OSHA’s Top 10 Violations

 

No. 1 Violation: Fall Protection

Fall Protection once again retains its number one position on this important list. These violations are associated with the Fall Protection rules of OSHA 1926.501, which sets forth requirements for employers to provide fall protection systems for its employees.

There were a total of 6,143 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 2 Violation: Hazard Communication

Hazard Communication remained in the number two position. The purpose of this group of rules is to ensure the hazards of all chemicals produced or imported are classified — and that information concerning the classified hazards is properly transmitted to employers and employees. The requirements of 1910.1200 are consistent with the provisions of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), Revision 3.

There were a total of 5,161 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 3 Violation: Scaffolding

Violations related to Scaffolding use are still widespread across many industries. It’s important to note that the rules of 1926.451 do not apply to aerial lifts, the criteria for which are set out exclusively in 1926.453.

There were a total of 4,029 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 4 Violation: Respiratory Protection

The rules of 1910.134, which focus on Respiratory Protection, applies to General Industry (part 1910), Shipyards (part 1915), Marine Terminals (part 1917), Longshoring (part 1918), and Construction (part 1926). Violations associated with respiratory protection requirements apply to many different trades in the construction industry as well as plant/facility workers.

Overall, there were 3,223 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 5 Violation: Lockout/Tagout

This was the biggest mover on this year’s list. It jumped up three positions from the 2013 ranking. Lockout/Tagout rules are vitally important for many different types of employees. Standard 1910.147 establishes minimum performance requirements for the control of such hazardous energy. This standard covers the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment in which the unexpected energization or startup of the machines or equipment — or release of stored energy — could harm employees.

There were a total of 2,704 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 6 Violation: Powered Industrial Trucks

Although violations associated with Powered Industrial Trucks don’t often come to mind when thinking about electrical work, OSHA issues a lot of citations in this area. Section 1910.178 contains safety requirements relating to fire protection, design, maintenance, and use of fork trucks, tractors, platform lift trucks, motorized hand trucks, and other specialized industrial trucks powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines.

There were a total of 2,662 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 7 Violation: Electrical Wiring Methods

The good news here is that this “electrically focused” category dropped down two positions on this year’s listing. Section 1910.305 focuses on Electrical Wiring Methods, components, and equipment for general use. It does not, however, apply to conductors that are an integral part of factory-assembled equipment.

There were a total of 2,490 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 8 Violation: Ladders

Section 1926.1053 applies to all Ladders, including job-made ladders. These rules apply to many different plants/facilities as well as all types of construction sites.

There were a total of 2,448 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 9 Violation: Machine Guarding

As noted in 1910.212, one or more methods of Machine Guarding shall be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks. Examples of guarding methods include barrier guards, two-hand tripping devices, and electronic safety devices.

There were a total of 2,200 violations issued in this category.

 

No. 10 Violation: General Electrical Requirements

In another bit of good news on the electrical front, violations related to General Electrical Requirements dropped down one position from last year’s list to round out the top ten listing. 1910.303 focuses on the proper installation and use of electrical conductors and equipment.

There were a total of 2,056 violations issued in this category.

 

 

In a first, a man receives a whole eye transplant after surviving high-voltage electric shock

 

Aaron James with his family in October, 2023, five months after his operation. James was the first patient to receive a whole-eye transplant.

 

The eye transplant, which was combined with a partial face transplant, did not restore vision. Experts still say it is a groundbreaking achievement. Surgeons at NYU Langone Health have completed the world’s first whole eye transplant, a groundbreaking advancement many thought was impossible. The patient, Aaron James, 46, a military veteran from Hot Spring Village, Arkansas, cannot see out of the transplanted eye, but he considers the operation a success nonetheless. “You’ve got to start somewhere, and hopefully this will get the ball rolling on future surgeries,” James said in an interview.

 

 

Aaron James before his accident.

Aaron James before his accident.Courtesy James family

In 2021, James survived what should have been a fatal electric shock while he was working as a high-voltage lineman. His face accidentally touched a live wire, causing devastating injuries, including the loss of his left eye, his nose and his lips. Only bone was left in his left cheek and his chin. Much of his left arm was also stripped to the bone. 

The operation, which took place in May, lasted 21 hours and required the expertise of more than 140 surgeons, nurses and other health care professionals. In addition to the eye transplant, James also received a partial face transplant, which remains an incredibly rare procedure, with fewer than 50 face transplants having been performed worldwide since the first one in 2005. The donated face and eye came from a single donor. The eye had never been removed from the donor’s socket, and the surrounding tissue and the optical nerve remained intact. 

Still, transplanting the new eye was laborious. Blood vessels surrounding the eye are extremely small, making it a challenge to attach enough for adequate blood flow. Reattaching the optic nerve is another challenge. As part of the operation, the surgeons also injected adult stem cells into James’ optic nerve — another first — to prompt the nerve to create healthy new cells. Five months after James’ surgery, there is healthy blood flow to the retina, the part of the back of the eye that converts light into the electric signals the brain converts into images — a major sign of vitality. 

Aaron James after the face and whole eye transplant.

Aaron James after the face and whole eye transplant.NYU Langone Health

“Although there is no sight, we’ve crossed a barrier that many didn’t think was possible,” said Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, the director of the Face Transplant Program at NYU Langone in New York City, who led the surgery. “Nothing like this has ever been attempted. There isn’t even any science published in the literature that could indicate what could be the result of such a transplant.” 

The eye also has normal pressure, and it is not painful. Infection around the brain was another major complication James was able to avoid in the crucial months after the transplant. His body did not reject the transplant, a significant achievement — some experts believe the eye has a different immune system from the skin, so it could have been rejected“That is an absolutely remarkable accomplishment in itself,” said Dr. Joseph Rizzo, the director of the neuro-ophthalmology service at Mass Eye and Ear at Mass General Brigham and a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

More than sight 

Rizzo said he believes a whole eye transplant that restores vision is still “beyond our capabilities at the moment.” “For one to have sight at the level you’d be able to do something functional, it would require the reconnection of a fair number of nerve cells,” he said. “But the complexity is not just whether some nerve cells can regrow.” Roughly 1.2 million nerve fibers connect each eye to the brain, and those nerves are not connected in a random fashion. “Point A has to connect to point A,” Rizzo said. During brain development, a complex system of interactions forms specific pathways that connect points on the retina to points on the brain, he said. The adult brain does not have these same systems, at least not in a robust way. “The public should not be imagining that vision will be restored at this point, but from a scientific standpoint, even if they were able to get a small number of nerve cells to grow back to the brain, that would be a groundbreaking accomplishment,” Rizzo said, noting that full vision restoration, if ever possible, is still likely to be a long way from reality. 

Rodriguez said that restoring sight in James’ left eye through a whole eye transplant was a moon shot from the get-go but that performing the surgery provided other benefits, as well. “Even if the eyelids were closed, it would give a better aesthetic than eye sockets that don’t have anything in it,” Rodriguez said.

Aaron James with his daughter Allie before the operation.

Aaron James with his daughter Allie before the operation.Courtesy James family

James, who has had many operations since the accident, including one to remove his damaged left eye because of pain, said the face and whole eye transplant has been “life-changing” for him. “I can go out and I’m really not stared at anymore. I just look like a normal person walking down the street,” he said. Before the face and eye transplant, James could not taste because of the loss of his nose. He also could not eat solid food. “I just had a little hole in my mouth. My wife had to cook soups and puree them in a blender, and I had to drink them through a straw. That’s the only thing I could eat,” James said. James said he’s extremely grateful to the donor and the donor’s family. “Somebody had to pass away to make this happen, and the donor and the donor’s family, I can’t imagine having to make a decision like they had to do, and it’s something I think about every day,” James said. “I really want them to know that I’m grateful and I thank them every single day.” Rodriguez will continue to monitor signs of vitality in James’ eye in the coming years. “You can give a person a little bit of hope and push science forward,” Rodriguez said. “It may open up a new chapter they may not have thought was possible.”

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