OSHA has released 2024 workplace injury and illness data collected from its Injury Tracking Application. Under federal recordkeeping rules, employers are required to electronically submit injury and illness data to OSHA.The data comes from 370,000 reports submitted on OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. In addition, OSHA has posted partial data from more than 732,000 OSHA Forms 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses and Form 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report records.
Providing access to injury and illness data will assist in identifying unsafe conditions and workplace hazards that may cause occupational injuries and illnesses. Recognizing these hazards will help detect ways to control or prevent them and reduce future injuries. At the core, making this data available protects workers and ensures their health and safety throughout their working day.
OSHA is taking additional steps to protect worker privacy by reviewing the remaining data for certain personally identifiable information. The agency will make additional data publicly available following the review.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in February published volume 135 of its monograph series, which evaluates the carcinogenicity of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and their corresponding isomers and salts. PFOA and PFOS are both per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, and are “extremely resistant to degradation,” according to IARC.PFOA has a wide range of uses, such as in surface coatings intended to make certain household products, carpets, textiles, leather products, and food packaging resistant to stains, oil, and water. Other uses include in fluoropolymer manufacture and applications, in electrics and electronics, and in construction materials, the agency notes. IARC’s monograph classifies PFOA as Group 1, carcinogenic to humans, due to “the combination of sufficient evidence for cancer in experimental animals and strong mechanistic evidence of key characteristics of carcinogens in exposed humans.”
PFOS, which has some similar uses to PFOA, falls into Group 2B and is possibly carcinogenic to humans, according to IARC. While there is “strong evidence that PFOS exhibits multiple key characteristics of carcinogens in exposed humans,” IARC found only “limited evidence” that it causes cancer in experimental animals and “inadequate evidence” for its carcinogenicity in humans. According to the agency, PFOS is used in aqueous film-forming foams for firefighting as well as in insulation, dyes, and ink. It is also used to make imaging devices and semiconductors, and in photolithography and electroplating.
Workers exposed to PFOA and PFOS include those who produce and use fluorochemicals and firefighters. According to NIOSH, ski wax technicians are also known to be exposed more than the general U.S. population.
An infographic accompanying the monograph explains that current uses of PFOA and PFOS are limited by the Stockholm Convention, a global treaty intended to protect human health and the environment from these and other persistent organic pollutants, and other regulations. The Stockholm Convention was adopted in 2001, entered into force in 2004, and today there are 186 parties to the convention. The U.S. signed the convention in 2001 but has not ratified it “because we currently lack the authority to implement all of its provisions,” according to the Department of State website.
A U.S. EPA rule that went into effect in July 2024 designates both PFOA and PFOS, including their salts and structural isomers, as hazardous substances under CERCLA, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, which is also known as Superfund. The chemicals’ designation as CERCLA hazardous substances means that entities responsible for PFOA and PFOS must inform federal, state, and local authorities of any release of these chemicals that meets or exceeds the “reportable quantity” of one pound in a 24-hour period.
“The latest science is clear: exposure to PFOA and PFOS over long periods of time can result in significant health risks,” an EPA webpage with questions and answers about the CERCLA designation states. “If not addressed, PFOA and PFOS will continue to migrate, further exacerbating exposure risk and potential cleanup costs.”
EPA Regional Administrator Kevin McOmber, leadership from the Florida Department of Protection, Escambia County, Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) Executive Director Mary Walker, and senior advisors visited restoration projects along the Gulf Coast to mark the 15th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and learn about ongoing efforts to restore the impacted coastal areas.One such restoration project is the Pensacola Bay Living Shoreline Project, a large-scale project funded by the RESTORE Council, the U.S. Department of Defense, the State of Florida, and the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, to address erosion and habitat loss across three sites near the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.
“We are pleased to be part of the efforts to restore areas along the Gulf of America Coast, an area that not only serves as a recreational resource but also an economic driver for the area,” said EPA Regional Administrator Kevin McOmber. “We are grateful for this opportunity to see firsthand the important efforts of the RESTORE Council, Escambia County, and Florida Department of Environmental Protection to restore this vital coastline.”
“We are excited to be part of the work that is taking place here in Escambia County and in communities across the Gulf Coast to restore and protect the region’s beautiful natural resources. The Pensacola Living Shoreline project is an excellent example of the priority that RESTORE Council members place on maximizing the benefits of investments by working collaboratively and leveraging funds with other restoration partners,” said Mary Walker, RESTORE Council Executive Director. “Through partnership and collaboration, we are making significant strides in restoring the Gulf Coast’s invaluable ecosystems, ensuring that the region will be resilient and vibrant for future generations."
EPA, in coordination with federal, state and local partners, will continue to provide a wide range of expertise in water quality, marine debris, wetland restoration, and non-point source nutrient reduction to support the Deepwater Horizon Planning efforts and long-term restoration projects.
The U.S. Department of Labor has cited Wilkes-Barre roofing contractor Luis Alberto-Reyna Avila for exposing workers to dangerous falls and workplace hazards at a Lackawanna County worksite.The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection of Avila’s business, 3 Guys Home Improvement Inc., in September 2024, after receiving an imminent danger complaint alleging worker exposure to fall hazards. The agency cited the company for two willful violations for lack of fall protection and failure to ensure the use of personal protection equipment and 10 serious violations for improper labeling on flammable containers, working near energized power circuits and improper use of ladders. Due to the operator’s history of violations, the company has been added to OSHA’s Severe Violators Enforcement Program.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and 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.
Aghorn Operating Inc., an oilfield company, Trent Day, an executive of Aghorn, and Kodiak Roustabout Inc., entered guilty pleas and were sentenced yesterday in relation to criminal worker safety and federal clean air and safe drinking water violations. According to court documents, Aghorn owns and operates oil wells in and near Odessa, Texas. Odessa is in the Permian basin where oil reserves are “sour,” meaning they have high hydrogen sulfide content. Hydrogen sulfide gas can be deadly at high concentrations.The case leading to these pleas is the result of an investigation of the Oct. 26, 2019, death of Aghorn employee Jacob Dean and his wife Natalee Dean. Both were overcome by hydrogen sulfide at an Aghorn facility in Odessa.
Day agreed to plead guilty to a Clean Air Act (CAA) negligent endangerment charge and serve five months in prison. Aghorn pleaded guilty to CAA negligent endangerment and an Occupational Safety and Health Act willful violation count for the death of Jacob Dean. Kodiak pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act for falsifying oil well integrity tests. Aghorn will pay a $1 million criminal fine and Kodiak will pay a $400,000 criminal fine. These pleas were made under agreements the defendants entered into with the United States. Under the agreements, other pending charges will be dismissed. Yesterday, the court accepted the defendants’ guilty pleas and sentenced them in accordance with their plea agreements.
“Through these guilty pleas, the defendants accept responsibility for allowing hazards that should have been prevented,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “If they had done what the law requires, Jacob and Natalee might still be with us today. The Justice Department can’t stand by when employers put workers at such risk.”
“Energy production is vital, but it must be done competently and lawfully,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Operators who gravely endanger and kill others and those who lie to the government will be held accountable for their criminal conduct. EPA’s criminal investigation of these tragic deaths led to today’s plea deal.”
According to a factual statement accepted by Day and Aghorn, Jacob Dean responded to a call to check a pump at an Aghorn facility. There, he encountered deadly hydrogen sulfide gas, was overcome, and died. His wife, Natalee Dean, knew where Jacob had gone and started calling him when he did not return in a timely manner. When those calls went unanswered, Natalee drove to the facility. When Natalee arrived at the facility, she was also overcome while looking for Jacob and died.
Trent Day admitted that he should have controlled hydrogen sulfide emissions as part of his duties and that because he did not, he placed others in imminent danger of death. Aghorn admitted the same criminal negligence and to a separate charge that it willfully violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act regulations requiring companies to implement respiratory protection programs to address hazards like those at the facility. In addition to paying a $1 million fine, the company will maintain a set of improvements it made after the tragedy during its period of probation.
The investigation also uncovered false statements by Kodiak about injection well testing related to Aghorn’s oil operations. The mechanical integrity of an injection well must be evaluated by conducting pressure tests. These tests are part of programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act to prevent leaks from those wells. Such leaks could, under some circumstances, contaminate groundwater. In its plea agreement, Kodiak admitted that it sent forms and charts to the Texas Railroad Commission, claiming they were tests for specific wells when Kodiak knew they were not actual records of tests of those wells. Kodiak, in addition to its $400,000 fine, will guarantee that at least 33 tests conducted for Aghorn wells during its year of probation are witnessed or conducted by a third party.
The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. The Justice Department and EPA would like to thank the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Railroad Commission, Ector County Environmental, and the Odessa Fire Department for their support of the investigation.
Senior Trial Attorney Christopher Costantini, Trial Attorney Mark Romley, and Assistant Section Chief Thomas T. Ballantine of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.
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