Silver Eagle Refinery in Woods Cross, Utah had a severe explosion that caused damage to ten homes in the area. The refinery is located five miles north of Salt Lake City.

This is the refinery's second explosion this year. The first occurred in January of this year. In that explosion, a fire had burned for 11 hours straight.

The AP reports that this current blast started in a vessel called a diesel hydrotreater which removes sulfur compounds from diesel fuel.

According to AP, federal records show that Woods Cross refinery had fires in 2003, 2005 and 2007, in addition to the two explosions this year.

According to CBS, the multinational oil company BP has been hit hard with a fine from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That fine is worth $87 million dollars.

What would cause OSHA to levy such a hefty fine? This fine comes after a six month inspection by OSHA revealed that the oil giant failed to repair hazards that were found at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas back in 2005. There were hundreds of violations stemming from those hazards.

BP failed to correct the hazards despite an explosion that occurred in 2005 at the same BP refinery in Texas City, killing 15 people.

Today, for a change, we foray briefly into the relatively little-known area of maritime law, which among other things governs claims involving maritime workers injured on the job. In one of its traditional flurry of term-ending cases in late June, the Supreme Court ventured onto the high seas to declare that punitive damages are available in Jones Act suits. So just what is the Jones Act, and what does this mean for sailors?

The Jones Act covers the United States merchant marine, and  among other things, provides sailors with a remedy when they are injured working on U.S. ships. Before the Jones Act, injured sailors had to rely on the so-called "common law" protections of international maritime law, rules and procedures refined through experience over a couple of centuries. Under this system, an sailor injured on the job was entitled to "maintenance and cure," which meant that the employer was responsible for medical care and a daily stipend known as "maintenance" that was like a small room-and-board payment. The employer owed maintenance and cure regardless of who was at fault for the injury.

Jobs that take employees outside definitely have their appeal, especially to the office-based cubicle crowd. But people whose line of work requires them to be outdoors in the hot summer months -- from construction and agriculture workers to parks employees -- face unique health hazards. So, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is offering some tips on Working Outdoors in Warm Climates.

Clothing and Sunscreen. Employees who are working outside in the heat should wear light, loose-fitting clothing. But to avoid harmful UV rays, stick to long pants (no shorts) and long-sleeved shirts, and apply plenty of sunscreen.

Breaks for Water and Shade. If you're working in the heat, your employer should provide you with plenty of water, and breaks to drink it. Drink small amounts frequently, rather than a lot of water all at once. If your work is particularly strenuous and takes place in direct sunlight, you should also be given regular work breaks in a "shade tent" or other rest area.

An ammonia leak at a poultry processing plant in North Carolina killed one employee and injured half a dozen more over the weekend. It's the second high-profile workplace accident at a North Carolina food processing facility in recent weeks.

Saturday's ammonia leak at the Mountaire Farms poultry plant in Lumber Ridge, North Carolina killed 49 year-old mechanic Clifton Swain, injured at least six of his co-workers, and caused the evacuation of as many as 40 employees. Ammonia was released through a break in a high-pressure refrigeration line at the facility, which employs 2,500 workers, according to the North Carolina News & Observer.

A fatal explosion at a ConAgra plant in North Carolina may have been triggered by a gas leak from a water heater that was being installed at the facility. And a contracting company that was working on the natural gas lines at the plant is now facing lawsuits from victims of the explosion.

The June 9 explosion at ConAgra's "Slim Jim" production facility in Garner, North Carolina killed three employees and injured dozens more.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the federal agency that is investigating the explosion and its possible causes, is focusing on the installation of a new industrial water heater and gas line, work that was being performed at the time of the accident.

An explosion this week at a ConAgra food processing facility in North Carolina killed three employees and injured dozens more. The story puts a renewed focus on federal regulation of workplace safety, the legal rights of injured employees, and navigation of the complex workers' compensation systems in place in most states.

Although the cause of Tuesday's explosion and roof collapse at the ConAgra Slim Jim production plant in Garner is still under investigation, witnesses reported smelling a strong ammonia-like odor before the blast. Reuters is reporting that "State workplace safety officials inspected the plant last July, but found no violations."

What should employees know about their legal rights to a safe workplace, and the legal hoops they may need to jump through if the filing of a workers' compensation claim becomes necessary?

Today the Supreme Court reversed the award of damages to a former railroad worker based on his fear of developing cancer in the future. The Court held that the damages award could not stand because the jury was not specifically instructed that a plaintiff claiming fear of cancer must prove that the fear is "genuine and serious."

In the case, CSX Transportation Inc., v. Hensley, a former railroad electrician claimed that his old employer caused him to develop asbestosis (noncancerous scarring of the lung tissue) through long term exposure to asbestos. He was also exposed to a solvent which caused irriversible brain damage, ending his career. The plaintiff sought pain and suffering damages that included damages for his fear of developing cancer in the future. At both the trial court and appellate level, Tennessee courts agreed with him. Today, however, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court and remanded the case back down because the trial court did not include instruction to the jury that the plaintiff must prove his fear of cancer to be genuine and serious.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. should have had more effective crowd control measures in place at a Long Island store on 2008's "Black Friday," when a temporary employee was crushed to death in a stampede of Wal-Mart shoppers. That was the finding in a citation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today, which also ordered Wal-Mart --the world's largest retailer -- to pay a $7,000 fine, an amount likely dwarfed by what the company earned in the time it took you to read this sentence.

In the November 28, 2008 incident that sparked the OSHA citation, Jdimytai Damour, a 34-year-old temporary employee, was trampled and died of asphyxiation after a crowd of shoppers burst through the front doors of a Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream, New York, in a race to get their hands on a limited supply of advertised sale items.

All civil lawsuits filed in connection with a 2007 mine collapse in Crandall Canyon, Utah have been settled in an umbrella agreement among the mine's operator, injured survivors, and the families of eight miners and one inspector who were killed.

News of the settlement over the Utah mine collapse comes a few months after federal safety officials released data showing a mixed message of sorts related to recent mine safety trends: record-low fatalities when it comes to miner accidents, coupled with record-high numbers of health and safety violations handed out to mine operators.