|
Pathfinder Safety Compliance
Products
  
 
Free Safety Compliance Materials
Free Occupational Safety and Health Publications Safety
& Health News
Coating Firm Fined $2,362,500
Following Deaths of Two Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited an
industrial coatings company in Missouri for 33 willful, including
"instance-by-instance" willful, and eight serious alleged
violations of job safety and health standards. Proposed penalties
total $2,362,500.
OSHA's citations resulted
from the investigation of two fatal workplace accidents within
two months involving the painting contractor. Both accidents
occurred at the same bridge painting worksite in Kansas City
and the same suspended scaffold. One employee died when he fell
through a hole in the platform while he was painting. The other
employee fell to his death while dismantling the scaffold.
"Not only did two workers
suffer fatal falls while working in Kansas City, but another
employee of this company suffered a fatal fall in a similar accident
earlier in the year in the St. Louis area," said Edwin G.
Foulke Jr., assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety
and health. "Three fatalities in five months show gross
plain indifference to employee safety. Employers must ensure
that their workers are protected from unsafe working conditions."
The instance-by-instance
willful violations alleged the lack of fall protection and training
for employees especially in the use of fall protection and the
safe dismantling of the scaffold. The single willful citations
alleged the lack of safe scaffold access; that a qualified person
did not design the scaffold; and that there were no competent
persons to supervise the work. The citations also alleged the
employer failed to inspect the scaffold and its components and
to secure the suspension cables properly. The serious citations
addressed other unsafe practices including the employer's permitting
debris that employees could trip over in front of the large platform
holes and overloading the personnel lift.
Willful violations are those
committed with an intentional disregard of the requirements of
the OSH Act or plain indifference to employee safety. OSHA can
issue instance-by-instance citations for each violation of a
standard; for example, as in this case, issuing a citation for
each platform hole through which an employee could have fallen.
Serious violations are those that could result in death or serious
physical harm about which the employer knew or should have known.
The employer has 15 working
days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to
comply and pay the penalties, to request and participate in an
informal conference with the OSHA area director, or to contest
the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and
Health Review Commission.
Under the Occupational Safety
and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing
a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role
is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and
women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training,
outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging
continual process improvement in workplace safety and health.
For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
Source: OSHA News Release 11/9/06
|