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OSHA Fines Contractor $49,000
After Excavator Contacts Overhead Wires
A Massachusetts construction
company faces $49,000 in proposed fines from the U.S. Department
of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
following an OSHA inspection prompted by an accident at a Kingston,
Mass., worksite.
On Aug. 21, an excavator
operated by the company struck an overhead energized power line
with its boom while it was attempting to lift its bucket. The
electrical current passed through the boom and down to the ground
where it traveled outward and shocked a nearby police officer.
OSHA's inspection found that
the excavator was operated too close to the power line. OSHA
standards require that machinery be located and operated a minimum
distance of 10 feet from an energized power line unless the line
has first been deenergized or otherwise shielded from contact.
Failure to do so places employees at risk from electrocution.
"Neither safeguard was
utilized even though this employer knows what steps must be taken
to protect workers against electrocution," said Brenda Gordon,
OSHA's area director for southeastern Massachusetts. "While
it's fortunate that no one was killed and no one else injured,
this accident should never have occurred in the first place."
As a result, OSHA cited the
company for one alleged willful violation of safety standards
and has proposed a fine of $49,000 for that citation. OSHA defines
a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard
of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act and regulations.
The company has 15 business
days from receipt of the 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. The investigation was conducted by
OSHA's Braintree area office, telephone, (617) 565-6924.
Source: OSHA News Release 12/6/06
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