Image via WikipediaThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the
David H. Koch Theater, located at the
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan, for alleged repeat and serious violations of
workplace health and safety standards. The theater faces a total of $51,000 in proposed fines, chiefly for asbestos, fall and crushing hazards identified during an OSHA
inspection prompted by worker complaints.
OSHA's inspection found that employees of the theater and of outside contractors had not been informed of the presence of asbestos-containing and potentially
asbestos-containing materials in the theater's promenade area and in nearby electrical closets. The materials had not been labeled and asbestos warning signs had not been posted.
In addition, an exit door was stuck and unable to be used, and a portable fire extinguisher was not mounted. As these conditions were similar to those cited by OSHA during a 2009 inspection of the theater, they resulted in the agency issuing the theater four repeat citations with $45,000 in proposed fines. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
"The recurrence of these conditions is disturbing," said Kay Gee, OSHA's Manhattan area director. "For the health and safety of its employees as well as outside contractors, the theater must take effective steps to identify and permanently eliminate these and other hazards identified during this latest OSHA inspection."
OSHA also found that, due to a lack of guarding, theater employees were exposed to falls into the orchestra pit when the stage was raised above the pit, and to being struck or crushed by the stage when it descended into the pit. These conditions, plus the use of temporary wiring in place of permanent lighting in the promenade area, resulted in OSHA also issuing the theater three serious citations with $6,000 in proposed fines. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
"One means of eliminating hazards such as these is for employers to establish an illness and injury prevention program, in which workers and management jointly work to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions on a continual basis," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.
The theater has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Manhattan Area Office, telephone 212-620-3200. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
Image via Wikipedia A recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives called "Road Traffic and Childhood Leukemia: The ESCALE Study (SFCE)" indicated an increased risk of childhood leukemia among children that lived close to heavy-traffic roads. Published in Environmental Health Perspectives on December 8, 2010, the research used the national registry-based case-control study (ESCALE) carried out in France. Over the study period, 2003-2004, 763 cases and 1681 controls less than 15 years old were included and the controls were frequency matched with the cases on age and gender. The study showed acute leukemia was significantly associated with estimates of traffic nitrogen dixode (NO2) concentration at the place of residence greater than 27.7µg/m3 compared to NO2 concentration less than 21.9µg/m3 and with the presence of a heavy-traffic road within 500 meters compared to the absence of a heavy-traffic road in the same area. The basic conclusion of the study was that it supports the hypothesis that living close to heavy-traffic roads may increase the risk of childhood leukemia. 
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