Transportation Safety Board Recommends Actions To Prevent & Reduce Impact Of HazMat Train Accidents

It's common practice following an industrial accident to blame the workers involved because they made mistakes or didn't follow proper procedures. And on a shallow surface level, this analysis is not wrong. Workers are human, and being human, they make mistakes.

But stopping with that superficial "blame the worker" analysis doesn't get to the real reason, or "root cause" of the incident. And if you don't address the root causes, similar accidents will continue to happen.In fact, it may make matters worse: punishing the workers involved may give management a false sense that the problem has been resolved.

On January 6th, 2005 a freight train carrying chlorine gas struck a parked train, puncturing the chlorine tanker. Nine workers died of chlorine inhalation: the train's engineer and eight workers in an adjacent factory. 5,400 people within a 1-mile radius were evacuated and 75 were admitted to a hospital for treatment.

The surface cause of the crash was the failure of the crew of the parked Norfolk Southern train to return a main line switch to the normal position after the crew completed work at an industry track, allowing the moving train to switch onto the wrong track and collide with the parked train.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta blamed the accident on "human error." Noting that is that type of human error is not addressed by Federal Railroad Administration regulations, he proposed a program that would provide more training and possible civil penalties. In the worst case, employees could be barred from certain train assignments.

Problems solved? Not quite.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which issued its report on the accident at the end of November, agrees that the railroads and the FRA need to look much deeper than just worker error as a cause, and punishing workers as the solution, as summarized by the New York Times.

The crew normally had a set routine of resetting the switch as they moved the train to the the siding that they had not planned to use. But on this night, the crew strayed from that normal routine because they were just coming off of a 12-hour workday, had a taxi waiting to take them back to their depot and were anxious about finishing before their work hours would violate federal rules.

In addition,

the tracks in the Graniteville area, near Aiken, S.C., were "dark," meaning that they had no electronic signals that would have allowed a dispatcher to realize that the first crew had forgotten to reset the switch. About 40 percent of the rail network is dark.

The second train, which was moving at 47 miles an hour in a 49-mile-an-hour zone, would have needed half a mile to stop but had less than an eighth of a mile, investigators said.

The engineer, who died in a hospital from chlorine inhalation, was doomed before he got there, they said.

To prevent similar accidents, the Board recommended

• A strobe light like those carried on some school buses, or a radio device that sent signals to beepers or cellphones, might have reminded the first crew to reset the switch when leaving the train for the night, investigators said. Where no automatic signals exist, trains should be operated at speeds that will allow them to be safely stopped in advance of misaligned switches


• Positioning cars carrying chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, and other liquefied gases that pose an inhalation hazard at the rear of the train and reducing speeds through populated areas


• Train employees should be provided with emergency escape breathing apparatus and training for all crewmembers on freight trains carrying hazardous materials that would pose an inhalation hazard.

As the Times article pointed out, "crashes caused by misaligned switches are common." And one member of the NTSB Board was not happy with the Federal Railroad Commission's response:

Debbie Hersman, a member of the safety board who accompanied the investigators to the scene in January, said that the Federal Railroad Administration had proposed fines for failing to reset switches, but questioned the effect.

"Do we think these things are going to change operating behavior?" she asked.

Like any workplace hazard, slapping workers on the wrist for being human isn't going to help. As the NTSB noted, there are other, more effective ways of preventing these accidents from re-occurring.

The NTSB Synopsis can be found here.

Related Stories

• Blaming Workers: In Texas City and On The Rails, May 18, 2005
• "Engineers and conductors sleep on trains. Anyone who tells you different is not being straight with you," May 9, 2005
• Deaths and Injuries at US Steel: Blame the Workers?, Feb 24, 2005
• Behavioral Safety Comes To The Railroads, November 15, 2004
• Blame the Worker: Chinese Style, January 3, 2004
• Worker Error Department (cont'd), April 14, 2003
• Worker Error Department, Part 2 April 11, 2003
• Worker Error Department, April 10, 2003

The Pineros: Newspaper Series Forces Change in Treatment of Immigrant Workers

These are hard times for workplace safety. The business-controlled Republican party controls the Presidency and both houses of Congress, allowing for almost no oversight to address how workers are treated, especially immigrant workers. Given those facts, as I've often argued, the most effective force for progressive change these days is the media.

Last month, the Sacramento Bee ran a three part series on the plight of the Pineros -- the immigrant workers who work in the pines -- and the horrible safety conditions they face every day on the job. They're in this country on legal visas and federal officials oversee the contractors that employe the workers -- often witnessing the hazardous conditions and abuse without taking any action.

As a result of the series, the head of the US Forest Service proposed sweeping changes last week to better protect migrant Latino forest workers from injury and abuse on the job, including demanding that agency personnel shut down unsafe job sites on the spot.

"My biggest frustration out of this is I want the Forest Service to have a culture of safety," U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said Wednesday in his first public comments since the series was published Nov. 13-15. "And that means safety for everybody."

Bosworth expressed concern that migrant workers were being hurt and exposed to abuse on jobs overseen by the Forest Service but that little was being done to correct the problems.

The Bee found that Forest Service job inspectors, formally called contracting officer representatives, often jotted notes about injuries, hazardous conditions and poor treatment in their work diaries but did not act on them. By contrast, errors in tree planting and thinning were quickly attended to.

***

Within days of the stories' publication, Bosworth sent a memo to regional foresters outlining his plans for corrective action.

"I do not expect everyone to become an expert in immigration law, on OSHA regulations or on the wage-and-benefits laws administered by the Department of Labor," he wrote. But when his employees "become aware of possible violations in any of these areas, I expect them to promptly report the situation to the appropriate oversight agency."

Bosworth also called for immediate action to prevent injuries and accidents. When migrant workers are discovered toiling without safety gear - a common occurrence on Forest Service jobs - "don't let them work," he wrote. "When these situations occur, (employees) must take action, just as we would with our own employees."

Of course, we've been here before.

Twelve years ago, a House committee report chastised the agency for tolerating abusive conditions among contractors employing Latinos on federal jobs.

A hearing was held. Reforms were promised. The problems endured. Georgia reforestation contractor David Ellis chalked it up to simple economics.

"The U.S. Forest Service is all about saving money and passes the buck to the Nation at large for their policy of hear no evil see no evil," Ellis wrote in an e-mail. "I have seen and heard with my own ears and eyes how the Forest Service (personnel) boast about saving money on contractors who housed Mexicans in tents on the job site, no water, no toilet, no shower, just the low bidder!"

Forest Chief Dale Bosworth's memo can be found here.

Do you want to improve your training skills on workplace health and safety?

Do you want to improve your training skills on workplace health and safety?

Do you want to involve more workers in union efforts to solve health and safety problems?

Do you want to learn a fun, interactive way to do both of these?

There's still room....

The George Meany National Labor College and the (former) AFL-CIO Department of Occupational Safety and Health is offering another workplace safety and health Train-the-Trainer course January 29 - February 3, 2006. Participants in the six-day program will learn how to teach union members and other workers about safety and health from a union perspective, learn how to involve members in safety and health and how to make union more effective in tackling safety and health problems.

This program is for union activists, staff, and local union health and safety representatives who would like to teach their membership about workplace health and safety issues. The program will have approximately 20 participants who must be sponsored by their union or organization and must agree to facilitate safety and health training in their union or organization. It will be held at National Labor College at the George Meany Campus in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Specific topics to be covered include:

• Worker and Union Roles in Workplace Safety and Health
• Identifying Hazards in the Workplace
• Legal Health and Safety Rights of Workers and Union
• Record keeping (OSHA 300 Log) Requirements
• Introduction to Ergonomics
• Effective Health and Safety Committees

More information here.
.

OSHA/FEMA Failing To Protect Day-Laborers In The Gulf

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's effort in the New Orleans area is failing to protect day laborers and others who are not working for companies that are under FEMA contract, according to some OSHA state plan officials who have been volunteering in the recovery effort. Most of these workers are immigrants who speak limited English.

OSHA is operating under the Worker Safety and Health Support Annex of Homeland Security's National Response Plan., under which OSHA personnel addresses "protection of worker safety and health for all emergency responders and response organizations during potential and actual Incidents of National Significance." OSHA personnel is also expected to assist in "identification and characterization of incident hazards, assessments and analyses of health risks and exposures to responders, medical monitoring, and incident risk management."

The problem, according to the state-plan volunteers, is that OSHA is putting almost all of its effort into what is referred to there as "Annex" work: Minding and monitoring the activities of federal employees and contractors working under FEMA contracts -- but ignoring the hazards faced by the huge day labor workforce in New Orleans that is working for non-FEMA contractors, also known as "non-Annex" work.

According to one state plan volunteer:

These contractors are hired by homeowners to mostly do demolition work on the thousands of homes that need to be torn down. The day workers are dumped off in a neighborhood in the morning, told to tear the houses down, and picked up at night. They are given no PPE [personal protective equipment -- respirators, gloves, boots, etc] of any kind despite doing hazardous work in mold infested structures.

OSHA personnel is not addressing the hazards that these workers face unless there is an injury or a complaint, and given that most of these workers are immigrants who are easily inimidated and have limited knowledge of their rights, complaints are unlikely. Demolishing these structures is extremely dangerous. Not only are many of the buildings unstable, but they're filled with mold at levels rarely seen before, asbestos, lead and the residue of petroleum and other toxic chemical spills, in addition to safety hazards from falls, confined spaces, hazardous machinery and electrical hazards.

The problem is not a shortage of PPE, but to whom it is distributed. Some of the state-plan personnel have been forced to distribute PPE on their own. One of the state plan inspectors told of a team leader who was so moved by the desperate state of the day workers there that he stayed on for a few extra days on his own dime and bought cases of N95 respirators from Home Depot and drove thru Louisiana and Mississippi giving them out with a church group. That apparently didn't sit so well with a FEMA employee who got into a shouting match with him because she couldn't understand why he was helping the day laborers.

What we seem to be dealing with here is not a personal failure on the part of OSHA personnel, who by all reports are working hard under extremely difficult conditions, but a failure of OSHA and FEMA policy and willingness to address the huge issue of day-laborer health and safety in the Gulf region. Whether it's due to resource constraints, or just insensitivity, the day laborers are paying the price.

As one observer put it,

What at first seemed to some of us as a breakthrough (the Worker S&H Annex) in having the National Response Plan recognize the importance of responder safety and health has instead turned into a mechanism to legitimize the de-clawing of OSHA and placing the agency under the command and control of FEMA.

One state plan inspector reported that even the "Annex work" is frustrating because they're unable to enforce anything and FEMA/OSHA is very sensitive to any behavior that may be too "assertive." OSHA claims it's "not their job" to give out PPE. At least one contractor was found to be deducting the cost of PPE from workers' paychecks. (And wasn't there supposed to be a standard requiring employers to pay for workers' personal protective equipment?)

Another inspector noted that the Spanish-speaking workers he was assisting had trouble understanding the OSHA respirator fact sheets. One glance at OSHA's "Quick Card" on respirators, and it's easy to understand why they're having problems understanding the information, even when it's in Spanish:

The appropriate respirator will depend on the contaminant(s) to which you are exposed and the protection factor (PF) required. Required respirators must be NIOSH-approved and medical evaluation and training must be provided before use.

The main thing these workers wanted to know was why they needed respirators, information that seems to be missing from the OSHA materials. The state-plan volunteers ended up developing their own fact sheets that were apparently much better understood by the Spanish speaking laborers.

FEMA, meanwhile, seems to be primarily interested in using OSHA to monitor the air to ensure that none of the FEMA contractors get sued later on by workers who may have health problems. As I reported last month, Gulf Coast recovery contractors are pushing Senate bill 1761 that would "streamline" contractor-liability laws and push all related lawsuits into the federal court system.

I can't help but think that what we're seeing here at least partly a result of OSHA's deliberate refusal to talk to or work directly with workers or labor organizations over the past five years. AFL-CIO representatives have been repeatedly rebuffed by OSHA when they've offered to sit down and develop a Gulf recovery plan that makes sense considering the wide variety of hazards and the diversity of the workforce.

It's easy to lose touch with what workers' issues -- lack of training, equipment, resources, ability to understand English, or read in either language -- when you spend all your time and energy creating Alliances with employer associations whose representatives rarely rub elbows with people who actually get their hands dirty, can't understand English, aren't knowledgeable about the hazards or their rights, and can't afford to buy respirators or understand why they're needed.

There's a price to pay for such arrogance -- unfortunately, it's the day laborers who seem to be paying it.

Nano Hazards

I've been remiss about discussing the growing anxiety in the health & safety and environmental communities about the potential hazards of nanotechnologies. Even the Washington Post beat me to it:

At issue are "nanomaterials," made of intricately engineered particles and fibers as small as 1/80,000th the diameter of a human hair. At that scale the laws of chemistry and physics bend, giving familiar substances novel chemical, electrical and physical properties.

Nanomaterials are already being integrated into a wide range of products, including sports equipment, computers, food wrappings, stain-resistant fabrics and an array of cosmetics and sunscreens -- a market expected to exceed $1 trillion a year within a decade. Preliminary studies suggest that most of these products do not pose significant risks in their bulk form or embedded in the kinds of products that so far use them.

But the same cannot be said of the particles themselves, which can pose health risks to workers where they are made and may cause health or environmental problems as discarded products break down in landfills

The Post describes a number of potential hazards:

• Lab animal studies have already shown that some carbon nanospheres and nanotubes behave differently than conventional ultrafine particles, causing fatal inflammation in the lungs of rodents, organ damage in fish and death in ecologically important aquatic organisms and soil-dwelling bacteria.


• Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology found that nanoparticles of aluminum oxide stunt the growth of roots on several crops -- including soybeans and corn, mainstays of U.S. agriculture.


• Japanese researchers found that a kind of nanosphere that some want to use to deliver drugs or vaccines into the body is a potent stimulator of immune-reaction genes, perhaps explaining fatal inflammatory responses seen in animals exposed to nanomaterials.


• And a California team working with laboratory-grown cells showed that carbon nanotubes specifically activate "cell suicide genes."

One might think that the dawn of a new technological revolution would be a good time to set up some new models for addressing potential hazards before people -- generally workers -- and the environment start paying the price in disease and destruction.

But you would be wrong. It seems the new materials are stimulating the same old tired debates:

In documents that are now being finalized for public comment, the [EPA]calls for a "stewardship program" that would be voluntary. Manufacturers would be asked to alert officials about nanoproducts they are making and to provide information about environmental or health risks they have uncovered. But they would not be required to make such reports or to do special studies.

Although the agency may at some point feel the need to impose stricter controls, the voluntary approach has the advantage that it can be implemented more quickly, said Charles Auer, director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. He added that the agency is not sure it understands enough about the new materials to know how best to regulate them.

"This way we can develop something, gain experience and learn more about what we're dealing with," Auer said.

Others, including scientist Jennifer Sass of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which recently withdrew from an EPA advisory group out of frustration with the direction the agency was going, call that approach toothless.

"I think it's absolutely necessary that we have enforceable regulations and that we don't put these materials in commercial products unless we know they can be used safely over the full life cycle of the product," Sass said. [emphasis added]

This is an interesting justification that EPA uses. The "voluntary" approach is faster -- essentially rewarding industry for putting up obstacles to a process that could protect workers and consumers.

Adequate funding is also missing in action: industry and environmental advocates say that at least $100 million a year is needed for research on environmental, health and safety implications of nanotechnology while experts estimate that about $6 million per year is actually being spent.

Something Missing?

What may be most significant about this article is what's not there: any mention of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

OSHA is somewhat understandable, if not justifiable. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything on the OSHA website mentioning nanotechnologies. The omission of any mention of NIOSH is much more surprising (and disturbing), considering that NIOSH is the only government agency with the mandate to research worker health and safety hazards, and considering that the NIOSH website has an enormous amount of material addressing the potential hazards of nanotechnologies.

Sloppy reporting by the Post, or inadequate outreach by NIOSH? Or both? We ask, you speculate.

More information on the potential workplace hazards of nanotech at Hazards.

New Orleans: Kick 'em When They're Down

It never ceases to amaze me how, whenever a crisis hits, Republicans instinctively go after the very workers that society depends on to pull them out: public employees. It happened after 9/11 and now it's happening again in New Orleans.

Gulf Coast Watch blog reports that SEIU Local 21 led a successful charge against Louisiana Senate Bill 5 which would have

allowed parishes and municipalities to slash wages for teachers, water and sanitation workers, social workers, and other public employees for up to six months AFTER a declared state of emergency was terminated

Republican Senator Tom Schelder withdrew the bill after the legislature was hit by flood of emails and phone calls by a very nice coalition that came together to oppose the bill:

Opposition to this bill was supported by the Black Chamber of Commerce, the Northern and Central Louisiana Interfaith Network, and members of newly formed NOAH (New Opportunities for Action and Hope), founded by community and labor organizations in Louisiana in order to ensure that as LA rebuilds

Bhopal: Past and Future

Yesterday was the 21st anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. Given recent events in China, many (including me) fear that the next Bhopal may occur there.

SEIU Local & MassCOSH Call For Criminal Prosecution

Seaking of COSH Groups and criminal prosecutions.....

Looks like yet another case of one of those companies not "concerned for the welfare of their employees and ... fully prepared to comply with laws aimed at enhancing their safety on the job" to send to Senator Enzi.

SEIU Local 615 and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) are calling for a criminal investigation into a May 8 fatal incident where one window washer, Jose Camara, was killed and another seriously injured after falling 90 feet. The workers were employed by UNICCO Services, which, according to MassCOSH and SEIU, had failed to provide training and proper safeguards.

But, that, of course, is not the entire story:

The MassCOSH report states that UNICCO's failure to implement safety measures ordered in 2003 after a fatal accident involving two window cleaners, "...not only cut short the life of one worker and seriously injured a second but put the lives of all of its window cleaners in jeopardy."

***

"These reports place the responsibility for the accident squarely on the shoulders of UNICCO's faulty safety procedures, " said Rocio Saenz, president of SEIU Local 615. "We are asking OSHA to refer this case to the judicial department, to seek criminal indictments if they find that UNICCO willfully violated the law."

"UNICCO failed to implement the safety requirements called for by OSHA more than two years ago. Had UNICCO observed these basic and critical safety measures, the death and serious injury of two additional workers this June 8 in all likelihood would have been prevented," the MassCOSH report stated.

The fatal accident was the result of willful disregard of both industry practices and specific OSHA direction that would have protected these workers from harm, had they been followed.

OSHA fined Unicco $23,500 for the 2003 fatalities.

You can read more about both accidents here.

Weekly Toll

A partial list of American workers killed in the workplace over the past two weeks.

Ractrack Closes To Honor Worker Killed By Horse

Farmington, NY - The Finger Lakes Race Track will be closed Monday and Tuesday in memory of a long-time track worker. Saturday, Leon Reed was helping a horse into the starting gate when it kicked him in the chest. He later died at Strong Memorial Hospital. Reed had worked in the stable area at the tracks for 20 years. Track manager Chris Riegle said, "Leon was well-known on the backside. His family works here. His brother works here. His brother-in-law is one of our leading trainers, so it's a tough loss, felt not just by a select few, but really by almost everyone at the racetrack."

Road construction worker killed on Katy Freeway

Houston, TX -- A traffic construction worker was killed instantly today when an unidentified motorist veered off the Katy Freeway lanes and struck him, police said.

Accident investigators have no description of the vehicle or the motorist, who fled the scene.

The victim, 46-year-old Ismael Parra of the 10000 block of Tolman Street, was working with a crew painting road stripes in the 7000 block of the Katy Freeway when the incident occurred at about 1:15 a.m., police said.

Witnesses at the scene told police that Parra was hit in the face with the vehicle's right rearview mirror. The incident remains under investigation.



Mexia school officer killed during training exercise

Eddy, TX - A Mexia School District police officer was shot during a training exercise Tuesday and later died. The Limestone County Sheriff says 31-year-old Sgt. Scott Neal was taking part in a training exercise in Mexia Tuesday afternoon with six other officers when he was accidentally shot in the head by one of the officers.


Man dies while working in cement mixer

Charleston, SC -Two employees of a ready-mix concrete company were working inside a mixer Monday when the drum began turning, killing one of the men. Robert Burgess, 64, of North Charleston died at 3:45 p.m. at Trident Medical Center, Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad said. Burgess had worked for the Van-Smith Concrete Co. for 25 years. Burgess and another employee of the business at 103 Belknap Road were replacing a dust seal in the mixer when it began turning about 1 p.m., Rhoad said. The mixer is about 13 feet off the ground and combines rock, sand, cement and water to make concrete, production manager Glenn Wolfe said. He didn't know what made the mixer start while the men were inside. The mixer holds about 12 cubic yards of material but was empty.


Mittal employee dies of burns. Steelworker burned on more than 50 percent of his body

East Chicago, IN- Northwest Indiana's steel industry was hit with its first fatality of 2005 Sunday when Mittal Steel USA employee Daniel Spencer died of injuries suffered at its Indiana Harbor East mill on Friday. Spencer, 54, of Merrillville, was critically burned while he was working in a banding area of the 84-inch hot strip mill at about 9 a.m. Friday, said Mittal spokesman David Allen. The fire, which is under investigation, occurred in the basement below where Spencer was working.


Golf course worker found dead in canal

Palm Beach, FL - A golf maintenance worker drowned Monday morning in a canal at the Gleneagles Country Club west of Delray Beach. Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue workers pulled Armoncel DuPrenat from the canal near the third green on Legends Way about 10:40 a.m. after a Bell South employee working in the area spotted a golf cart and a hat floating in the water, authorities said.


Man Killed In Plymouth Industrial Accident

Plymouth, Minn -- A 21-year-old man, Troy Dennis Nelson, 21, , was killed Tuesday in an industrial accident in Plymouth, Minn., public safety officials said.The accident happened at Amerilab Technologies on the 2700 block of Niagara Lane, authorities said.The man was operating a forklift when the top of the machine hit a crossbeam and tipped over, public safety officials said.The man was trapped underneath the machine and crushed to death, authorities said.Officers were called to the scene just after 10 a.m., and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.Public safety officials said the victim was new employee who had been working at the company for about a month.The man's identity has not yet been released.


Driver dead as dump truck tips

Pompano Beach, FL -- An Arkansas truck driver was killed and a co-worker was injured Wednesday morning when a dump truck rolled onto its side as hurricane debris was being unloaded at a landfill. J.D. Lott Jr., 53, of Hatfield, Ark., was crushed by the truck, according to investigators. Sherry Vandermay, 49, of Deerfield, Ill., was conscious and alert after the accident, but was taken to North Broward Medical Center for evaluation. "It was a tragic event, especially happening so close to the holidays," said Margate spokeswoman Kery Venezia. Lott and Vandermay had been collecting debris from Hurricane Wilma in Margate, she said, and the incident led stunned city workers to stage an impromptu memorial service at the scene of the incident.


Officer dies while transporting prisoner

PORTSMOUTH, VA - A 49-year-old Portsmouth police officer died of natural causes Wednesday morning while driving a prisoner from an earlier pursuit to police headquarters. Officer Richard Spaulding was pronounced dead at 7:45 a.m. at Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, police said. About 6 a.m., Spaulding started pursuing a vehicle in Portsmouth after the driver refused to pull over.


Morning Commute Brings Accidents Across N.J. - Some Caused By Black Ice From Dropping Overnight Temperatures

Fot Lee, NY -- In Fort Lee, the driver of a tractor-trailer was killed when the big rig caught fire on I-95 this morning, backing up traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike. The tractor-trailer collided with a bus and caught fire southbound on I-95 just after exit 72 at around 3:00 a.m. The driver of the tractor-trailer was killed. Local lanes were closed for cleanup, causing substantial delays from the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey. In Warren Township, several vehicles collided on eastbound Interstate 78 just after 7 a.m. The crash closed eastbound two lanes. It was not immediately known how many people were injured.


Union County worker killed in wreck - County worker killed when his van strikes tractor-trailer

Monroe, NC - A Union County employee died Monday in an auto accident, Monroe police reported. The wreck killed Ralph Billman, 71. He was driving a county transportation services van on U.S. 74 when police say the van struck a tractor-trailer. The van did not have any passengers. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured.Police said Billman was headed west at 9:50 a.m. when the van hit two other vehicles, crossed the median, and collided with the eastbound tractor trailer. The accident slowed traffic on the highway for about four hours.


Two who were avoiding driving drunk, plus cab driver, killed by suspected drunk driver

Albuquerque, NM - Two men who took a taxi so they wouldn’t drive drunk were killed Thursday morning after a suspected drunk driver broadsided the cab. The crash killed Ray Martinez, 50, his cousin Kenneth Martinez, 36, and cab driver Daniel Magnuson, 46. Police say Gabriel Gurule, 21, ran a red light at Lomas and Juan Tabo, broadsiding the cab. Gurule and his passenger – 21-year-old Waylan Riboni of Tijeras – are in critical condition at an Albuquerque hospital.


The life and death of Maria Laticia Fonseca-Quintero

Lodi,CA - On an August night, a young woman from Mexico fell under a grape harvester near Lodi and was crushed to death. She is among many workers who have died in the farmlands of California. Some say more can and should be done to reduce fatalities in the fields. Maria Laticia Fonseca-Quintero lay face down and motionless in the vineyard under the night sky, blood pooling in a halo around her head. That late August night was her first sorting chardonnay grapes on a harvester. And her last. At about 10 p.m., while culling debris from the bunches of grapes streaming down the conveyor belt at the rear of the roughly 14,000-pound harvester, Quintero somehow fell to the ground.


St. Albans farmer killed while sitting on tractor

ST. ALBANS, Vt. --Vermont's third hunting fatality of the year took the life of a St. Albans Town farmer as he sat on a tractor on his own property, police said. Rejean Lussier, 60, was hunting from the cab of a tractor and was shot between 4 and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Lt. Robert Lutz of the state Fish and Wildlife Department. Lussier was found by friends at about 7:30 p.m. after he didn't return home, Vermont State Police said. Lutz said four people who were hunting together nearby came forward Thursday and were cooperating with investigators. "It appears to have been negligence on the part of the shooter," Lutz said, adding that the shooting was a tragic accident. The four hunters, whose names were not released Thursday night, knew Lussier, Lutz added. Initial indications were that the shot that hit Lussier, who was sitting on a red tractor in dark clothing, came from about 250 yards away, Lutz said.


County worker killed when his van strikes tractor-trailer

MONROE, NC - A Union County employee died Monday in an auto accident, Monroe police reported. The wreck killed Ralph Billman, 71. He was driving a county transportation services van on U.S. 74 when police say the van struck a tractor-trailer. The van did not have any passengers. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured.Police said Billman was headed west at 9:50 a.m. when the van hit two other vehicles, crossed the median, and collided with the eastbound tractor trailer. The accident slowed traffic on the highway for about four hours


Chris Reeves, Catoosa County News

RINGGOLD, GA — Catoosa detectives are investigating what they say is an apparent double murder and suicide at a Three Notch Road residence outside Ringgold. According to Sheriff Phil Summers, detectives discovered three bodies at 1838 Three Notch Road near Ringgold late Monday night. Authorities obtained a search warrant for the address after a missing person report was filed with the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department Monday regarding Pizza Hut delivery driver Doyle Dean Stier, 54, of 106 Shaw St. in LaFayette, Summers said. On Monday afternoon Stier had returned to the 1838 Three Notch Road address in regards to a bad check for a pizza he had delivered Monday morning. Summers said around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, officers entered the residence and blood was found in the living room area. Officers found Stier’s body in the bathroom of the home. West had previously told an employee of the Pizza Hut on Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe that he had cash to take the place of the bad check and to send Stier back for the payment after Pizza Hut threatened to contact authorities, the sheriff said. Summers said an apparent altercation occurred between West and Stier when Stier returned to the home and the suspect beat Stier to death with a hammer.


Day Worker Killed Working Solo

Brooklyn, NY - A day laborer working alone at a garage in Brooklyn on Thanksgiving was crushed to death when a concrete wall collapsed on him. A co-worker found the body of 33-year old Frederick Lopez Friday afternoon on East 32nd Street in Flatbush, nearly 24 hours after the deadly collpase.A department of buildings spokesperson says the owner of the garage did not have a permit for the demolition work.


Metro Worker Dies After Being Hit By Train - Employee Death Is Transit Agency's First Since 1997

WASHINGTON, DC -- A Metro worker hit by a train earlier this month has died. Michael Waldron of Riverdale, Md. - was doing some track work near the Braddock Road Metro Station on Oct. 1 when he was hit by a train. Waldron died of his injuries on Saturday. Metro is investigating the accident. Waldron had been a Metro employee for the past three years. He worked on bridges, tunnels and other structures. It was the first death of an employee on the job since 1997, when a track worker was accidentally electrocuted.


Shot in heart, officer dies after chasing gunman - Suspect allegedly linked to earlier police shooting

NEW YORK, NY -- A police officer who was shot in the heart early Monday during a car chase ignored the wound and helped try to catch the gunman before dying later at a hospital, authorities said. Dillon Stewart, 35, died despite wearing a bulletproof vest. One round entered his left armpit, missing the protective plating "by no more than a quarter of an inch," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Stewart, who was married with two children, "showed remarkable tenacity and courage in pursuing his assailant," Kelly said.


Pizza deliverer dies in accident

CARRBORO, NC -- A man returning from delivering a pizza Saturday night died in a head-on collision west of Carrboro. Francis Christopher Machita, 39, of Durham, died at the scene of the accident about three miles west of Carrboro on the Old Greensboro Highway, said Sgt. James Sessoms of the N.C. Highway Patrol.


Deadly Industrial Accident

Dunmore, PA - A man from Lackawanna County was killed while working at a job site in Monroe County Wednesday morning. The Monroe County coroner said Michael Mashurak, 52, of Dunmore was killed while working with a crew installing fencing at the Sanofi Pasteur facility in Swiftwater. According to the coroner, Mashurak got caught in an auger that was drilling post holes for the fencing. Mashurak was the owner of Mashurack Fences, Inc. in Dunmore.


Farmer dies in accident three days before cancer claims daughter

Bridger, Montana - The elderly Montana sheepman was just back from a visit with his terminally ill daughter, in Michigan, when his life ended in a bizarre farm accident. Three days later the daughter was gone, as well. Mourners will gather in the farm community of Bridger on Wednesday to remember Gilbert "Tick" Brown, 84, found dead on Thanksgiving Day, and his daughter Elaine Adams, 56, felled by cancer on Saturday. A ram attacked Brown at his farm near Bridger, about 90 miles northeast of Yellowstone National Park, on Wednesday and he sought protection beneath a truck, fatally striking his head on part of the vehicle, Carbon County Coroner Tom Rieger said. Adams died at her home in Berrien Springs, Mich.


Maintenance Worker Is Killed in Freak Accident

Laguna Niguel, CA - A freak industrial accident killed a 67-year-old maintenance worker at Chapparosa Park on Tuesday. Authorities did not release his name. The accident occurred about 1 p.m. as two employees of True Green Maintenance, a company contracted to work at the park, drove a John Deere Gator vehicle described by a sheriff's spokesman as similar to a golf cart but used for maintenance hauling. When the vehicle got a flat tire, spokesman Lt. Larry Abbott said, the 67-year-old got out to fix it while the other man stayed at the wheel. He inadvertently backed up over his head and chest and crushed him," Abbott said.


Authorities say Minnesota man died of carbon monoxide poisoning

MOORHEAD, Minn. - An autopsy has confirmed suspicions that carbon monoxide poisoning was the likely cause of death for a farmer found dead near Felton, authorities said. Lawrence Arndt, 75, was found dead in a shop on his farm Tuesday. He had lost power to his home and was using a generator to keep warm. Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist said the Ramsey County medical examiner ruled that carbon monoxide probably killed Arndt. Felton is about 17 miles northeast of Moorhead.


Phoenix officer dies after car crash

Mesa, AZ - A rookie Phoenix police officer from Chandler died Tuesday after his patrol car went off the road, rolled and struck a utility pole. Paul Salmon, 22, died about 8:40 p.m. at Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix shortly after he was taken off life support, a Phoenix police spokesman said. The South Mountain Precinct officer’s cruiser was found overturned about 1 a.m. Monday in the 3100 block of West Baseline Road about five minutes after he notified dispatch he was responding to a domestic violence call, police reported.


Worker killed at DMR-Cortez man, 40, crushed while working at ski area parking lot

Durango, CO - A 40-year-old Cortez man died Wednesday at Durango Mountain Resort after falling debris crushed him while he worked at a ski area parking lot. The accident occurred at 11:31 a.m. in the Columbine No. 1 parking lot, uphill from the resort's entrance. The worker, whose name will be released today pending notification of family, worked for Rocky Mountain Earthmovers Inc. of Durango, said Rick Brown, an investigator with the La Plata County Sheriff's Office. "At this point it appears accidental," he said. "No foul play." The resort contracted the company to work on construction projects in the resort's lower parking lot. The man was digging at the time of the accident, Brown said. Representatives from Rocky Mountain Earthmovers did not return calls Wednesday.


Worker dies after 80-foot fall from GWB's west tower

FORT LEE, NY - A worker removing scaffolding from the west tower of the George Washington Bridge died Wednesday after falling 80 feet onto a platform. Emil Rios, whose hometown was not available, died at 7 p.m. at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan, a Port Authority official said.


Worker Killed At QVC Warehouse Near Rocky Mount

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- Local and state authorities are investigating the death of a worker at one of Edgecombe County's largest employers. The worker, a technician service contractor for FKI Logistex, was working with a crane Thursday morning at the QVC warehouse near Rocky Mount when he was in an accident. His identity was not immediately released, pending notification of next-of-kin.


Truck driver dies in fiery crash on 43

Jackson, AL - A State Line, Miss. man was killed early Monday morning when the tanker truck he was driving ran off Highway 43 between Grove Hill and Thomasville and caught fire. According to Clarke County EMA Director Roy Waite, the truck wrecked about 5:30 a.m. The cab was pinned beneath the tank, which had been loaded with 30,029 gallons of 93 percent sulfuric acid. The driver, Oscar Lee Walley, 56, was driving for Safeway Trucking out of Louisiana. He had left AKZO Noble in Axis with the sulfuric acid and headed north to GEO Specialty Chemicals in Demopolis.


Retired farmer killed in livestock accident in Mitchell County

ORCHARD, IA --- A 65-year-old man died Sunday when cattle crushed him against a wall or fence while being loaded into a truck. Howard Hoisington of Orchard died at his son Brian's cattle farm in rural Osage, said the family's pastor, the Rev. Bruce Kaltwasser of Trinity Lutheran Church. The incident happened at about 3:30 p.m., and the Mitchell County Regional Healthcare Center Ambulance Service responded, Kaltwasser said.


Wiggins officers each shot twice in slayings; funerals scheduled

WIGGINS, Miss. - The two Wiggins police officers killed Sunday while responding to a domestic disturbance were each shot twice, says Stone County Coroner Mike Lott. Lott said Tuesday that both Brandon Breland, 23, and Odell Fite, 48, died at the scene of the crime after being shot with a .40-caliber handgun.


Worker killed in campus construction accident

CLEVELAND, OH - A retaining wall collapsed Monday, killing one worker and injuring another at a parking garage construction project at Cleveland State University. Chalmer Taylor, 43, of Cleveland died at the scene around 11 a.m., according to Cuyahoga County Coroner Elizabeth Balraj. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, she said.


Triple Shooting Leaves Two Dead - Teenager In Stable Condition

BROOKLYN, NY - A father and son were shot inside the family's Brownsville tire shop on Sunday evening. Investigators say a third victim, an employee, was gunned down outside Gary's Tire Emporium in front of a display of expensive custom wheels. Shot in the head, the employee was pronounced dead at the scene. The father, shot once in the chest, died at Brookdale Hospital. His 17-year-old son was the only survivor, and is recovering at Kings County Hospital from gunshot wounds to his leg and arm.


Store owner shot, daughter killed

Chicago, IL - A man with an automatic handgun walked into a Robbins convenience store Friday night, shot the store owner and killed his 27-year-old daughter. Shortly after 8:20 p.m. Friday, a man wearing a black ski mask entered Frank's Food and Liquor, in the 3600 block of West 139th Street, and shot the store owner in the stomach, Robbins Police Chief Johnny Holmes said. The gunman then jumped over the counter and fatally shot the storeowner's daughter in the stomach, police said. Ghada Ellayan, 27, of the 13600 block of Howe Drive, Orland Park, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.


Worker Dies, Firefighter Hurt in Building Blaze

Anaheim, CA - An employee of a food distribution warehouse died and a firefighter suffered minor injuries late Thursday when a blaze swept through the building, officials said. John Macht, 46, of Anaheim, who occasionally stayed at the business, was asleep on the second floor of the Arena Foods warehouse in the 1100 block of Blue Gum Street when the fire began about 10:30 p.m., officials said. A firefighter was treated at Anaheim Memorial Medical Center for heat exhaustion, officials said. The fire appeared to be accidental, but an investigation is continuing, authorities said.



OSHA says it’s ‘much too early’ to rule on contractor’s death

Scranton, PA - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will release details of its investigation of the accident that killed a Dunmore contractor at Sanofi Pasteur’s Monroe County facility only after the probe is complete, a spokesman said Thursday. Aside from confirming aninvestigation is under way, OSHA area director Andrew Hedesh said he was not at liberty to discuss what the agency had learned about the death of Michael Mashurak Jr., owner of Mashurak Fences Inc. Mr. Mashurak, 52, was killed Wednesday morning when he was caught in an industrial auger drilling fence post holes at Sanofi Pasteur’s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Swiftwater.


Subway motorman death sparks probe into delay

Bronx, NY - Authorities are investigating the sudden on-the-job death of a subway motorman and whether the right steps were taken to get him medical assistance. A co-worker found Lewis Moore, 34, a father of two young children, on the floor of a work train at the Jackson Ave., Bronx, station about 5:05 a.m. Thursday morning, authorities said. The co-worker called a Transit Authority dispatcher, agency spokesman Charles Seaton said. The worker, also a motorman, drove the train seven stations north, to E. 180th St. The Fire Department, which dispatches ambulances, said it was called at 5:27 a.m., about 20 minutes after the TA was first notified, with a report of an unconscious worker on a train at E. 180th St., FDNY spokesman Jim Long said.


Pinellas Park man, 39, dies when loader bucket falls

PINELLAS PARK, PA - A Pinellas Park man died Friday when the bucket of a small loader he was operating fell on him. Richard S. Will, 39, was using the Bobcat loader to install a palm tree at about 12:30 p.m. in the front yard of a house in the 6100 block of 88th Avenue in Pinellas Park. Will, owner of Artistic Landscaping & Maintenance, apparently stepped out of the loader to adjust the position of the tree. The loader's bucket was raised overhead.


Man killed, co-worker hurt in shipyard accident

Charleston, SC -- A 19-year-old man was killed and a co-worker was injured in an accident Thursday afternoon at Detyens Shipyard. The men had been working on a supply ship at the North Charleston facility. Rescuers and investigators remained on the scene for several hours to remove the body and secure the area. "About 4:30 this afternoon, we responded to a report of an employee trapped inside a sewer tank area" of the ship, said North Charleston public safety spokesman Spencer Pryor. The Charleston County Coroner's Office identified the worker as Matthew Williamson of Summerville. Officials weren't immediately sure what caused his death, whether he fell or had already been inside the tank. "We don't know the circumstances quite yet," said Deputy Coroner Dottie Lindsay late Thursday. "They haven't been able to get in there and figure anything out yet."


Local Construction Worker Killed in Hit & Run

Lansing, MI - A hit-and-run accident in Ionia County kills a construction worker, but thanks to an anonymous tip, the sheriff's department was able to track down the person they believe is responsible. Martin Stott had only been working as a construction site flagman for about a week. It's a job the 54-year-old Holt resident got through a temp agency. Georgena Shaw, victim's sister: "He was having a hard time finding work and he needed to do what he needed to do." Just before 6pm Friday night, Stott and the rest of the crew were getting ready to wrap up work at the site on M-21 in Ionia County when Stott was hit by a car traveling west on M-21. Ed Kline was first to reach Stott and called 911, but he knew it was already too late.


Autopsy: SEPTA worker was shot before hit by train

Philadelphia, PA - A SEPTA worker's body was found on the regional rail tracks in Southwest Philadelphia early Thursday morning, but according to an autopsy performed yesterday, three gunshot wounds to his head indicated he was already dead before a train hit him. Police said Pete Cummings, a SEPTA regional rail engineer, was operating the R3 Media/Elwyn train through Angora Station, 58th St. near Baltimore Avenue,in Southwest Philadelphia, when he saw a body laying partly on the tracks at 12:19 a.m. The train was unable to stop in enough time to avoid running over the body. After the train had stopped, Cummings notified Philadelphia police. During the autopsy, Dr. Bennett Preston of the Medical Examiner's Office discovered "at least" three gunshots to the victim's head and ruled the death a homicide. Police said that 10 minutes prior to the discovery of the body, they received phone calls reporting gun shots at 54th Street near Willows, a few blocks from Angora Station. "That's kind of far away, but we're still investigating it," said Police spokesman Cpl. Jim Pauley. The victim, John R. Jones, 23, of Yeadon, had been employed by SEPTA since July as a "traffic checker." Jones counted riders getting on and off the transit system at particular locations.


U.S. 98 crash leaves 1 driver dead

St. Petersburg,FL - The collision closes the highway for hours and results in the 30th traffic fatality in Hernando County this year. Along a wooded stretch of two-lane highway, where Lake Lindsey Road crosses U.S. 98, two white trucks collided Friday, leaving one of the drivers dead. Calvin L. Starks, 41, of 307 Cherry St., Brooksville, was driving a Chevy pickup with a trailer for Cliff's Septic Tank Service. Headed west, he stopped at the stop sign on Lake Lindsey Road, then pulled across the highway in front of a southbound Mack truck driven by Anthony J. Holley, 35, of Brooksville, according to Trooper Larry Coggins Jr., spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.


Report pending on death of Regional Enterprises employee

Richmond, VA - Hopewell authorities are awaiting a medical examiner's report to learn how a Regional Enterprises Inc. employee died Sunday at the company's plant on Water Street. David Widner, 35, was found slumped over the top of a tractor-trailer tank car containing turpentine about 10:30 a.m., said Hopewell police Chief Rex Marks. Employees and city fire department paramedics attempted to revive Widner without success. He was pronounced dead at the scene.


Nashville trench collapse kills construction worker

Knoxville, TN - Officials in Nashville say a trench collapsed this afternoon on a construction worker, killing him before rescuers could dig him out. Assistant Fire Chief Lee Bergeron said several workers were in a trench on the side of Elm Hill Pike just east of downtown when a big section of the earth cleaved off around 4 pm.Bergeron said that when firefighters got there, there was a ton of earth and rocks on top of the worker. Bergeron said rescuers could only get access to the worker's hand, but there was no pulse. At that point, it became a body recovery mission. Bergeron said that the worker was 25-years-old and this was his first week on the job. Angie Martin with the Tennessee Department of Transportation said the construction work was being handled by the Rogers Group. Bergeron said that the victim actually worked for a subcontractor, although the company was not identified.


Road worker killed while filling potholes - Danbury man loved his job, time outdoors

Concord, NH - Danbury man who loved fishing and camping died yesterday after he was hit by a van while on the job for the New London Highway Department. Ryan Haynes, 20, was working alone filling potholes behind a pickup truck owned by the town on a dirt portion of Old Main Street shortly before 8 a.m., the state police said. John Harding, 37, of New London ran into Haynes with his van, pushing him against his one-ton truck. Haynes was taken to New London Hospital, where he died of his injuries. The state police said in a press release that a lack of signs and other warning devices about the road work, as well as the angle of the sun at that time of day, might have led to the accident.


Island Pilot Killed In Airplane Crash

Edgartown, MA - Vineyard residents this week mourned the loss of James Rogers of Oak Bluffs, who died when his self-built aircraft crashed shortly after noon Sunday in the Manuel F. Corellus State Forest in West Tisbury. Mr. Rogers, 55, had just taken off from Runway 6 at the Martha's Vineyard Airport when his Lancair 360 single-engine airplane banked toward Runway 15 and then came down in the nearby state forest. Acting Vineyard airport manager Sean Flynn said Mr. Rogers did not survive the impact.


Fired Employee Fatally Stabs Co-Worker

San Francisco, CA - A 22-year-old man was stabbed to death this morning by his co-worker, who had just been fired from the sushi restaurant where they both worked. Police say Angel Martinez was pronounced dead at Highland Hospital shortly after the 11 a.m. stabbing at Sushiya restaurant. Police have not released the identity of the assailant, who fled the scene after the attack. No one else was injured, and the restaurant was closed for business at the time.


Man kills pizza delivery man, grandmother, then himself

RINGGOLD, Ga. -- A Catoosa County man strangled his 83-year-old grandmother and beat a pizza delivery man to death with a hammer before taking his own life, authorities said Tuesday.

Joshua Linebarger West, 23, killed Bonnie Land and hid her body in a closet, and beat Doyle Dean Stier after he returned to the home Monday afternoon to get paid in cash for a bad check West had written earlier for a pizza, Sheriff Phil Summers said.

Summers said officers started looking for Stier, a 57-year-old Pizza Hut delivery driver from Lafayette, after a missing persons report was filed with the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department. The bodies were discovered at Land's home around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

After killing Stier, the sheriff said, West took the driver's car into the garage and took his own life by carbon monoxide asphyxiation.


Three Fatally Shot in Ala. Robbery

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Three people were killed during a Thanksgiving motel robbery and the robbers escaped with a cash drawer and safe, police said.

The shootings at the Airport Inn were captured by a security camera, police said. Police had the tape, but no arrests had been made Saturday.

Police Capt. Herman Hinton said the men may have killed the three victims to eliminate witnesses. The dead included the front desk clerk, a Texas truck driver staying at the motel and a woman who may have arrived to check in.

"This is a heinous crime," Hinton said.

Motel manager Rufus Carroll said that the video showed the two robbers entering the lobby about 3 p.m. They approached the truck driver first and shot him before he had a chance to stand up, according to the video. The clerk was shot when she attempted to flee, Carroll said. The third victim was apparently shot before the men went behind the front desk to grab a drawer filled with $300 in cash and the safe.


Two who were avoiding driving drunk, plus cab driver, killed by suspected drunk drive

Albuquerque, NM -- Two men who took a taxi so they wouldn't drive drunk were killed Thursday morning after a suspected drunk driver broadsided the cab.

The crash killed Ray Martinez, 50, his cousin Kenneth Martinez, 36, and cab driver Daniel Magnuson, 46.

Police say Gabriel Gurule, 21, ran a red light at Lomas and Juan Tabo, broadsiding the cab.


Truck driver dies after veering off road

SPRING HILL, FL -- Al Martucci and his son, Joshua, were landscaping a yard Thursday afternoon at the corner of Pike Avenue and Landover Boulevard when they heard what sounded like lumber falling off a truck.

They turned around to see a truck, loaded with wood, driving off the left side of Landover. It snapped through telephone poles "like toothpicks," said Al Martucci, and came to rest only after smashing into a pine tree. Downed power lines set fire to the grass. The driver was pinned down in a crushed cabin.

The driver, Cory Ramsdell, 26, of 6415 Massachusetts Ave., Lot 8, New Port Richey, was dead at the scene, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Troopers were investigating the cause of the crash.


Truck driver dies in crash at exit ramp

FOUR OAKS, SC -- An early morning crash near I-95 killed a truck driver from South Carolina.

Elight Vorde, 59, of Orangeburg, S.C., died instantly when a bread truck slammed into his driver's door, state Highway Patrol Sgt. C.S. Taylor said. Vorde failed to stop at the sign at the end of an 1-95 exit ramp at U.S. 701 shortly before 6 a.m.

Vorde was on his way back from Florida, where he picked up a moving truck for Trucknology, a New York-based moving company.


Two dead at Cordova care center; Police shocked at bodies overcome by buffer fumes

Memphis, TN -- Memphis police officers patrolling a Cordova business park about 2 a.m. Sunday got a shock when they looked into the window of La Petite Academy.

A woman sat motionless in a chair behind the front desk of the day care center at 330 Walnut Bend, and a man sat on the floor, slumped in a corner.

The officers forced their way in, carried the two outside and called the Memphis Fire Department rescue squad. The victims, believed to be husband and wife, were pronounced dead at the scene of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning.

They were contractors polishing the floor of the business with a propane-powered buffer at the time they were overcome. The buffer was still running when police got inside the building, homicide Lt. Joseph Scott said.

Police did not disclose the name of the victims or their company. Their van was found outside the Walnut Bend address.

Firefighters tested where the victims were found, and discovered carbon monoxide levels three times higher than what is considered safe, Scott said.


Arkansas Firefighter Dies After Surgery

Little Rock, AR -- An Arkansas firefighter died early this month from complications associated with surgery performed for a line-of-duty injury suffered more than one year ago.

North Little Rock Fire Department Captain Michael J. Bevans, 59, died on Nov. 6 after going into cardiac arrest, which was the result of arthroscopic shoulder surgery complications.

Bevans strained his left shoulder on June 6, 2004 while loading a patient into an ambulance. Since then, he had been on light duty for the department.


Truck driver killed in Route 80 accident

New York -- A New York truck driver was killed early Thursday morning after losing control of his tractor-trailer, which overturned in the middle of Route 80 in Allamuchy, New Jersey State Police said.

Milton Dela Cruz, 41, of the Corona section of the New York City borough of Queens, was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:15 a.m., approximately 90 minutes after the accident, police said.

He was trapped in the vehicle and wasn't wearing as seatbelt.


Kentucky Firefighter Killed in Accident

Paintsville, KY - A rural volunteer fire department in Kentucky is not running calls for the next few days to give members a chance to grieve for a fallen comrade.

Charles McKenzie, 75, was struck and killed late Wednesday night by the tanker he drove to a house fire, said West Van Lear Fire Chief Bill Robinson.


Construction worker dies in fall

Athens, GA -- A construction worker died Friday after a fall from the third floor of a condominium at Bay Hill Marina, said Assistant Coroner Andy Jackson.

Douglas Howard Searcy, 38, of Muscle Shoals was pronounced dead at the scene, Jackson said.

Searcy was working on the third floor of a condominium on an extension ladder when the ladder fell, taking him with it, according to Jackson.


Traffic collisions fatal for two men

LANCASTER, CA - A workman was killed when he was hit by a cement truck, and another man died in a separate collision - between two vehicles - Wednesday afternoon.

The workman, identified as 21-year-old Michael Belle of Lancaster, was working with a survey team on 60th Street West in front of a housing tract under construction when he was hit by the cement truck.

Sheriff's officials said they aren't sure about details. California Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were called in to investigate the cement-truck incident.


Fallen Bus Kills Tow Truck Driver

LINTHICUM, Md. -- An out-of-service interstate bus which was being hooked to a tow truck fell and crushed the truck's operator Wednesday, according to Maryland state police.

The accident between the Parkway and the Baltimore County line closed westbound Interstate-195 at the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

The tow truck operator was in the process of towing the bus when it unexpectedly rolled over on him, according to WJZ-TV reports.


Forklift operator killed at Wal-Mart

CRANSTON, R.I. -- A forklift operator was killed Thursday morning at a Wal-Mart store here in an apparent accident, police said.

Ronald A. Lopez, 29, was found unconscious on the forklift by another worker who was helping to move inventory, police said.

Lopez, who had worked for Wal-Mart for about 6 years, became pinned between the operator's cage of the forklift and its lifting mechanism, police said.

2005: The New England COSH Tour

Just got back from a very inspiring and energizing trip to New England where I spoke at the MassCOSH awards dinner in Boston and the annual Connecticosh conference the next morning in Hartford.

It's always good to get out of Washington, particularly since my current day-job doesn't provide for as much contact with workers and union members as my old AFSCME job did.

COSH groups, for those who don't know, are local coalitions of workers (union and non-union), unions, public health advocates and environmentalists who provide training and advocacy on a variety of different workplace safety, workers comp and labor issues. In addition to traditional workplace safety issues, COSH groups have been particularly active in training for immigrant and young workers. The COSH National Network coordinates the activities of the different COSH groups. They're funded by local unions, individual members, some foundations, and OSHA grants. The COSH groups received a sizable OSHA grant during the Clinton administration to address immigrant workers concerns which has survived until the present, despite the Bush administration's incessent attempt to kill OSHA's entire worker training program.

MassCOSH has active campaigns supporting immigrant and teen workers. The Teens Lead at Work Initiative uses a team of Youth Organizers to conduct workshops and other forums for peers to make them aware of their rights to a safe and healthy working environment and opportunities for advocacy and organizing to protect these rights.

One of the awardees at the MassCOSH banquet was Taciana Ribeiro Saab whose 16 year old son was killed in 2004 chasing a CVS shoplifter. She was become an activist and was awarded MassCOSH's Young Worker Justice Award. Other awardees were Byron de Leon who won the
Immigrant Worker Award of Courage, Lenore Azaroff winning the Health Tech Champion and Bill Allen who won the Buddy Adams award. Allen had recently been fired from city employment because he complained about the lack of confined space precautions. Massachusetts is one of 26 states without workplace safety protections for public employees. MassCOSH is also running a campaign to pass a bill that would provide public employee OSHA.

Next stop on the New England tour was Hartford for the Connecticosh annual meeting. The meeting was also attended by a large and spirited group of workplace safety activists. Connecticosh has also been around for over 20 years and has been active in

getting workers the right to know about chemical hazards, getting funding for worker education, establishing and supporting occupational health clinics, improving workers’ compensation, and fighting for issues such as getting rid of mandatory overtime, better health for migrant farmworkers, improved indoor air quality in schools, and reducing chemical exposures.

Let 1000 COSH's Bloom

Although speaking at these functions and spending a little time talking with people was, as I said, energizing and inspiring, it was also a bit depressing. On paper, there are 23 COSH groups, most on the East and West Coast -- with Detroit, Chicago, Houston and Arkansas filling in the middle. Many, like Masscosh and NYCOSH have several full time staff, while others exist only on a few kitchen tables.

I often receive letters from family members of workers who were killed on the job, people like Taciana Ribeiro Saab. Almost universally they tell me they want to do something to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else. They're angry, the feel frustrated and forgotten by OSHA, by the former employer, and often by the former union. In Boston, or Hartford or New York, or Houston there's someplace they can go, but in 33 states and dozens of metropolitan areas they're left with nothing. With the demise of the AFL-CIO's health and safety department and the downsizing of their staff, the low rate of unionization in this country, the vast majority of active workers, injured workers and families of the injured and dead have nowhere to turn.

The only things needed to form a COSH group are activists, organization and money, the latter being the most significant problem. But it can be done and many more COSH groups are needed.

If you're interested in starting a COSH group in your area, check out the National COSH's site on "Starting Your Own COSH Group."

Organizing Victory in Houston (Texas?)

Lots of travel, so slow blogging lately. A bit of catching up to do. As you've probably heard by now, 5,000 Houston janitors have won the right to begin negotiations with their employers for higher pay and benefits. The janitors currently earn an average hourly wage of $5.30 -- just 15 cents more than minimum wage -- and receive no health care benefits. And, as readers of Confined Space know, in addition to wage and benefit increases, the best thing about unions is also an enhanced ability to fight for safer working conditions.

Meanwhile, representatives of Locke Liddell & Sapp, Harriet Miers' (remember her?) old law firm, which headed up the anti-union campaign, predictably predicted that the sky would fall:

Bill Bux, head of the labor and employment law section at Locke Liddell & Sapp, said the next significant event in this campaign will be the reaction from building owners, once negotiations with the cleaning companies are finished.

In some cases, the cleaning companies have "cost-plus" contracts with building owners that could allow them to benefit from the high-wage costs, SEIU's Schlademan said. That means the cost to the building owners could rise.

Will the building owners pass along the increased costs to tenants or will they find another nonunion company? Bux asked. Many building leases have "pass through" provisions that allow the owners to automatically pass along increases in bills such as utilities and cleaning services to their tenants.

If the cost gets too high, some tenants may not be able to afford to stay when it's time to renew their lease, Bux said.

Small businesses that lease space in downtown high-rises will be especially hurt by the increased costs, "that'll go right to their bottom lines."

"This will hurt a lot of different groups," he said. "There are a lot of dynamics."

Now, I find this a bit hard to believe. Right now we're talking about 5,000 janitors making $5.50 an hour, which means that just a $1 an hour raise means a 20% raise. I haven't done the math, but I find it hard to believe that the oil-rich (and getting richer) economy of Houston can't absorb that without major hardship. And Bux admits that large firms such as his aren't about to move just because their janitorial bill goes up.

But, as Houston Chronicle labor reporter LM Sixel describes, the guessing game has already begun about what the union will get in terms of wage increases and/or health care benefits. Management is predicting not much, although SEIU points out that there is precident for significant improvement:

SEIU spokesman Andy McDonald said the union is getting health insurance for its members, along with significant wage hikes.

McDonald pointed to a union drive in Orange County, Calif., in which 2,000 janitors went from $5.15 an hour five years ago to $8.65 today. And the janitors who started with no health insurance and no benefits, now have paid family coverage, six paid holidays and one sick day.

Health care is a huge priority for the janitors — and it's something every Houstonian should be concerned with, McDonald said. Unless employers provide the coverage, taxpayers and businesses will continue to foot the bill for the uninsured.

There is, however, trouble in paradise. Relations between the Change to Win, of which SEIU is a member, and the AFL-CIO are continuing to deteriorate in Houston:

Conspicuously absent from Wednesday's event, however, were representatives of the Harris County AFL-CIO which had paved the way for SEIU when it quietly began planning its Justice for Janitors campaign two years ago.

The janitors need a union, said Richard Shaw, secretary-treasurer of the Harris County AFL-CIO. But he said SEIU, which left the federation in July along with three other unions, is betraying the labor federation in its efforts to recruit city government workers who have long been represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

But Shaw gave SEIU credit.

The last time labor had accomplished anything this big was 25 years ago, he said.

In the late 1970s, the AFL-CIO put $20 million toward the Houston Organizing Project, which brought significant gains among public school teachers and government employees.

Other stories and signficant blog contributions:

Steven Greenhouse in the New York Times thinks this is a tremendous victory of historic proporations:

In an era when unions typically face frustration and failure in attracting workers in the private sector, the Service Employees International Union is bringing in 5,000 janitors from several companies at once. With work force experts saying that unions face a slow death unless they can figure out how to organize private-sector workers in big bunches, labor leaders are looking to the Houston campaign as a model.

The service employees, which led a breakaway of four unions from the A.F.L.-C.I.O. last summer, has used several unusual tactics in Houston, among them lining up the support of religious leaders, pension funds and the city's mayor, Bill White, a Democrat. Making the effort even more unusual has been the union's success in a state that has long been hostile to labor.

"It's the largest unionization campaign in the South in years," said Julius Getman, a labor law professor at the University of Texas. "Other unions will say, 'Yes, it can be done here.' "

But Jonathan Tasini cautions that the number organized is small:

Now, not to rain on the parade of an important organizing drive, Greenhouse fails to put this in context, other than the usual analysis about what this means for organizing in the South: while 5,000 new members is nothing to sneeze at, we need to keep in mind that, as a whole, organized labor needs to recruit a NET of 1.5 million members a year to raise its overall density in the workforce by just ONE PERCENT. So, in essence, we need a Houston janitors' victory almost every day to grow the labor movement's power.

Nathan Newman, on the other hand, explains why the victory is much more significant than only 5,000 new members sounds, particularly because it took place in the underunionized South.

And in the shorter term, just think of the Houston janitors as a beachhead in hostile territory. We can sometime look at the numbers and forget how significant even a small union presence can be in an area with very little organizing at all. Do these numbers-- janitors pay dues of roughly $20 per month, or a bit over $200 per year. Multiply by 5000 and you suddenly have an organization with $1 million per year to promote organizing and political mobilization in the Houston area.

Add a few more around the region and you've added what will automatically become major new political and social institutions in regions that now lack them. Just by existing, the Houston janitors will be an example to other workers that they can organize and they can win even in the South-- a key message for any hope of labor revival.

So yes, 5000 Houston janitors is a tremendous victory of historic proportions.

Matt Stoller in MyDD discusses how money, organizing, media and leadership skills make labor indispensiable to the Democratic party and progressive movement:

Unions are an organized constituency group that can organize other groups into political coalitions that help Democrats; without them we lose. It's that simple. So while musing about car companies closing is important, using that fact to dismiss what could be a model for a newly unionized American workforce is incredibly foolish. If you are a liberal and you write off unions, you are writing your own political obituary. Also, if you consider that the future of political campaigns lies in door walks, the internet, and social organizations, labor unions look more and more important for any progressive coalition.

NJ Issues Chem Plant Safety Regs; Including Safer Technologies

I've written quite a bit over the last couple of years (see below) about the sorry state of chemical plant security in this post-9/11 world: the ease with which reporters have been able to "infiltrate" chemical plants, the assassination by the the American Chemical Council of New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine's bill which would have required plants to develop and implement security plans that include "inherently safety technologies," and the ACC's promotion of its "Responsible Care" guidelines as the model for national standards.

Well, the state of New Jersey has finally broken ground on this issue, becoming the first state to issue regulations requiring chemical plants to take measures to reduce their vulnerability to catastrophes resulting from terrorist attacks. The best part is that 43 (of the states 140 plants) using the most hazardous chemical are required to review the potential for adopting inherently safer technologies.

The 43 chemical facilities must analyze and report the feasibility of reducing the amount of material that potentially may be released, substituting less hazardous materials, using materials in the least hazardous process conditions or forms, and designing equipment and processes to minimize the potential for equipment failure and human error, according to the governor's news release.

Chemical plants have 120 days to complete review of chemical and security policies.

Not suprisingly, the New Jersey chemical industry is not pleased, claiming that they've already spent $100 million on plant security -- by which they mean guns, gates and guards, but not inherently safety technologies."

For reasons not clear to us, it seems the cooperative approach between the state and our sector is being abandoned," read a statement from the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, which represents about 100 manufacturers. "The prescriptive order seems to penalize early, responsible actors, while adding requirements that have little to do with security."

Well, if it's not clear, allow me to clarify. The benefits of inherently safer processes is that they reduce the target. Many experts argue that chemical plants are impossible to defend from a determined terrorist, but if there aren't large amounts of extremely hazardous chemical on site, then why bother attacking. Second, inherently safer processes protect not only against terrorists, but also against your garden variety Bhopal-type of accident.

The response from labor and environmental groups is mixed. Rick Engler, director of the NJ Work Environment Council said he was pleased with the inherently safer process part, but was upset that the regulations don't require management to share relevant documents with their unions.

Senator and soon-to-be Governor Jon Corzine was also pleased with the new regulations and promises to strengthen them when he becomes governor.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the U.S. Senate is considering national measures:

About one-fifth of the nation's chemical facilities are close to population centers. Homeland Security has identified 297 chemical facilities where a toxic release could affect 50,000 or more people.

Under the draft legislation, which may still be changed, chemical manufacturers would be required to assess potential security gaps and tailor specific solutions on a plant-by-plant basis. Both the assessments and solutions — which could include measures like surveillance cameras or limited access to certain areas — would then be submitted to Homeland Security for approval.

Chemical manufacturers would also be required to create or update existing emergency response plans.

Repeated failures to comply could lead the Homeland Security secretary to "issue an order for the chemical source to cease operation," according to the most recent draft of the legislation.

In turn, Homeland Security would be required to develop certain security standards for plants that would be grouped into tiers, based on the level of risk they pose to surrounding communities. The agency has identified about 3,400 plants it believes are of concern

A draft of the bill was obtained by the Associated Press. The legislation would set no specific minimum standards that the industry would have to meet in securing its facilities. The bill, written by Republicans, apparently has no requirements for inherently safer technologies, wich may be why it is being supported by the American Chemistry Council.

Related Articles

• 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
• Weapons of Mass Destruction Found -- In Our Backyards, November 17, 2003
• The War for Chemical Plant Safety, May 4, 2003