By: David Slaugenhoup Since September 23, 2017, OSHA has been enforcing the revised exposure limits for respirable crystalline silica.  On an annual basis, it is estimated the new limits will impact 2 million construction workers across 600,000 workplaces and save more than 600 lives and $7.7 Billion in associated costs. The regulation has some bite […]

Source: http://www.berkleycp.com, June 26, 2018 By: Raymond F.H. Bustamante The rules of engagement have changed drastically.In recent years, the construction industry has moved rapidly from what were clearly defined stand-alone roles of design-bid-build project delivery methods to the faster-paced design/build, public-private partnership (P3) and integrated project delivery (IPD) models. Along with this shift came a […]

Source: https://www.wxyz.com, July 16, 2018 Wayne State University officials say they are working to eliminate the Legionella bacteria that has been found in a number of buildings on campus. However, they say that while much of the contamination has been remediated, work still needs to be done on several facilities, including the Towers Residence Suites and the […]

Source: https://www.sunherald.com, July 17, 2018 By: Anita Lee Eleven military families are suing the companies that own and manage Keesler Air Force Base housing over “toxic mold” that continued to grow in their homes after the companies responded to complaints with inadequate remedies, including cleanup with soap and water, the lawsuits say. Five of the […]

Source: https://www.fireengineering.com, July 17, 2018 By: Gregory Haval In a “Construction Concerns” article from February 21, 2018, discussed complacency and hubris and their effects on emergency incident outcomes. “Complacency” was defined as “satisfaction with a perception of a situation that is not based on reality.” “Hubris” was defined as “self-confidence beyond the level of competence,” eaning […]

Source: https://cooperator.com, July 16, 2018 By: David Chiu Cooling Towers Have Been Linked to the Disease The New York City Department of Health announced last week that it is investigating several cases of Legionnaire’s disease in the lower Washington Heights section of Manhattan. As of July 15, there were 16 people diagnosed with the condition in […]

Source: https://www.insurancejournal.com, July 5, 2018 By: Emery P. Dalesio A federal jury in North Carolina has punished the world’s largest pork producer, deciding Smithfield Foods should pay two neighbors more than $25 million for unreasonable nuisances they suffered from odors, flies and rumbling trucks after an industrial-scale hog grower expanded near their home. The case, […]

Source: New York Times Online, June 25, 2018 Posted on: http://www.advisen.com Bourbon is flowing in Kentucky, but don’t grab a glass. Thousands of full barrels of bourbon, and possibly other spirits, came crashing down when a storage warehouse in Bardstown, Ky., partly collapsed on Friday. The collapse at the Barton 1792 Distillery campus was called […]

Source: AFP World News, June 5, 2018 Posted on: http://www.advisen.com Animal rescue workers on Monday were frantically cleaning hundreds of birds after an oil spill in the Rotterdam harbour at the weekend, when an oil tanker hit a jetty dumping some 200 tonnes of bunker fuel. The Norwegian tanker Bow Jubail on Saturday crashed against […]

Source: https://www.constructiondive.com, July 6, 2018 By: Kim Slowey Dive Brief: The Sacramento Kings’ development group, SG Downtown LLC, filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court on July 3 against Swinerton Builders, the general contractor for the team’s 16-story downtown Sacramento hotel and condo tower, alleging breach of contract. SG claims, according to The Sacramento Bee, that […]

Source: https://www.theguardian.com, July 12, 2018 The center, which opened in March, suffered previous subsoil slides. No injuries were reported A newly opened shopping mall in Mexico City has partly collapsed after structural problems apparently led the mall’s operators to evacuate the area. No casualties were reported. Videos posted on social media show a cantilevered, multi-storey section of […]

Dive Brief: Kofi Bonner, co-chief operating officer of Five Point Holdings, developer of the Hunters Point Shipyard/Candlestick Point project on and around the site of a former U.S. Navy shipyard in San Francisco, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the project will be delayed for years due to uncertainty around potentially radioactive soil that is scaring off […]