Region 2 News Release: 12-150-NEW/BOS 2012-021

US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Manhattan contractor for safety hazards after worker falls 80 feet at Brooklyn work site

NEW YORK (MMD Newswire) February 6, 2012 — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Navillus Contracting Tile Inc. for alleged repeat and serious violations of safety standards at a work site located at 2738 86th St. in Brooklyn. The Manhattan-based masonry contractor was cited following a Sept. 28, 2011, incident in which an employee fell 80 feet to a lower level from the top of a 118-foot-high scaffold.

“This employee is fortunate to have escaped death, but what is unfortunate is that this fall occurred in the first place,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. “It is effective scaffold maintenance, work practices and fall protection – not luck – that are essential to protecting workers against life-threatening falls.”

An inspection by OSHA’s Manhattan Area Office found that the scaffold platform was not fully planked and lacked guardrails, an aluminum access platform was not secured against displacement, another worker was not tied off to a safe anchorage point, and employees accessed work areas by climbing up and down the scaffold frames. These conditions resulted in citations for six serious violations, with $36,000 in proposed fines. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

One repeat violation with a proposed fine of $38,500 involves a lack of guardrails. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. OSHA cited Navillus in September 2008 for a similar hazard at a Bronx work site.

“To prevent hazards such as these, employers should implement effective illness and injury prevention programs in which they work continuously with their employees to identify and eliminate hazards,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.

Detailed information on scaffolding hazards and safeguards is available at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/scaffolding/index.html.

Navillus has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or

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EDMONTON, Alta (MMD Newswire) February 6, 2012 — Increased air, water, land and biodiversity monitoring in the oil sands will begin this year as the Governmentof Canada and Government ofAlberta take amajor step forward in their partnership to improve environmental monitoring in the oil sands region.

The Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for Oil Sands Monitoring commits to a scientifically rigorous, comprehensive, integrated, and transparent environmental monitoring program for the region. It outlines the path forward to enhance the monitoring of water, air, land and biodiversity in the oil sands by demonstrating how we will sample more sites for more substances more frequently. The program is designed to provide an improved understanding of the long-term cumulative effects of oil sands development.

“The Alberta oil sands are a key driver of the Canadian economy,” said Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable Peter Kent. “Today we are launching one of the most transparent and accountable oil sands monitoring system in the world. These scientific reports will be posted on our web page for the world to see. We challenge others in the international oil producing community to match Canada’s commitment to environmental monitoring.”

“Albertans, and Canadians, have high expectations that we excel at both energy production and environmental protection,” said the Honourable Diana McQueen, Minister of Alberta Environment and Water. “We can have it both ways. We are confident this environmental monitoring system will be one of the most progressive and comprehensive of any industrially developed region in the world.”

The three-year implementation plan begins this spring with increased sampling frequency, parameters, and locations. It will also integrate relevant parts of existing monitoring efforts and will give government and industry the scientific foundation necessary to continue to promote the environmentally sustainable development of the oil sands. The implementation plan reflects the Integrated Oil Sands Environment Monitoring Plan released by Environment Canada in July and will be consistent with the Government of Alberta’s plans for a province-wide environmental monitoring system.

Data from the new monitoring program, and the methods on which it is based, will be transparent, supported by necessary quality assurance, and will be made publicly available to allow independent scientific assessments and evaluations. This will encourage informed discussions and analysis on the impacts of oil sands development based on high-quality scientific information.

As the process continues to move forward, implementation of the monitoring program will be jointly managed by the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta. Annual progress reports on implementation will be prepared for the first three years, with an external scientific peer review of the program

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J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Owners of 4G-Enabled Phones Are Far More Likely to Contact Their Wireless Provider for Customer Service than Are Owners of Less Technologically Advanced Devices

Verizon Wireless Ranks Highest in Wireless Customer Care Performance among Full-Service Providers, While Virgin Mobile Ranks Highest among Non-Contract Customers

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif (MMD Newswire) February 2, 2012 — Wireless customers who own a 4G-enabled device contact their provider for customer service considerably more frequently than do owners of less technologically advanced devices, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Wireless Customer Care Performance Full-Service StudySM–Volume 1 and the 2012 U.S. Wireless Customer Care Performance Non-Contract StudySM–Volume 1, both released today.

Now in their 10th year, the semiannual studies provide a detailed report card on how well wireless carriers provide service to their customers via three contact methods: telephone calls with customer service representatives (CSR) and/or automated response systems (ARS); visits to a retail wireless store; and via the Web. The studies measure satisfaction and processing issues in each contact method, such as problem-resolution efficiency and hold-time duration.

Among customers who currently own a 4G (4th Generation)-enabled device–which uses a faster, more efficient network–60 percent report having contacted their current wireless service provider during the past six-month period. In comparison, only 47 percent of a non-4G smartphone and 35 percent of traditional/feature phone owners contacted their provider for support.

Owners of a 4G-enabled device have a much greater propensity to contact their carrier due to network-related problems (18%) than do owners of a traditional phone that uses less advanced networks (11%). One of the main factors contributing to the higher contact rate among owners of 4G-enabled devices may be that higher network speeds are available only in limited areas, while slower 3G technology is offered in more areas of the country.

“It’s not unexpected that customers who use new technology or services would be more likely to contact their carrier with questions or problems, particularly with the 4G network rollout that began in 2011,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. “What is important to understand is that investment is needed in support services to not only handle the increase in customer interactions, but also to provide service representatives with the necessary training and information across all contact channels in order to offer a timely and superior service experience. In fact, it takes approximately five minutes more per contact, on average, to resolve issues pertaining to 4G-enabled devices, compared with issue resolution times for traditional phones.”

According to Parsons,

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12-14AD ASIC finalises investigation into Saxo Bank A/S following Sonray collapse

Australia (MMD Newswire) February 2, 2012 – ASIC has finalised its investigation into Saxo Bank A/S, the former provider of the trading platform for collapsed broker, Sonray Capital Markets Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (Sonray).

Following the conclusion of that investigation, which focused on the risk management practices of Saxo Bank, ASIC has agreed with Saxo Bank that additional licence conditions will be included on the Australian financial services (AFS) licence under which it will continue to conduct its business in Australia.

The additional licence conditions agreed with Saxo Bank, which apply to Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd (SCMA) require SCMA to:

engage an expert to review and report on the adequacy of SCMA’s risk management systems to properly address credit risk, client risk and compliance risk

implement any recommendations made by the expert over a six month period

engage the expert for further reviews and reporting over an 18 month period following the initial expert report, and

provide ASIC, on a bi-annual basis, independent verification of client monies being held by SCMA.

Since September 2004, Saxo Bank has held an AFSL authorising it to provide financial services on a wholesale basis. Under that wholesale licence, Saxo Bank contracted with a number of retail licensees in Australia, including Sonray, to facilitate the trading of various financial products on a trading platform, Saxo Trader.

Saxo Bank will now provide financial services in Australia to retail clients directly through the entity SCMA. This follows Saxo Bank, in late December 2011, acquiring control of Commodity Broking Services Pty Ltd by purchasing the shares of Logos Commodities Pty Ltd, the holding company of CBS. At the same time, CBS changed its name to Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Pty Ltd.

ASIC Chairman, Greg Medcraft, said the additional licence conditions on Saxo Bank’s AFSL reflected ASIC’s priority to improve industry standards amongst financial services licensees. He added that the new licence conditions were an important part of restoring investor confidence in the broader broking area and providing reassurance that compliance procedures are in place to ensure risk management practices are of the standard required under the law.

Source: ASIC

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US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Scranton, Pa., tire company for repeatedly exposing employees to workplace safety hazards

SCRANTON, Pa. (MMD Newswire) January 30, 2012 — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Scranton Dunlop Inc., doing business as Sandone Tire, for 19 – including four repeat – safety violations at its Scranton facility. OSHA initiated an inspection as part of the agency’s Site-Specific Targeting Program for industries with high injury and illness rates. Proposed penalties total $58,800.

The repeat violations with $26,600 in penalties include failing to ensure that open-sided floors and/or platforms 4 feet or higher above the ground were guarded with standard railings and toe boards; ensure that employees were able to open an exit route door from the inside at all times without keys, tools or special knowledge; properly guard pulleys with parts 7 feet or lower from the floor or work platform; properly guard horizontal belts; provide proper covers for all pull boxes and fittings; and install face plates for snap switches mounted in boxes. The company was cited for the same violations in 2008. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

“By failing to correct these hazards, Scranton Dunlop continues to leave workers vulnerable to the risk of serious injuries and possible death,” said Mark Stelmack, OSHA’s area director in Wilkes Barre. “Employers have a legal responsibility to provide employees with safe and healthful workplaces.”

Eleven serious violations with $32,200 in penalties involve failing to provide railings and other guards for stairways, provide intermediate railings in other areas, provide water sprinklers for a paint spray booth, make portable fire extinguishers available and accessible, train workers on using fire extinguishers and forklifts, correct a variety of electrical hazards, inspect powered industrial trucks, secure lifted loads, and separate oxygen and fuel-gas cylinders. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Four other-than-serious violations with no penalties involve uncovered floor holes, substandard exit signs, an inadequate inspection of the energy control program and unlabeled hazardous chemical containers. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

Sandone Tire, which employs about 75 workers, has 15 business days from receipt of the

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