Two more people have been killed in crane-related accidents, while the Bush administration continues its four-year delay in issuing a new crane safety standard. Ironworker Josh Dawe, 33, died Wednesday at a construction site in Normal, Ill., when he was trapped by the collapse of a crane boon.
A 79-year-old man sitting in his car and watching a crane lift a new steeple onto his church in Oklahoma City was killed Thursday when the crane toppled and crushed the car. His 78-year-old wife, who was with him, was injured.
Last Friday, four workers were killed and seven injured in a Houston crane collapse. Other recent crane disasters in New York City, Miami and Las Vegas killed 10 workers and a bystander.
The delayed crane safety standard was recommended in July 2004 by an industry-union committee established by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In sharp contrast to the Bush administration’s failure to implement the crane safety standard and other important worker protections, the Bush Labor Department is rushing to push through a secretly written rule that could allow workers to be exposed to higher levels of dangerous chemicals and toxic substances. The revision not only could endanger workers but also could tie the hands of future presidential administrations actually interested in protecting workers.
According to a Washington Post report on the secret rule:
The Bush administration has adopted only one regulation to limit exposure to a chemical, hexavalent chromium, and that was under court order. This new rule proposal has become the department’s top priority in the final months of the administration, although proposed worker safety rules for limiting exposure to beryllium, silica and combustible dust remain works in progress after years of being under consideration.