadly robbery from earlier in the week to search for clues. Officers conducted a grid search to look for additional evidence in the slaying of a convenience store clerk. Sun Ku Kwon, 60, of Alexandria was stabbed to death Monday at a 7-Eleven near Fort Belvoir. Police have arrested a 14-year-old from Fort Belvoir and charged him with Kwon's slaying. Police said it will be up to prosecutors to decide if the boy will be tried as an adult.


Construction Worker Killed

IL- The Champaign County coroner is calling a construction site mishap that killed a Mattoon man an unfortunate accident. Neighbors say they heard calls for help and did everything they could to try to save the mans' life. Neighbor Robert Smith says he heard calls for help across the street from his home yesterday afternoon in the 400 Block of East Beardsley Avenue in Champaign. 52-year-old Carl Bartels of Mattoon was killed when he was trapped between an hydraulic lift arm and the base of a bobcat loader. Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup says it appears that Bartels was trying to work on the lift at the time of the accident.


State docks worker killed, another injured in I-10 crash

MOBILE, Ala. A double-decker cattle truck that overturned on a sport utility vehicle near the Interstate 10 tunnel killed an Alabama State Port Authority cargo supervisor and injured the port's police chief. The crash occurred Thursday night. Names of the victimes were released yesterday. Robert Lampley, 48, died in the SUV. His passenger, Herbert McCants Jr., remained in fair condition at a Mobile hospital with injuries. McCants is the port's police chief. The truck driver, James Rachel, 41, wasn't injured.


Suspects sought in killing of cabdriver in Gwinnett County

Police are searching for two men suspected of robbing and killing a taxicab driver outside an apartment building. Gwinnett County police were called to the scene around 4:20 p.m. Monday by witnesses who reported hearing gunshots, said Gwinnett County police Cpl. Dan Huggins. Officers found the body of Carlos Lojan, 71, in the front seat of his minivan taxi, Huggins said.Witnesses told police they saw two young men running through the apartment complex moments after the shooting, Huggins said.


MAN KILLED AT JOB SITE IDENTIFIED

The construction worker killed Thursday on the South Side was identified yesterday as a 54-year-old Columbus man. Steven Cox died after being struck by the tailgate of a dump truck. Cox and his co-workers were attempting to empty dirt from a dump truck behind 1266 E. Livingston Ave. around 5 p.m. When the workers had trouble freeing the load, someone reportedly rammed the tailgate with a Bobcat.Witnesses told police Cox was looking into the rear of the dump truck and was struck in the head when the tailgate was knocked shut.


Three elementary teachers died in West Texas crash

DENVER CITY, Texas- Three elementary school teachers in this West Texas town were killed Friday when a tractor-trailer ran a stop sign, colliding with their school van, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper said. "It's hard. The kids and our teachers are having a real hard time with this," Terry Deaton, the superintendent's secretary, told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in Saturday editions. Marina Natividad, 37; Veronica Flores, 29; and Maria Rosario Garza, 47, were pronounced dead at the scene following the 7:48 a.m. accident at the intersection a few miles northeast of Denver City, DPS Cpl. John Gonzalez said.


Fatal Shooting

CA-Authorities booked a 16-year-old boy today for the death of a security guard during an exchange of gunfire in a parking lot at the Big Saver grocery store in Long Beach. Noe Fernandez, 39, of Los Angeles died about 10:30 last night in the 1300 block of West Willow Street, said Long Beach police Officer Israel Ramirez. It was unclear why he and his killer traded shots, Ramirez said. The suspect, whose name was withheld, was booked after going to Long Beach Memorial Hospital overnight for treatment of a gunshot wound.


Medical technician died when a boat taking her to a medevac mission went hard aground

ANCHORAGE, Alaska- A medical technician with the Sitka Volunteer Fire Department died when a boat taking her to a medevac mission went hard aground, Sitka police said Wednesday. Molly Ahlgren, a longtime fisheries professor at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, died in the mishap on Gavanski Island shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday.


SD Construction Fatal

SAN DIEGO, CA- Authorities today released the name of a 29-year-old civil engineer killed by a dump truck sliding down a muddy hill at a La Jolla construction site. Jason Bodine of Corona was collecting soil samples at the bottom of a hill on a residential lot on Pearl Street when a truck headed uphill lost traction about 10:20 a.m. yesterday, San Diego police and county Medical Examiner's officials said. The vehicle slid down the hill and struck Bodine, who died at the scene, authorities said.


Family, community grieve for slain store owner

CA- Gopal and Kashmira Patel moved to the United States 17 years ago looking for a brighter future for their family. Tuesday, the day after a gunman shot and killed Gopal Patel during a robbery in their store, his wife couldn't even think about what lies ahead.


Concrete worker killed after being pulled under truck

Tacoma- A worker at a concrete company was killed early Tuesday after being pulled underneath the wheels of a semitrailer used to transport concrete girders. Kristopher Hedge, 26, of Tacoma, was an employee at Concrete Technology Corp., 1123 Port of Tacoma Road. Just after 4 a.m., Hedge and another Concrete Technology employee were looking at the rear steering cab of the semitrailer, which had pulled up next to the company's property to pick up a load, said Virginia Robinson, the company's human resources manager.



Ex-cop charged with manslaughter in shooting of New York City deli worker

NEW YORK- A former police officer was charged Monday with manslaughter in the shooting of a deli clerk last month despite his contention that the death was a tragic accident. An indictment accuses John Malik, 60, of recklessly firing a semiautomatic pistol at the victim while cashing a lottery ticket inside the deli the night of Oct. 18. Malik has told investigators that he was reaching for his pager when he accidentally dropped his holstered gun, which he was licensed to carry. As he fumbled to catch the weapon, he said, it fired and the bullet struck Manuel Chametla, an 18-year-old Mexican immigrant.



Charges filed in truck driver's death

TN- A truck driver killed Monday morning by a runaway utility trailer has been identified by Memphis police as William R. Pruitt, 49, of Bartlett. Pruitt was killed instantly as he was standing outside his rig on Distribution Drive, waiting for it to be loaded. Robert Webb Jr., 22, was driving a FedEx bob truck and towing a utility trailer when the trailer detached and crushed Pruitt.


Semi driver killed on freeway; he swerved to avoid pickup on icy I-94

IN- An Indiana truck driver died early Thursday in Allen Park when his semitrailer ran off I-94 at the Southfield Freeway and struck a bridge support pillar after colliding with a spinning pickup truck driven by a Shelby Township woman. The trucker's response to the spinning pickup may have saved the other driver from serious injury or death, according to Michigan State Police. "She spun several times, and it looks like he tried to avoid broadsiding her and instead he ended up killing himself," said Sgt. Matt Nutt, shift commander of the State Police post in Taylor. The truck driver apparently was driving safely, but the woman may have been speeding through the area -- a construction zone with a posted speed of 50 m.p.h., Nutt said. "I think he was abiding by the speed, but I think she might not have been. We're not sure," he said. The driver, who died at the scene of the 4:45 a.m. accident, was identified as Charles Nutt, 59, of Bremen, Ind. The truck was loaded with auto parts, police said.


Oil Worker Killed in Accident

Authorities have identified a Burke County man killed in a work-related oilfield accident. Authorities identified him as 44-year-old Daniel Schroeder of Battleview. Divide County Sheriff Lauren Throntveit says the incident happened Tuesday afternoon in northeast Divide County, between Crosby and Noonan. The sheriff says the victim was trying to get into a piece of loading equipment, when he became pinned between the machine and its bucket. An autopsy is being performed in Bismarck.


Inquirer worker killed in 3-car accident on I-76

PA- A Philadelphia man who worked as a newspaper handler at Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., which publishes The Inquirer and Daily News, died early yesterday morning in a three-car accident on the Schuylkill Expressway. Raymond McCabe, 41, of the city's Port Richmond section, was driving to work at the company's printing plant in Conshohocken about 4:45 a.m. when the accident occurred on the highway's westbound lanes in West Conshohocken.


Gas Well Worker Killed

An East Texas man was killed Saturday after an accident at a natural gas well site near Troup. It happened just before Midnight at a site off of CR 2163, just Northeast of Troup. Authorities say 31-year-old Carlos Campos, of Carthage, was working on a rig, drilling a natural gas well. Campos was about 75 feet up when his safety harness became caught in the rig's elevator. The man was pulled off a platform and fell to his death. It's being considered an accident. Authorities in Smith County say it's the second time this year a worker has been killed while working on a drilling rig.



Freight trains crash in S.C.; eight people killed, dozens taken to hospitals

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — A freight train carrying chlorine gas struck a parked train early today, killing eight people and injuring at least 200 others, nearly all of them sickened by a toxic cloud that persisted over this small textile town at nightfall.

Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton identified the dead on mill property as Willie Shealey, 43, of Graniteville; John Laird, 24, of North Augusta; Rusty Rushton, 41, of Warrenville; Allen Frazier, 58, of Ridge Spring; and Steven Bagby, 38, of Augusta.

Carlton says Joseph Stone of Quebec, Canada, was found dead inside the sleeper cab of his 18-wheeler near the plant. Aiken Senator Tom Moore tells us, "He was not an employee of Avondale. I think he was bringing a load of cloth to be dyed or finished at the Gregg Division. And apparently, well, he was in his sleeper and probably died in his sleep." Tony DeLoach, 56, died in his home on Main Street, near the site of the train wreck. The train engineer, Christopher Seeling, 28, of West Columbia died at a hospital. No one was on board the parked train.

Away

In California.

Helping my parents move.

Limited computer access until Tuesday

Limited (or no) blogging

Deal with it.

(Read the archives in the meantime. The story never changes -- only the actors...)

When Good Reporters Go Bad: Confusion Reigns About Health Threats

It’s no wonder that most Americans can’t figure out what the hell the Bush administration is doing to the environment and to their health when you get articles like this.

The Washington Post seems to have taken a perfectly good political reporter (Juliet Eilperin) and assigned her to write an article about how the Environmental Protection Agency is addressing community exposure to a potentially toxic chemical.

The result isn't pretty.

I mean, it’s not like there’s a shortage of political news in this town for her to write about, what with the administration trying to destroy Social Security, take away peoples’ right to sue doctors or corporations who harm them, torturers and liars running our Justice and Defense Departments and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door.

A little background. I wrote about this problem here before. In short, the EPA has fined DuPont $340 million for not reporting that their chemical, C-8 (an ingredient in Teflon) was contaminating the drinking water in West Virginia and Ohio. DuPont claimed that they didn’t have to report the release because the law says that they only have to report the release of chemical that harm people, and there’s no proof that C-8 is harmful to humans. EPA is doing a study of the chemical.

Here are some excerpts from the article. See if you can figure it out:

The Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday that low-level exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid, a chemical used to make Teflon, could pose "a potential risk of developmental and other adverse effects" on human health.

***

The EPA report, which is based on animal studies, said there is some evidence C-8 can cause cancer and immune deficiencies in rats, but it does not conclude whether these problems could surface in workers or those who drink C-8 contaminated water.

***

The EPA also found that the chemical could boost people's levels of cholesterol and fats called triglycerides, which might increase the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke.

This conclusion mirrors the finding of a study DuPont issued on Tuesday. That study found no health risks associated with C-8 but identified elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels in workers exposed to the chemical.

***

DuPont welcomed the assessment, saying the company "is committed to continue working with the regulatory and scientific communities and others in industry to gain additional understanding of [perfluorooctanoic acid] to assure protection of public health, safety and the environment."

***

Kenneth A. Cook, (President of the Environmental Working Group, advocacy organization that first raised questions about possible health risks of C-8] questioned why the agency did not consider whether humans might be at higher risk of testicular, pancreatic and other cancers that have been linked to the chemical in animal studies.

Well that’s perfectly clear, isn’t it.

The get a clearer picture of what’s going on, you’ll have to travel with me to the website of the Environmental Working Group (EWG). To make a confusing story clearer, EWG’s analysis of the EPA’s risk assessment states that

The agency substantially tilts the assessment in DuPont's favor first by summarily discounting and then by outright ignoring significant scientific studies pointing to increased risks for heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, testicular cancer, and numerous other health harms. For some of the most critical health risks, such as those on the immune system, studies have yet to find a safe dose, yet EPA has excluded these effects altogether in this new assessment without explanation.

No wonder DuPont’s happy.

Cook suspects foul play:

"There's a big difference between sound science and tilted science, and at every turn in this important process, EPA officials favored DuPont. We don't know if DuPont lobbyists played a role or if these were just Agency mistakes. But for those who were expecting a thorough and fair review, this is a huge disappointment."

Industry exerting undue influence over EPA? In this administration? I'm shocked, shocked, I say. Shocked! Truly shocked, SHOCKED. Shocked to the nth degree. Yes, shocked.

Hexavalent Chromium: In this wasteland of discouragement….a little bright spot

Workers of America were apparently not listening to NPR’s All Things Considered the other night when Mark Friedman, Director of Labor Law for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, announced that "There is no reason why workers should have a voice in negotiating health and safety policy."

Reporting from our nation’s capital, Confined Space cub reporter, Celeste Monforton:

The public comment period on OSHA’s proposed health standard on hexavalent chromium closed on January 3, 2005. Hexavalent chromium is a known human carcinogen and was designated as such by the National Toxicology Program in 1980. (If not for a lawsuit brought by Public Citizen and the Paper, Allied-Industrial Chemical & Energy Workers International Union (PACE), and the favorable judicial decision in December 2002 ordering OSHA to “proceed expeditiously” with a rulemaking, there would not have been a proposed rule available for public comment.)

The docket on OSHA’s hexavalent chromium proposal is filled with thousands of pages of documents submitted by trade associations, law firms, the public. The usual suspects are well represented (e.g., U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers) and joined by well-paid lobbyists (e.g., Color Pigment Manufacturers Association, Chrome Coalition, Edison Electric Institute, The Society of the Plastics Industry) who strongly oppose the rule.

In this morass of objections to OSHA’s proposed standard on hexavalent chromium standard, this is a bright spot. Nearly 200 workers took the time to send their own comments to OSHA. These are not people who are paid to supply comments to OSHA, but men and women who may be exposed to this toxin at work. Their letters urge Secretary of Labor Chao to include provisions in the rule to protect workers who are exposed to portland cement (which can contain hexavalent chromium.)

Exposure to hexavalent chromium in portland cement causes serious contact dermatitis, according to the Laborers Union. In many cases, constant exposure leads to an allergic reaction and forces the end of their careers.

Death At McDonalds: "Five Lousy Feet"

An 18-year old McDonalds employee and a deliver truck driver were killed at a McDonalds in Sanford, Florida last week.

Saturday afternoon, NuCO2 driver George Torres of Apopka arrived to fill the restaurant's carbon dioxide tank, according to police. He took the supply hose through an emergency door and into a children's play area but could not reach a fill valve in an adjacent storeroom because the door was locked, Sanford police Sgt. David Morganstern said.

Officials think 18-year-old McDonald's worker Christopher Edgar scaled a 10-foot wall into the storeroom, which had no ceiling, to open the door from the inside, but it had a deadbolt lock that required a key, Morganstern said. Torres apparently fed the hose over the wall to Edgar, Morganstern said. Edgar was overcome by the gas, and Torres apparently climbed over the wall and also was overcome. Another restaurant employee found them.

Torres died Saturday, and Edgar died Sunday.

As with most workplace fatalities, this one was predictable and preventable. According to Jim Lampa, who has worked for NuCO2 Inc. for about five years,

at least three drivers ... have complained about the McDonald's on U.S. Highway 17-92, north of Lake Mary Boulevard, and other restaurants where workers have to enter enclosed rooms to deliver the gas.

The accident "couldn't have happened" if the connection had been on the outside of the building, Lampa said.

***

It wasn't immediately clear if placement of the valve was McDonald's responsibility or the gas company's. A local representative of McDonald's said the company was working with authorities and suppliers to ensure the safe operation of the restaurant.

The tank that holds the carbon dioxide is in the restaurant's kitchen, but a line leading from it ends in the storeroom, where there is a fill valve, Lampa said. A box containing the fill valve, called a bib, could have been placed on the outside of the building if the line had been extended "5 lousy feet," Lampa said.

"We're supposed to be able to fill them without going in a room," Lampa said.

Blunt To Public Employees: Live Like Slaves, Die Like Dogs

The first action of newly-elected Missouri Governor Matt Blunt was to rescind collective bargaining rights for Missouri state employees and declare that union contracts signed during the administration of former Governor Bob Holden were unenforceable. Holden had signed an executive order providing collective bargaining rights to public employees in 2001. Missouri pubic employees also aren't covered by OSHA laws and have no right to work in a safe workplace.

It is a little known fact in this country that public employees are second-class citizens. Although they do the hard and dirty work that make life in this country worth living, their right to form unions, bargain collectively and work safely are dependent on laws and executive orders passed by their state.

Luckily, the highway, parks, health care, prison, social service and other workers don't do important or dangerous work, and they're less than human anyway, so it really doesn't matter.

Asbestos Compensation Hearing Today

Newly appointed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter held a long awaited hearing on asbestos compensation legislation today. Apparently it wasn't boring. (I covered some of the background of this story yesterday. The latest version of the asbestos comp bill can be found on the NYCOSH website here.)

AFL-CIO Health and Safety Director Peg Seminario described the history and basis of the debate:

For the last several decades we have seen the toll of workers and family members disabled and killed by asbestos disease mount to staggering levels, the result of the willful practices of manufacturers and employers who withheld information about the hazards of asbestos, and did little or nothing to control exposures. The result of these actions is an occupational and environmental disease crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Hundreds of thousands of victims have already suffered and died from cancers and disabling lung diseases. Hundreds of thousands more will suffer or die in coming years.

As the disease crisis has grown, so has litigation as victims have sought redress for their injuries. While the civil litigation system provides justice for some asbestos victims, because of long delays, high transaction costs, and inequitable distribution of compensation among victims, it is far from an optimal system for compensating victims and their families. In addition, as companies with the greatest responsibility for asbestos exposures have sought bankruptcy protection, plaintiffs have increasingly looked to other firms for relief, creating uncertainty for those companies about future liability and uncertainty for victims about whether sources of compensation will be available in the future.

It is for both these reasons – the massive asbestos disease crisis and the serious problems with the current litigation system – that the AFL-CIO has engaged so deeply in efforts to craft a legislative solution.

John Engler, President of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), testified in favor of an asbestos trust fund as long as it was strictly limited to $140 billion and "completely shut down the broken asbestos tort system. " Engler was rejecting a deal that was being considered last year with Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) in which in return for limiting the fund to an amount less than what labor considered adequate, claimants would be able to return to court if the fund ran out of money.

Seminario called NAM's sudden objection to this alternative "disingenuous."

The AFL-CIO’s preference from the beginning would have been to create an evergreen fund – one that would be replenished as necessary to ensure that all meritorious claims are paid in full, as long as there are victims of asbestos exposure. Absent an evergreen fund, however, the only fair alternative is to permit claimants to return to the courts once the Administrator determines that the fund cannot satisfy their claims. We cannot believe that the Congress would create a system that would leave asbestos victims totally without recourse if the fund collapsed.

No one who is honestly committed to establishing this asbestos compensation fund wants to see claims revert to the tort system. But there must be a safety valve to protect future claimants.

There were a number of other issues separating the sides including whether any workers compensation or other payments should be subtracted from workers' awards, how to deal with workers who smoked and were exposed to asbestos and whether there would be a medical screening program. Seminario argued that a medical screening program is "necessary for the early detection of disease, so that interventions can be made to lessen the impacts and/or prevent the disease from progressing."

Seminario also noted that while it was good that the current bill banned the further use of asbestos, its recommendation for stiffer penalties for employers who expose their employees was meaningless unless Congress also toughened OSHA's ability to impose criminal penalties. Right now, OSHA can only prosecute if a willful citation causes the death of a worker. Given the long period between exposure to asbestos and death, criminal prosecutions wouldn't be practical.

Specter is determined to get a bill out soon: "It's now or never," he said yesterday, adding that it would be more difficult to get floor time later in the year. Labor and the trial lawyers have vowed to once again stop any bill that falls short of their goals. Sixty votes would be needed to override a filibuster.

Run! The Sky Is Falling: Republican Tort "Reform"

This country is in crisis, in case you haven't noticed (or haven't been listening to our fearless leader.) No, not Iraq, not civil liberties, not the labor movement or the environment. No, the crises are social security, the tort system and the "vacancy crisis" in the federal courts. An excellent article in the Washington Post shows how Bush generates these false crises to sell these programs just as he sold tax cuts and the war in Iraq. I'll let others talk about the judiciary and social security crises, while I spend some time talking about the "medical malpractice" crisis and the dire need for tort reform to limit the frivolous lawsuits that are literally destroying our great nation.

The medical malpractice crisis is portrayed by Bush and his fellow Republicans as one example of the general problem with our tort system -- people's right to sue corporations for large sums of money when they produce products that make people sick or kill them. Frivolous medical malpractice suits are allegedly forcing up malpractice insurance rates, forcing physicians to stop practicing medicine in many communities. Before getting into the truth of those claims, let's look a little at what's behind this campaign.

The average worker or family may seem to be no match for huge corporations who produced chemicals or products that destroyed peoples lives, their health or their communities. In fact, the average person has only two weapons on his or her side -- the tort system, which allows them to sue companies for the damage caused by dangerous or defective products, or the regulatory system that prohibits companies from endangering people (or the environment) and punishes them if the don't follow the law. Of course, the tort system is not a tool that workers can use. Workers compensation is generally the "exclusive remedy" for workers who are injured, made ill or killed in the workplace. They can't sue their employers, although they can sue the maker of the chemicals that they were exposed to in their workplace (assuming the chemicals were produced by someone other than their employer.)

Both systems have serious deficiencies. The Bush administration and Congress have been successful in weakening the regulatory agencies -- the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Railway Administration -- and now they're generating an all-out campaign for "tort reform" that would limit the amount of money that people can win from lawsuits.

As former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich says in a recent Washington Post article:

The administration can't have it both ways. Either it should move to strengthen regulatory agencies or it should maintain the present system of tort liability. Take away both, and consumers are in deep trouble.

Both systems have problems. The tort system is arbitrary and vulnerable to judges' and juries' misinterpretation of scientific evidence and decisions are often determined as much by emotion as by scientific evidence.

And the regulatory system grows progressively weaker as the agencies come under increasing attack. As Reich observes:

Most of their budgets have been whacked over the last four years, their enforcement staffs have shrunk, and corporate political clout is arguably stronger than it's been in more than a century. At the same time, the tort liability system is coming under attack. Republicans who have been urging tort reform for years are in firm control of Congress and the White House and are intent on capping damage awards, limiting lawyers' contingency fees, ending punitive damages and preempting lawsuits involving products already approved by regulatory agencies.

Given the administration's almost total control over the regulatory system, lawsuits become an increasingly important tool which will virtually disappear if the Republicans succeed in their goal of limiting jury awards to $250,000.

Remember the "popcorn lung" disaster where workers were exposed to a butter popcorn flavoring that destroyed their lungs. The first case to come to trial awarded the worker $20 million. Other cases have been settled for undisclosed amounts. $20 million for one case and numerous cases to follow are going to make American industry think twice before putting potentially dangerous chemicals into commerce. $250,000 would barely be noticed.

And not only would tort "reform" save companies from paying huge penalties for their hazardous products, the $250,000 limit would put trial lawyers out of business. It would no longer be profitable to try cases when their costs would be much higher than any payment they would receive. People who otherwise couldn't afford expensive lawyers would have nowhere to turn. To corporate America, trial lawyers are not only evil, but they're also big Democratic funders. Tort reform would kill two birds with one stone.

The President uses the medical malpractice debate as the cutting edge of his tort "reform" campaign because the image of kindly old Dr. Marcus Welby being driven from his practice by evil greedy trial lawyers plays better with the public than a young father who needs a double lung transplant because he was exposed to chemicals that ripped his lungs to shreds. The crisis- president also neglects to mention another "benefit" of the Republican malpractice bill would shield the makers of Vioxx and other drugs from lawsuits.

The arguments of the tort-reformers sound good. But they're basically myths which I've written about many times before. For those of you who may have tuned in recently:

• What's causing the malpractice "crisis?" Frivolous lawsuits aren't causing the malpractice problem, malpractice is causing the malpractice problem.
  
  
• Are lawsuits forcing doctors to abandon the practice of medicine? According to the General Accounting Office, there is no evidence to show that lawsuits are forcing many doctors to abandon the practice of medicine or to avoid high-risk procedures. (more here.)
  
  
• Have frivolous lawsuits driven up the malpractice insurance rates? Will cappign lawsuit awards bring down insurance rates? The GAO also found that while rising malpractice rates may be a problem for physicians, this increase is not because of stupid or dishonest lawsuits, but the ailing stock market and poor business practices in a virtually unregulated industry. As a result, there's no reason to think that capping jury awards would bring premiums down.
  
  
• Do insurance companies really believe their own arguments? During a 2003 tort-reform debate in the Florida legislature, insurance company executives were forced to testify under oath. They admitted that "frivolous lawsuits" against doctors were not a problem and that there has been no explosion in actual malpractice or litigation.
  
  (Of course facts weren't allowed to get in the way; the Florida tort "reform" bill passed anyway.)
  
  
• Are malpractice costs driving up the cost of health care? The Congressional Budget Office reported that in 2002, malpractice costs amounted to less than 2 percent of health care costs

  "A reduction of 25 percent to 30 percent in malpractice costs would lower health care costs by only 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent, and the likely effect on health insurance premiums would be comparably small," according to the CBO study.

The bottom line is that by reducing damage awards, you destroy one of the last remaining incentives for companies and bad doctors to clean up their acts, and you remove the incentive for trial lawyers to take up the cause of people who have no money to hire an expensive attorney (much less the high priced talent that the major corporations and business associations can hire.) What we have left is a bunch of impotent regulatory agencies that seem more intent on forming voluntary alliances than on the job that Congress gave them: protecting workers, consumers, medical patients and communities.

***

More of what I've previous written on tort and malpractice reform here, here, here and here.

The Canary Has Died: Trichloroethylene To Blame

We've talked a lot in this blog about how under the US system of chemical "safety," chemicals are considered to be innocent until proven guilty, and workers are the canaries for society -- that is, workers will show the effects of toxic chemicals before the general public.

Until fall 2003, workers in a Wilkes-Barre special-education school district gave little thought to the chemical they knew only as deglazing solvent.

Used to clean ink from two printing presses in the district's main administration building, the solvent routinely spilled onto the carpet. Its stench drifted through the air ducts. Still, it seemed nothing more than an annoyance -- until Antoinette Dominick was diagnosed with cancer.

Dominick is among roughly two dozen employees of Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, lupus, or other diseases linked by studies to trichloroethylene -- or TCE -- the solvent whose vapors permeated the three-story building. Although about 200 people worked in the building over three decades, most who became seriously ill were long-time employees, said Sandy Ostrowski, president of the Educational Support Personnel Association, a local union. For this reason, suspicion fell on TCE, which can be harmful when inhaled or ingested.

The chemical industry, faced with such evidence, has hurried to warn people and reduce exposures to TCE, right?

Wrong.

In August 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency published a draft health risk assessment of the chemical, concluding that it was "highly likely to be carcinogenic to humans." The draft met with a barrage of criticism, especially from the Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, the trade association that represents TCE manufacturers.

After decades of research, there is no compelling evidence that TCE causes cancer in people, said Paul Dugard, the group's director of scientific programs. "It does a good job [as a solvent] and can be handled responsibly," he said. Given the extent of ground-water pollution with TCE, he said, "we're lucky the material turned out to be as benign as it did."

Instead of telling the industry to go to hell, EPA has courageously called for another study, this time by the National Academy of Sciences.Dr. David Ozonoff, a professor of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health, is not amused. Ozonoff

calls the EPA "cowardly" for failing to take a stand on TCE. "There's a lack of political will at the highest levels," said Ozonoff, who has studied the solvent extensively and believes it to be dangerous. "They just don't want to mess around with this industry."

Meanwhile, back at the school district, district officials hired a consultant to test the building. He found nothing amiss. The union then hired its own consultant from Pennsylvania State University for another look:

They found significant levels of TCE and estimated cancer risks for the workers. The numbers were stunning.

One of the Penn State researchers, Richard Schuhmann, calculated that the cancer risk for someone who had worked in the building at least 10 years was 10,000 times higher than what the EPA considers acceptable. "Frankly," he said, "I've never seen that before."

Schuhmann presented the findings to a group of workers on June 19, a Saturday. By the following Monday, the building had been closed.

But just a little too late for Antoinette Dominick and here co-canaries.