Daily Happenings from poetsareangels

MEDFORD, Mass. —The United States Postal Service has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the July heat-related death of a veteran mail carrier.

James Baldassarre, 45, of Haverhill, collapsed on July 5 after walking his route for about five hours in 94-degree heat while carrying a 35-pound mail bag. He died the next day as a result of heat stroke.

On the day Baldassarre collapsed, the area was under a National Weather Service heat advisory and the heat index soared above 100 degrees.

OSHA concluded that the Postal Service exposed workers to the recognized hazard of working in excessive heat and failed to implement an adequate heat stress management program to help mail carriers identify, prevent and report symptoms of heat-related illnesses.

The citation carries a proposed fine of $7,000, the maximum fine that can be assessed for a serious violation