|
Pathfinder Safety Compliance
Products
  
 
Free Safety Compliance Materials
Free Occupational Safety and Health Publications Safety
& Health News
Manufacturer Fined Nearly
$250,000 by OSHA Following Safety and Health Inspection
For the third time in six
years, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) has found widespread safety and
health hazards at a Hartford Connecticut tool manufacturing plant.
OSHA's most recent inspection, conducted under two national emphasis
programs aimed at preventing amputations and overexposure to
lead, has resulted in citations for 26 alleged willful, repeat
and serious violations of standards. Proposed penalties total
$247,600.
The latest inspection began
in August. OSHA found safety interlocks on machinery were bypassed
or removed, allowing employees to come in contact with moving
parts. One worker sustained a hand injury on a machine with a
bypassed interlock. OSHA proposed a fine of $70,000 for an alleged
willful violation committed with intentional disregard of, or
plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety
and Health Act and regulations.
Eleven repeat citations,
accounting for $138,100 in proposed fines, were issued for hazards
similar to those cited at the plant in 2004. These included unguarded
or inadequately guarded mechanical power presses, grinders and
other machinery; no annual reviews of lockout procedures to prevent
the accidental startup of machinery; exposed live electrical
parts; lack of required hand protection; improper extension of
fork trucks; and no warning signs and asbestos awareness training
for workers. Repeat citations are issued when an employer has
been cited for substantially similar hazards in the past and
those citations have become final.
Fourteen serious citations,
with $39,500 in proposed fines, were issued for lead accumulation
on work surfaces; defective exit access; no controls to reduce
excess noise levels; no hearing protection for exposed workers;
confined space hazards; unguarded loft and work platforms; inappropriately
used electrical cords; no fire extinguisher training; and failure
to lock out machinery before performing maintenance. OSHA issues
a serious citation when death or serious physical harm is likely
to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should
have known.
"Left uncorrected, these
conditions continually expose employees to the hazards of laceration,
amputation, crushing injuries, hearing loss, fire, electrocution,
confined spaces and exposure to toxic substances," said
C. William Freeman III, OSHA's area director in Hartford. "The
recurrence of hazards at this workplace is disturbing. Failure
to supply and ensure these common, legally required safeguards
unnecessarily puts employees' lives at risk."
The company has 15 business
days from receipt of its citations 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.
Source: OSHA News Release 12/26/06
|