Source: https://www.usatoday.com, October 18, 2019 By: Kristin Lam Washington state investigators on Thursday fined three companies involved in a crane collapse that killed four people in Seattle in April, determining workers failed to follow manufacturer instructions. Workers disassembling the construction crane removed pins holding together sections too quickly, officials said, and wind gust toppled the unsteady tower onto traffic below.  Read more.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com, October 20, 2019 By: Doha Madani A fourth person has died in a Legionnaires’ outbreak that’s been linked to a hot tub display at a North Carolina state fair last month. Nearly 150 people who attended the N.C. Mountain State Fair were sickened in addition to the four fatalities, according to an update Friday from […]

Source: https://www.environmentalleader.com, October 16, 2019 By: Jennifer Nastu In the largest ever settlement of a Clean Water Act suit brought by private individuals, petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics Corp. has agreed to pay $50 million to fund environmental mitigation in the region around its Point Comfort facility in Calhoun County, Texas. The company – whose Point Comfort, […]

Source: https://www.chicoer.com, October 17, 2019 By: Camille Von Kaenel At least 17 wells in Chico and Oroville have traces of toxic chemicals linked to cancer, according to new state testing released Monday. The testing is part of a multi-year effort by California to regulate the class of chemicals, called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and perfluorooctanoic acids — […]

Source: Associated Press, October 16, 2019 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com At first, teachers at Sky Valley Education Center simply evacuated students and used fans to clear the air when the fluorescent lights caught fire or smoked with noxious fumes. When black oil dripped onto desks and floors, they caught leaks with a bucket and duct-taped oil-stained […]

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 2019 Posted on: https://www.advisen.com Philadelphia dodged several potential catastrophes during a dramatic June 21 refinery blast, which released about 5,239 pounds of a deadly chemical and launched pieces of shrapnel as large as a truck hurtling across the 1,300-acre refinery complex, according to federal findings released Wednesday. Read more.

Source: https://www.wwltv.com, October 16, 2019 By: David Hammer As authorities shifted Wednesday from rescue operations to safely tearing down the dangling wreckage of a half-built Hard Rock Hotel, theories began to take hold over just what compromised the concrete slabs that rose in tiers above Canal and North Rampart streets until they pancaked Saturday morning, […]

Source: https://www.thedenverchannel.com, October 10, 2019 Officials in Michigan are investigating a possible outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a hospital just north of Detroit. Officials with the Macomb County Health Department and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service have identified seven possible cases of Legionnaires’ disease at McLaren Macomb Hospital. Read more.

Source: https://phys.org, October 16, 2019 By: Tammy Webber At first, teachers at Sky Valley Education Center simply evacuated students and used fans to clear the air when the fluorescent lights caught fire or smoked with noxious fumes. When black oil dripped onto desks and floors, they caught leaks with a bucket and duct-taped oil-stained carpets. […]

Source: https://www.propertycasualty360.com, October 16, 2019 By: Joseph Nawa Design-build has become an ever-growing phenomenon within the commercial building industry. As reported on the Design Build Industry of America (DBIA) website, “over half of owners have already or will use design-build in the next five years.” This also represents approximately 44% of the construction spending expected […]

Source: https://www.lexology.com, October 11, 2019 By: Christine A. Jochim, Andrew L. Meyers and Rick D. Thomas, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP Colorado Issues New Draft Dewatering and Remediation Permits The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has issued draft general permits addressing groundwater discharges for new and existing projects. As drafted, the new […]

Source: https://www.wwltv.com, October 14, 2019 Rescue workers and search dogs moved gingerly through a dangerously unstable, partially collapsed hotel in New Orleans on Monday in a risky search for the only person still missing after the structure partially collapsed. Two people are known to have died in the Saturday disaster and more than 20 were hurt. […]