Study suggests on-site rescue personnel needed

Many employers are mistakenly relying upon public fire departments to rescue workers from confined spaces, such as water and sewer pipes, manholes and tunnels, according to an analysis by University of California, Berkeley, health researchers of hundreds of deaths in the United States over 13 years.

Since fire crews need time to evaluate the hazards at a specific site, companies should instead have rescue personnel stationed at the entrance of potentially dangerous confined spaces who can pull workers out more quickly in an emergency, the study concludes.

http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/02/13/confined-spaces/

[Added note: Study published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, available to AIHA members].

Canadian asbestos study criticized

A major 40-year study on asbestos safety completed by a group of scientists at McGill University is flawed, lacks transparency and contains manipulated data says Dr. David Egilman, a professor at Brown University, health activist and longtime industry critic. (.....more)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/01/asbestos-study-mcgill.html

Drake Hall update

Inspection of Drake Hall following the January 29th fire that forced the evacuation of all residents has revealed that damage repair will take 2-3 months. Consequently, all Drake Hall residents will need to relocate for the remainder of the spring semester. UW-La Crosse hopes to see Drake Hall ready for re-occupancy in early June.

As of Monday morning, 132 Drake Hall residents had officially checked out of their rooms. Many other rooms are cleared of possessions except for a few items, and not officially cleared for checked out. Students have accepted housing assignments in other residence halls, the Western Residence Hall and Viterbo University. Others have moved to apartments, hotels or will commute from home.

Further updates from UW-La Crosse are here.

Felony Charges Sought in UCLA Lab Assistant Death

Jan 26, 2012 1:33 PM, By Laura Walter 

From http://ehstoday.com/

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has filed felony charges against the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and chemistry professor Dr. Patrick Harran in connection to the January 2009 death of a university lab research associate. 

On Dec. 29, 2008, 23-year-old Sheri Sangji sustained fatal second- and third-degree burns while working a lab research associate at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). According to a 2009 Cal/OSHA report, Sangji was working to transfer a t-Butyllithium, a highly reactive liquid reagent, when her syringe plunger became separated from the barrel. The reacting chemical spilled onto Sangji and caught fire, leaving her with burns over 43 percent of body. She died 18 days later.   (More...)

Dorm fire: Drake Hall, UW-La Crosse

Early Sunday morning a fire broke out in a basement lounge of Drake Hall at UW-La Crosse. Building residents were roused by the fire alarm, and all residents were successfully evacuated. Residents have been temporarily relocated until Drake Hall has been deemed safe for habitation.

News from the campus

News from the local paper

Supreme Court Will Hear RCRA Case

The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear a case in which Southern Union, a Texas-based natural gas distributor, was convicted in a U.S. District Court of criminally violating RCRA by knowingly storing 140 pounds of waste mercury without a RCRA permit for over two years in a dilapidated facility in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. While the case is based in an alleged RCRA violation, the Supreme Court is primarily interested in how a lower court ruling that defends the authority of a judge, rather than a jury, to determine the number of days the company was in violation comports with case law.

The case involves two legal arguments. First, whether U.S. EPA had the authority to enforce a Rhode Island regulation that requires that conditionally exempt small quality generators (CESQG) obtain hazardous waste permits. Rhode Island is authorized by EPA to run its own hazardous waste regulatory program. Under RCRA, Rhode Island may also issue regulations that are more stringent than the federal baseline program, which it did with the CESQG permitting requirement. Southern Union asserted that EPA was not legally empowered to enforce Rhode Island’s CESQG provision because it is not part of a federally enforceable state plan. The company also argued that EPA has been “irrationally” inconsistent in its prior pronouncements of EPA's position on the regulation of CESQGs and on which state regulations will receive federal authorization. (More....)

Integrating safety into green building design

UW-Milwaukee Cambridge Commons green roof

Green buildings are intended to do good – conserve energy, protect the environment and improve the health of occupants. But some green systems are putting people who install and maintain them in harm's way. A researcher at University of Massachusetts – Lowell found an increased risk of occupational safety and health hazards for five common green building features – geothermal wells, green roofs, rainwater harvesting systems, energy recovery wheels and natural light percolating systems. The research also offered ways for architects to integrate safety into green building features. Read more...

http://www.uml.edu/News/stories/2011-12/Mohomed-Work-Environment.aspx