Posts Tagged ‘waste’

New Health Wonk Review; other news notes

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

If you find the task of following breaking news developments on the health care reform front a trifle daunting, we have a solution: let the health policy blogosphere’s best braniacs dish up and dissect the news for you in bite size portions in the bi-weekly compendium of the best of heath care policy posts. Check out the fresh edition of Health Wonk Review: Crunch Time For Health Reform hosted by Ken Terry at BNET Healthcare Blog.
And in other news:
MHSAThe Pump Handle tells us that Joe Main has been nominated for Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health and posts some info on his background.
Taking the industry economic pulse – With another quarter in the year under our belt, several industry watchers have taken the pulse of the industry’s health. In Business Insurance, Roberto Ceniceros reports that a tough climate is shaping up for workers comp. Among the many problems he notes, he reports that sources have told him that “…rising bankruptcies have insurers concerned that defunct businesses may not pay all their premiums and leave their insurer stuck with claims that should have been paid by the company.” Risk and Insurance features an article on a report from Fitch Ratings which discusses the challenges that the workers compensation market is facing in 2009. According to the report, underwriting performance is expected to worsen in 2009 as rate reductions persist. And we’ve recently noted grim news in the industry at large: first quarter of 2009 was the worst on record for property casualty insurers since quarterly results were first compiled in 1986.
Training – Eric at The Safety Blog reports that OSHA is targeting fraudulent trainers in construction and general industries and is working to strengthen their trainer authorization program. They will be conducting more surprise visits to independent training centers to check for compliance with program requirements. Trainers are authorized to teach and to do outreach training only after completion of a one-week course in an OSHA Training Institute Education Center. Learn more about training certifcation: OSHA Outreach Training Program.
H1N1Lloyd’s warns that pandemics continue to pose a threat to companies – Many feel the flu publicity and warnings earlier in the year were overstated because up until now, the manifestations of the flu have been very mild. According to WHO, there have been 429 fatalities out of 95,412 cases. Yet Lloyd’s points out that it has been having a devastating economic impact on some businesses and notes that, “Up to now flu cases have been relatively mild; however, Lloyd’s warned that “health officials worry that swine flu could mutate during the southern hemisphere winter and return in a more virulent form in the northern hemisphere this winter.” Keep up to date on any developments at Flu.gov.
Waste treatment fatalities – More on last week’s three fatalities at Regal Recycling: Old Story in Waste Removal: A Worker Collapses, Then Rescuers Do: “Dr. Hendrickson and two co-researchers found that in 42 incidences of workers’ dying of hydrogen sulfide toxicity between 1993 and 1997, more than one-fifth involved multiple deaths, including co-workers killed while trying to rescue a colleague. In all, 52 workers died over that period. The deaths have mounted despite strict standards governing work in confined spaces set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.”
And in another waste treatment plant, a worker recently died of burns suffered in an explosion that occurred while he was cleaning a tanker at CES Environmental Services in Houston. The death was the third at a regional CES operation since December, unleashing criticism from area residents, activists and city officials, who are looking to shut down the plant.
Useful Twitter feeds
@govsites – A searchable directory of any nation’s Government sites on Twitter
@NIOSH – The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
@usdol – Jobs, employment, workforce, safety, labor, government 2.0 issues & regulations news and information from the US Department of Labor
@Disabilitygov – Official U.S. Government Web site for People with Disabilities
@CCOHS – Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
@FluGov – One-stop access to U.S. Government H1N1, avian and pandemic flu information
@VHAVeterans – Veterans Health Administration in the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
@usfire – Official Twitter account of the U.S. Fire Administration – Working for a Fire-Safe America

Putrescible Waste

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

There are certain aspects of civilized life that few of us want to experience directly. Once our garbage has disappeared from the curbside, we are unlikely to give it any further thought. We have little curiousity about the desolate environments where this garbage is taken. But some folks work in these places, such as the ironically-named Regal Recycling Company on Douglas Ave, Jamaica, Queens. New York Times writer Robert McFadden describes the location as “an ugly street of waste plants, garbage scows and sheds enclosed by chain-link and topped by fluttering American flags.”
A manhole-size, 18 foot deep well at Regal was the sight of a terrible accident earlier this week. S. Dahan Piping and Heating Corporation was hired to clean the manhole. They apparently were not alerted to the hazard of poisonous gases in the well. First, Harel Dahan, son of the owner, climbed into the well’s three foot diameter opening and disappeared. His father – we can only imagine his desperate concern for his son – followed him down and did not return. Finally, a Regal employee named Rene Rivas entered the well to help out.
All three workers were quickly killed by the high level of hydrogen sulfide in the confined air of the well. Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic and flammable gas. Being heavier than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Although very pungent at first, it quickly deadens the sense of smell, so potential victims may be unaware of its presence until it is too late. Exposure to 50 parts per million can be lethal within 10 minutes. The level in the well measured an astounding 200 parts per million.
A Firefighter from the rescue squad named Robert Lagnese recovered the bodies. He wore protective clothing and an enclosed breathing apparatus.
Hydrogen sulfide is a by-product of decomposing organic matter. (Here is a five page MSDS sheet for anyone interested.) At this point, no one is sure how the gas accumulated in the well. When trucks enter the facility, they empty their contents into two categories of waste: “putrescible” and “non-putrescible.” It is the former that generates the poisonous gas.
When Shlomo Dahan arrived at Regal, he expected to find a routine job of pumping out a well. He was not aware of any immanent danger. It’s clear that Regal employee Rene Rivas was also unaware of – and untrained in – the danger. Regal handles tons of “putrescible” waste, but apparently had no awareness of the accompanying dangers.
We are left with a chain of doomed, heroic actions: Harel Dahan’s collapse in the well, followed by the rescue attempts of his father and of Rivas. It should never have happened. But let’s face it. We all want the debris of our civilized lives to be removed from our sight as quickly as possible. No one wants to look at – or smell – garbage. What happens to it after it’s removed is someone else’s business.