Osha Newquist September 2026

OSHA News for October 2026 Hello everyone, What a crazy month with several 16 hour days. This month’s PowerPoint is the 47% problem that presented for the ASSP in October. So many audit focus on machine guarding during the walkaround but lockout and cleaning are a large part of the accidents. Cleaning often occurs at night when not many are watching. We crossed a major milestone this past month: 500 people have written to share that they passed a BCSP certification exam in 2026. Whether passing on the first attempt or coming back after a setback, that persistence puts qualified eyes in the field. The best safety outcome leaves no evidence of itself, If you do everything right, nothing happens. You will rarely see the incident that didn't happen because you identified a hazard early, but that prevention is real . I also had the opportunity to teach demolition safety to 71 OSHA safety and health professionals. In the field, far too many demolition superintendents cannot function as the competent person because they lack training on OSHA demolition standards, and roughly 90% have not performed an engineering survey. We saw the danger of that firsthand recently in Palatine, IL on Route 53, where concrete bridge barriers collapsed during deck work—a lucky near miss that could have easily been fatal without proper lateral bracing and a strict written demolition plan. On the general contractor side, we are seeing major firms push well past the basic OSHA 30 toward the STSC for field supervision. Some large GCs now have 100 to 400 BCSP-credentialed professionals on staff, integrating safety directly into daily site leadership. Additionally, we saw a successful resolution in a multi-employer construction litigation case involving struck-by hazards and excavation oversight. The controlling-employer standard is not a paperwork formality; it represents a legal duty of reasonable care to prevent and detect hazards, carrying significant weight both during an OSHA inspection and in civil court. John OSHA News Update 1. US Department of Labor Awards $10.2M in Susan Harwood Training Grants OSHA announced $10.2 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants awarded to 67 nonprofit organizations nationwide to fund education and training programs focused on high-hazard industries and underserved worker populations. 2. OSHA Proposes $265,868 in Penalties Against Chicago-Area Contractor Following two inspections of Calumet City-based Araujo Construction, OSHA cited the residential contractor for 9 repeat violations (including failure to provide fall protection, missing stairway handrails, ladders not extending 3 feet above landing, and lack of eye/head PPE) and 1 serious violation, totaling $265,868 in proposed fines. (Construction Owners Report) 3. Why Maximum OSHA Civil Penalties Did Not Increase in 2026 Unlike previous years, OSHA did not increase its statutory maximum civil penalty amounts in January 2026. The Department of Labor noted that a federal funding lapse delayed the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from compiling the consumer price index data required for the annual cost-of-living adjustments. 4. No Update on Fatal Slag Pit Hauler Incident at Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor No recent official update has been released regarding the August 13 fatality of Jonathan Stepp, 28, an Army veteran and Operating Engineer employed by contractor Phoenix Services (subsidiary of SunCoke Energy). Stepp died when the pot hauler he was operating entered a slag pit. Critical questions remain regarding whether stop logs or physical barriers were in place to prevent heavy equipment from overrunning the pit edge. 5. OSHA Investigating Worker Fatality at Earth City, MO UPS Hub Federal OSHA has opened an inspection into the UPS distribution facility in Earth City, Missouri, after an employee was fatally injured on the job just two weeks before their planned retirement. 6. New OSHA Guidance on Opioid Emergencies & Naloxone in the Workplace OSHA published Fact Sheet 4519 providing guidelines for employers to maintain naloxone (Narcan) rescue kits on-site and integrate opioid overdose recognition into emergency medical response planning. Other Safety News 1. Worker Killed, Another Critically Injured in Florida Construction Incidents Seminole County, FL reported two severe construction accidents, including a worker death involving a concrete pump truck operation and a separate critical injury at another area site. 2. Concrete Barrier Collapse on Route 53 in Palatine, IL Concrete bridge barriers collapsed during construction on Route 53 in Palatine, causing temporary highway closures. Structural deck overstress and inadequate temporary lateral bracing during bridge rehabilitation highlight the necessity of detailed engineering demolition surveys. 3. Oak Park Cement Truck Collision Claims Life of Pedestrian A 71-year-old woman was struck and killed by a ready-mix concrete truck at an intersection in Oak Park, IL, underscoring severe blind-spot and pedestrian collision hazards around heavy vehicles in urban work zones. 4. Worker Fatality at Smithfield Foods Plant in Monmouth, IL The Warren County coroner identified an employee who died following an industrial incident inside the Smithfield Foods pork processing facility in Monmouth, Illinois. 5. Five Dead in Miami Cargo Plane Crash into Autonomous Taxi Facility An Amazon Boeing cargo aircraft crashed in Miami, striking navigational aids, ground vehicles, and perimeter security fencing before coming to rest in a Tesla robotaxi staging area. Five fatalities and multiple severe injuries were confirmed by the NTSB. 6. De-Escalation & Workplace Violence Prevention Training Workplace violence remains the third-leading cause of occupational fatalities in the United States, accounting for over 700 worker deaths annually. Focused 4-hour de-escalation programs (such as those taught by Janet Schulte) are increasingly replacing cumbersome multi-day seminars to give frontline supervisors practical tools to defuse aggression. 7. Oracle Project Jupiter $50B Data Center Stalled in New Mexico Oracle issued a formal force majeure notice on its Project Jupiter data center campus due to severe infrastructure constraints. Beyond reporting negative $5B in quarterly free cash flow against $28.5B in capex, the project's off-grid fuel-cell power plan stalled after the New Mexico State Land Office rejected pipeline right-of-way permits for natural gas supply. 8. Industry Note — Industrial Hygiene Consulting & Forensics: Caught up with former OSHA colleague Eugene Saturn, CIH. A veteran industrial hygiene consultant and expert witness specializing in complex chemical sampling and toxic exposure forensics. Here are the notable incidents and enforcement actions from the last four weeks (September 7 – October 5, 2026) across your three tracked focus areas: 1. Excavation & Trench Collapses • Worker Killed in 8-Foot Trench Collapse — Hickman, CA (Sept 18, 2026) A 34-year-old excavation worker was killed when an unprotected 8-foot-deep trench collapsed at a rural worksite in Stanislaus County. Fire crews from Stanislaus Consolidated, Modesto, and Turlock conducted a four-hour technical operation before recovering the body. This marks California's fourth fatal trench collapse in 2026. Cal/OSHA is investigating. (Legal Analysis & Background) • Hours-Long Technical Rescue After Trench Cave-In — Oxford Township, MI (Sept 9, 2026) A construction worker was buried and trapped in a deep excavation trench during utility work in southeast Michigan. Firefighters and technical rescue teams stabilized the trench walls using pneumatic shoring and vacuum excavation to safely extract the worker alive after several hours. • Two Workers Killed in Trench Collapse — Crossnacreevy, County Down (Oct 2, 2026) Two workers, aged 23 and 38, were killed when an excavation trench collapsed on Ballygowan Road. Emergency crews responded to reports of workers trapped under heavy soil, but both died from crushing and asphyxiation at the scene. (Police Incident Report) • Two Construction Workers Killed in Excavation Cave-In — Lyford Cay, Bahamas (Sept 24, 2026) Two men died when a trench wall collapsed on a construction site, completely burying them before coworkers could excavate the space. • OSHA Willful Citations for Fatal Pipeline Excavation Hazard — Orlando, FL (Sept 23, 2026) OSHA issued willful safety violations against an Orlando underground utility pipeline installation contractor following an inspection into a fatal cave-in during pipe placement. 2. Confined Space Incidents • Miner Poisoned by Carbon Monoxide at Springfield Pit — Graham, TX (Late Sept 2026) Guss McComack, 38, was killed after suffering acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning while working near an underground/enclosed feeder space at the Springfield Pit. The toxic atmosphere caused him to lose consciousness and fall from the feeder structure to the ground below. 3. Arc Flash & High-Energy Electrical Incidents • Lineman Electrocution During Storm Restoration — Curry County, NM (Sept 25, 2026) Ian Massey, a lineman with Farmer's Electric Cooperative, suffered fatal electrical contact and arc burns while attempting to repair a downed utility pole with standing water present at the base following a severe weather event. • Tree Trimmer Struck by Overhead Line Electrical Discharge — Bellmore, NY (Sept 24, 2026) A commercial tree trimmer was killed when a severed tree branch contacted an overhead primary power line, resulting in an electrical arc and energizing the tree trunk where the worker was positioned. • Utility Worker Fatal Electrical Incident — Beverlywood, Los Angeles, CA (Sept 30, 2026) A utility service worker died following an electrical incident and flash while servicing equipment along West Kirkside Road. • OSHA Proposes $446K in Penalties for Willful Control of Hazardous Energy Violations (Sept 23, 2026) OSHA cited a commercial facility in Sicklerville, NJ for willful violations of 29 CFR 1910.147 (Lockout/Tagout) after employees were exposed to unisolated electrical and mechanical energy sources during equipment servicing without verified de-energization. OSHA CITATIONS This is discontinued. Safety Training at Non-Profits (Check Sites for Starting Dates) • OSHA 510 — Oct 6-9 CSC SOLD OUT • ASSP / Monthly Management Training (Lockout) — Oct 13 • ASSP NE Chapter I Beyond Worker Error: How Great Incident Investigators Find System Failures — Oct 16 https://neil.assp.org/events/october-16th-2026-chapter-meeting-beyond-worker-error-how-great-incident-investigators-find-system-failures/ • OSHA 7845 CSE — Oct 19 • ASSP Incident Investigation Online — 10/22/2026 12:00 AM CDT • 11/19/2026 11:59 PM CST • https://www.assp.org/education/certificate-programs/incident-investigation • Harwood Grant Silica (CSC) — Oct 29 • Machine Guarding & Lockout (NIU Naperville) — Oct 30 For FREE NIU Harwood grant training: NIU Susan Harwood Training Grant Program https://nseccourses.niu.edu/mod/page/view.php?id=7521 NIU is Northern Illinois University OSHA Education Center: NSEC NIU CSC is the Construction Safety Council in Hillside: BuildSafe.org TRMA is Three Rivers Manufacturers Association: TRMA I usually teach only 10-hour and the 500 series. I teach evenings, weekends, and early mornings too. I teach in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Indiana. The PowerPoint is posted free at United Support & Memorial for Workplace Fatalities. I use your feedback to make changes to make corrections. -- John Newquist 815-354-6853