As is being reported in Newsday, Babylon Village has again been cited for health and safety violations by the New York State Department of Labor. These citations come three weeks after being cited for 14 other infractions back on September 4th.

Two violations in the new Sept. 25 report were repeats of a September 2016 Labor Department report. Staff is untrained, exposing them “to serious bodily injuries or death” from improperly repairing sanitation trucks and risking electrocution from a circuit breaker panel, the report said.

The 12 other violations included a sanitation truck not having a working seatbelt, protective equipment including helmets and eyewear not being provided, heavy truck operators going untrained, and a tool sharpener missing a required guard, leaving room for injury, the report said.

Other violations included portable jacks not being marked with load ratings, unapproved plastic cans being used to store gasoline and a torn power cord.

The report also noted that the Village did not provide annual training on workplace violence.

The reporter, Rachel O’Brien, noted on Twitter that, Mayor Scordino shouted over her questions and said, ““I don’t understand what the importance is … I don’t want to talk about this.”

Some of those issues may seem minor. But do not dismiss them out of hand. I have worked in a safety-related position for over thirty years and I can tell you that workplace safety is as much about culture and attention to detail as it is about anything else. Serious incidents are almost always preceded by a series of smaller ones and attention to these “minor” incidents helps keep everyone safe.