Union Safety

Safety Coordinator Dennis Barker

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Another Agency Probing Clairton Coke Blast

Another federal agency has joined the investigation of an explosion at a Pittsburgh-area coke plant that injured 20 workers last week. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has sent a three-person team to U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works to determine whether that agency will conduct a full investigation. The board is charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The explosion occored on July 14th.

USS Plant explosion near Pittsburgh injures 15, official says

Authorities got a 911 call shortly after 9:30 a.m. reporting the blast at the United States Steel Corp. plant.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• 15 people were hurt in a coke plant explosion, an emergency spokesman says
• Most of the injuries are burn-related
• One person had to be transported by helicopter to a Pittsburgh-area hospital
• Clairton Coke plant is the largest coke manufacturing facility in the United States

(CNN) -- An explosion and fire at a U.S. Steel plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania, Wednesday injured at least 15 people, an Allegheny County Emergency Management spokesman told CNN.

Kevin Evanto said authorities got a 911 call shortly after 9:30 a.m. reporting the blast at the United States Steel Corporation's Clairton Plant, which the company says is the largest coke manufacturing facility in the United States.

"It appears one of the coke ovens at the plant exploded," Evanto said.

Most of the injuries are burn-related, he said, although one person was taken to the hospital with chest pains. Victims are being treated at various hospitals in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, Evanto added, with one person being transported by helicopter.

"At this point, we believe everybody is accounted for," the spokesman said.

The United States Steel Corporation told CNN in an e-mail Wednesday it is investigating the incident.

"U. S. Steel's Security & Fire Protection Services personnel are working with local emergency responders," wrote company spokeswoman Erin DiPietro. "We will assess the extent of repairs and impact on operations at a later time."

The plant has 12 coke oven batteries that produce approximately 4.7 million tons of coke annually, according to the United States Steel Corporation website. The ovens heat coal at extremely high temperatures to carbonize it so it becomes coke -- a fuel used for producing steel.

Fire crews were still on the scene at midday, extinguishing remaining flames, Evanto said.

Video from CNN affiliate WPXI showed ambulances and emergency crews in front of the coke plant. It also showed a side of the facility that was missing an entire wall, with cinder blocks strewn across a wide area.

The plant is located about 15 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Three Workers Injured In Mittal 'Explosion' –

District 7

ArcelorMittal and union officials are investigating what led to an "explosion" on the east side of the Indiana Harbor integrated steelmaking complex Thursday morning. Three employees were injured in the No. 4 Steel Producing area when rain water runoff entered an iron ladle causing a reaction, a company spokeswoman confirmed. The incident happened about 8:30 a.m., said Tom Hargrove, president of United Steelworkers Local 1010. The ladle, which is similar to a brick-lined tub, contained molten iron and was sitting outside.

Worker Safety: Compliance comes first

Labor secretary, lawmakers make it clear that worker safety will not take a back seat to profits……….. 

Washington — Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration vowed to strengthen workplace safety laws and step up their enforcement, moving away from the Bush administration’s belief in voluntary compliance. 

      Labor Secretary Hilda Solis drew loud applause at a worker memorial event as she dismissed the previous administration’s “ideological response” and called for a new direction. “Let me be clear: The Department of Labor is back in the enforcement business,” Solis said. “No one in America should go to work fearful for their health and safety.”

      In Solis’ remarks, she announced initiatives that include a program targeting severe violators of workplace safety regulations. Solis had previously announced the hiring of as many as 250 new Labor Department investigators.

       Under her watch, OSHA “will be about workers, not voluntary programs and alliances,” she said, speaking before dozens of labor leaders and workers at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md. Where they had gathered for the groundbreaking of a memorial for workers killed on the job.

“The government has a fundamental responsibility to protect workers,” she said.

Much of the debate over OSHA will play out in Congress, where Democrats have tried unsuccessfully in recent years to update the three-decade-old Occupational Safety and Health Act.  A House bill authored by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., beefs up civil fines on employers who violate safety laws. Maximum fines would increase from $70,000 to $120,000 for willful violations, and from $7,000 to $12,000 for serious violations. The legislation also would create a felony category for criminal violations and provide a mechanism for accident victims and families to have a say in penalties.

       Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, plans to offer a similar bill. However, the Senate is also considering legislation tightly focused on just two areas — penalties and victims’ rights. Streamlined legislation could pass more swiftly in the Senate, where Republicans have opposed sweeping OSHA legislation.

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UNION SAFETY COMMITTEE CONTACT INFORMATION:

MEMBER_________ZONE__________NUMBER

Dennis Barker                    Chairman                           451-4086
Jack Illies                             Zone 16                              451-4576
Ryan Crisler                        Zone 30                              451-3080
Don Ogle                              Zone 67                              451-3637
Mike Hargrave                    Unit 9325                            451-3127
Tom Howard                       Unit 4063                               N/A
Russell Knight                    Local 68                             451-3706

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Your Rights When Injured:

1. You have the right to choose the medical provider of your choice for emergency medical services. (Emergency and first aid care is not considered one of the employees' two choices of doctors).

2. You have the ABSOLUTE right to the doctor of your choice.

3. Your employer must pay you tax exempt compensation benefits weekly.

4. You have a right to file a claim for permanent disability depending on nature of injury.

ALSO REMEMBER YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO UNION REPRESENTATION AT VEEDER "HEALTH CENTER" WHEN BEING QUESTIONED! 

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Safety Important Websites:

Working without proper protective equipment is unsafe... and can get you in trouble.  Don't get caught without it!  Have safety questions on the job?  Ask your Union Safety Rep!