Phoenix Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Newly released statistics from the Government Accountability Office show that Arizona’s workplace safety inspectors are among the least experienced in the nation, largely because of high turnover rates that plague departments in the state. More than half of the state’s safety inspectors have been working in their current position for five years or less, indicating that they have not necessarily achieved mastery of the state’s safety codes.

Officials from state occupational safety and health agencies say there’s a ready explanation for this phenomenon: More inspectors are transferring into preventive task force roles. For example, free consultations are provided to small and at-risk businesses to help them comply with state and federal regulations. Experienced inspectors are increasingly seeing more work in that capacity than in formal inspections, according to the acting director of the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

As scientists and technology experts continue to develop new ways to extract the fuels from shale and sands throughout Arizona and the southwest, however, new concerns about workplace illnesses continue to arise. One of the newest methods, known as "fracking," is causing a stir because of potentially fatal workplace exposure to silica.

Exposure to silica, or sand, is one of the oldest known workplace hazards. Silica exposure has been traditionally attributable to specific occupations such as mining, construction and manufacturing, but it is now making an appearance on the oil fields. Abatement measures for sand exposure include personal protective masks and dampening soil to prevent dust.

A boom in the biofuels market is helping boost the sales of corn throughout the country, but this increased grain production is coming at a price. As more facilities throughout Arizona and the nation begin to store large amounts of corn, wheat and other grains, an increasing number of workplace accidents are occurring in storage silos. These suffocation and crushing deaths have rarely made waves in the national media, largely because they are confined to specific agricultural production efforts.

Many workers who perish in grain silos are young, most of those in their teens. These youngsters are not aware that safety rules exist to protect them from the dangerous practice known as "walking down grain." Workers are told to enter the grain silos without using fall protection, often toting shovels and pick to pull the corn from the sides of the storage towers.

A California woman was killed during a lion attack in Arizona's neighboring California after the beast escaped from its feeding cage and attacked the woman in its larger enclosure. The woman had been cleaning the larger containment area while the lion was contained during the maintenance. The woman, a volunteer, died instantly when the 550-pound lion swiped at her head with its paw. Officials at the animal park are under scrutiny for their workplace safety procedures.

Authorities report that the lion had been fed before he was contained in the small cage. The lion reached its paws beneath an improperly closed latch and then worked its way loose. A coworker was talking to the woman on her cell phone shortly before the attack; the coworker became alarmed when the woman failed to call back. She then alerted authorities.