OSHA fines Wisconsin grain cooperative $721,000 after worker is engulfed in frozen soybeans and then issues warning letter to industry following series of similar incidents including suffocation of 2 teenagers in Illinois grain elevator.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed fines of $721,000 against Cooperative Plus Inc. in Burlington for violations of federal workplace safety standards. OSHA alleges that this employer, a farmer owned cooperative, exposed workers to the risk of being engulfed and suffocated in grain storage bins without proper equipment and procedures. In a near tragedy that occurred in February, a worker was trapped in soybeans up to his chest in 25 degree weather and ultimately rescued after a four hour ordeal.

“Cooperative Plus ignored long established safety standards for working safely in grain handling operations and knowingly exposed workers to possible suffocation. In this case, a worker almost died,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Disregarding well-recognized standards places workers in this industry in serious danger and will not be tolerated.”

In an OSHA Press release OSHA Stated “In spite of clear OSHA standards, employers continue to put workers at risk of death by requiring them to enter grain storage bins without proper protection. The citations against Cooperative Plus are being issued one week after a separate and especially tragic incident in a grain elevator in Illinois in which two teenage workers, a 14- and a 19-year-old, were killed and a 20-year-old was hospitalized after being similarly engulfed in grain. In a third case last year, a South Dakota Wheat Growers Association worker was killed after being engulfed by grain in a wheat handling facility. In May, OSHA issued a fine of more than $1.6 million against the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association”.

In response to these and other events, OSHA is sending a strong letter to all grain elevator operators warning them not to allow workers to enter grain storage facilities without proper equipment, precautions and training. “We are putting these employers on notice,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “OSHA will use the full extent of the law to ensure that any employer who violates these standards is held accountable for its lack of concern for worker safety.”

Based on its investigation of the Cooperative Plus incident, OSHA has cited that employer for 10 willful violations. Two per-instance willful violations are for failing to provide workers entering grain storage bins with body harnesses and lifelines and to provide an observer while other workers entered the grain bins. A citation has been issued for each bin entry OSHA documented in which the employer failed to observe these requirements. OSHA also has issued additional willful violations that address the company’s failing to ensure that safe procedures were implemented for entry into the bins; to prohibit workers from walking on the grain inside the bin; to provide rescue equipment for workers entering the bins and to implement an emergency action plan.

Worker suffocated in December 2009 after being engulfed in grain

Federal OSHA has fined the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association of Aberdeen, S.D., more than $1.6 million following the Dec. 22, 2009, death of a worker at the company’s McLaughlin, S.D., grain handling operation. The worker suffocated after being engulfed by grain in one of the facility’s bins. OSHA’s investigation found that five additional workers were also at risk of being engulfed when they were sent into the bin to dig the victim out.

“The South Dakota Wheat Growers Association ignored long-established standards addressing safety in grain handling operations,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The company’s intentional disregard for its safety and health responsibilities put its workers at risk, and more egregiously, led to an unnecessary loss of life. Worker safety must be a top priority.”

Following its investigation, OSHA proposed $1,610,000 in fines for 23 alleged willful violations of the grain handling and confined space standards, including: failing to prohibit workers from walking on top of clumped grain; failing to prohibit entry into the grain bins where the buildup of grain existed; failing to shut off and lock out equipment to prevent grain from moving through the bin while workers were inside; failing to equip workers with grain engulfment protection; failing to provide observers equipped to provide assistance; failing to train workers; failing to issue permits to control entry into grain bins; failing to test the atmosphere; a lack of rescue equipment; and failing to implement an emergency action plan prior to entry. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.

“We know that safety precautions could have prevented this tragedy,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. “The dangers of grain bin entry are well known in the industry, yet the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association chose to ignore these hazards.”

The death in South Dakota follows a similar May 2009 death of a 17-year old employee of Tempel Grain LLP in Haswell, Colo. That worker also suffocated after being engulfed by grain. OSHA issued $1,592,500 in fines for 22 alleged willful and 13 alleged serious violations in that case.

OSHA has implemented a regional emphasis inspection program in the grain handling industry to address the serious hazards associated with grain bins and confined spaces, and operators and industry associations have been sent letters announcing the program. OSHA’s area offices covering Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota are also providing assistance to help grain storage facilities comply with safety standards.

JACKSON, Miss. - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined VT Halter Marine Inc., a shipbuilder, for $1,322,000 following a November 2009 explosion and fire that killed two workers and seriously injured two other workers. The incident occurred in the inner bottom void of a tugboat that was being constructed at the company’s Escatawpa, Miss., facility.

“This was a horrific and preventable situation. The employer was aware of the hazards and knowingly and willfully sent workers into a confined space with an explosive and toxic atmosphere,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Loss of life can never be something considered acceptable or as a course of doing business.”

Following its investigation, OSHA has cited the company for 17 willful and 11 serious violations. The willful citations are for failing to inspect and test the confined space prior to entry, to prevent entry into confined spaces where concentration of flammable vapors exceed the prescribed limits and to use explosion proof lighting in a hazardous location. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.

The serious violations include a lack of machine guarding, allowing the use of defective electrical equipment, failing to use approved containers for disposing flammable liquids, the lack of a rescue service available for a confined space entry, failing to properly ventilate a confined space, and missing or incomplete guardrails. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Eight other-than-serious violations also have been issued. These concern recordkeeping, failing to provide lavatory facilities with tepid running water, failing to ensure workplace floors were free from water accumulation and electrical grounding hazards.

“VT Halter knowingly and willfully failed to protect the lives of its workers in a confined space even though it had the knowledge and equipment necessary to do so,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “We will not tolerate this type of blatant and egregious disregard for the health and safety of workers. Employers need to know there will be consequences.”

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by staff from OSHA’s Jackson Area Office, 3780 I-55 North, Suite 210; telephone 601-965-4606. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-6742.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Federal OSHA is proposing $217,500 in penalties against Hearthmark LLC, doing business as Jarden Home Brands, for safety violations at its Birmingham Alabama location.

The inspection began in July 2009, after an employee was burned when hot wax he was transferring from a railcar erupted. The investigation, including an evaluation for combustible dust, was expanded to all areas of the Birmingham facility when inspectors observed a number of safety hazards during their initial walk through.

OSHA has cited the company with two willful violations with a proposed penalty of $110,000 for failing to develop and use specific lockout/tagout (of accidental energy start-up) procedures for workers engaged in servicing and performing maintenance activities and housekeeping issues related to the accumulation of combustible dust.

The company is also being cited for 31 serious safety violations with $107,500 in proposed penalties. The violations include failing to establish and implement procedures for employees transferring wax from railcars to holding tanks, unguarded platforms, fixed stairs not having standard guard rails, lack of machine guarding, numerous electrical hazards (including unapproved electrical equipment being used in areas containing combustible dust), not filling required permits for confined spaces, belts, pulleys and shafts not being guarded, and failing to utilize restraint systems on powered industrial trucks.

“OSHA determined that this company is fully aware of the deficiencies it has in its safety program and what needs to be changed to provide safe work conditions for employees but hasn’t acted to correct those deficiencies,” said Roberto Sanchez, director of OSHA’s Birmingham Area Office.

Hearthmark LLC is headquartered in Dareville, Ind., and has facilities in North Carolina, Texas, California and Ontario. The company manufactures fire logs under the Pine Mountain, Java-Log and StarterLogg brands.

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OSHA issued CES Environmental Services Inc. 15 willful and 54 serious citations after an investigation into a fatal explosion at the company’s Griggs Road facility in Houston Texas. Proposed penalties total $1,477,500.In July 2009, an employee cleaning a tank was killed in an explosion when an altered piece of equipment ignited flammable vapors inside the tank. The fatality was the third death in less than a year at this employer’s facilities; two hydrogen sulfide exposure-related deaths at a related facility, Port Arthur Chemical & Environmental Services LLC (PACES), occurred in December 2008 and April 2009.

“Proper precaution prevents deaths,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Employers should take steps to eliminate hazards and provide a safe working environment for their workers. That is the law.”

Based on the most recent investigation, OSHA has issued 15 willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $1,050,000, alleging that 15 pieces of electrical equipment were unsafe to use in the tank wash area due to the presence of flammable and combustible vapors. Two additional willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $125,000 have been issued. One alleges that CES failed to ventilate tanks in which employees were working, exposing the workers to toxic atmospheric hazards. The other alleges that CES stored flammable and reactive chemicals together, which posed fire and explosion hazards.

In addition, OSHA has issued 54 serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $302,500. These include allegations that CES failed to implement all aspects of the process safety management standard; provide proper respiratory protection, confined space rescue equipment and adequate fall protection; properly install and maintain boiler equipment; implement an emergency response plan, and adequate energy control procedures; train powered industrial truck operators; guard and to anchor machinery adequately; store compressed gas cylinders safely; and label hazardous chemicals.

OSHA previously cited PACES following the Dec.18, 2008 and the April 14, 2009, fatalities and proposed penalties of $16,600 and $207,800, respectively. Both of those fatalities occurred in Port Arthur, Texas. Those citations were contested and are being litigated before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. CES and PACES together employ 155 workers.

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OSHA and the Wage and Hour Division together have fined Tempel Grain Elevators LLP of Wiley, Colo., more than $1.6 million following the May 29 death of a teenage worker at the company’s Haswell, Colo., grain storage operation. The youth suffocated after being engulfed by grain in one of the facility bins. The company also exposed three other teenage workers to the cited hazards.

“Tempel Grain ignored long-established standards addressing safety in grain handling facilities. It was well aware of the hazards and knowingly put its young workers in harm’s way,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “From safety to wage and hour issues, the company created a hazardous and illegal working environment for its workers. This situation must be addressed swiftly and completely.”

Following its investigation, OSHA proposed $1,592,500 in fines for 22 alleged willful and 13 alleged serious citations. The willful citations include not providing an emergency action plan prior to entering grain bins, failing to train workers in safe bin entry, a lack of grain engulfment protection, failure to shut off and lock out equipment while employees were working inside bins, a lack of rescue equipment, and allowing hazardous accumulations of grain dust that could contribute to fire and explosion. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.

The serious citations include unguarded conveyors, fall hazards, a lack of first aid supplies and trained medical personnel, incomplete fire extinguisher inspections, using extension cords in place of permanent wiring and failing to inspect electrical equipment. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists. The company has 15 business days from receipt of all OSHA citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The Wage and Hour Division conducted a separate investigation that disclosed 77 child labor violations involving 15 minor employees. These include employing underage workers, allowing teenage employees to work hours prohibited by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and allowing them to work in jobs prohibited by the act’s occupation standards as well as by the department’s hazardous occupations orders. These violations carry fines totaling $64,487. The investigation also found 59 workers due a total of $56,285 in back wages for minimum wage and overtime violations of the FLSA.

Violations include employment of a 13-year-old, and having 14- and 15-year-olds work prohibited hours and in prohibited occupations in connection with transportation, storage and warehousing of the grain and power-driven equipment. Employees ranging from 14 to 17 years of age were operating prohibited hazardous equipment, including hoisting apparatus such as skid loaders, front end loaders and forklifts, and riding elevator man lifts. Minors engaged in prohibited activities such as motor vehicle driving and working on or around the roofs of elevators.

The FLSA’s youth employment provisions identify 17 hazardous orders that prohibit specific activities for workers under 18, as well as hours restrictions. The law further states that 14 is the minimum age for employment. Employees 14 and 15 years of age may work only in non-manufacturing and non-mining occupations specifically permitted by the secretary of labor. For more information on youth employment laws, visit http://www.youthrules.dol.gov or call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

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OSHA Cites Seafood Processor Following Worker Death in Ice Machine

OSHA has cited Northern Wind Inc., a New Bedford, MA, seafood processor, for 23 alleged violations and $66,800 in penalties after a worker was killed on May 4 when he became caught in the moving parts of a large industrial ice-making machine that activated while he was performing maintenance work inside it.

OSHA found that the plant lacked specific steps and procedures to power down and lock out the ice machine’s power source before employees entered it. The agency’s investigation also found that workers were not trained to recognize and address the hazard of the machine operating without warning. In addition, the plant lacked a program and employee training for working in confined spaces, such as the ice machine, and ladders were not available to ensure safe entry and exit from the ice machine.

Additionally, OSHA’s inspection identified unmarked exit doors and a lack of emergency exit route lighting, no eyewash or drenching facilities for employees working with corrosive chemicals, a lack of material safety data sheets and chemical hazard communication training, unguarded open-sided floors, a missing safety latch on a hoisting hook and several electrical-related hazards.

All told, these conditions resulted in the issuance of 19 serious citations, with $62,800 in proposed fines. The company also has been fined $4,000 for four other-than-serious hazards, including incomplete recording of injuries and illnesses. The combined penalties total $66,800.

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OSHA is proposing $364,350 in penalties against Frit Car Inc. in Brewton, Ala., for alleged safety and health violations. The inspection began April 3 when four workers were overcome by vapors while working in a confined space.

The company is being cited with five willful violations with a proposed penalty of $315,000 relating to failing to have an assigned attendant outside a limited space work area; not having procedures for alerting emergency services for rescuing workers in a confined space; not having a procedure that would prevent unauthorized personnel from attempting a rescue; failing to train workers who perform work in a confined space; failing to ensure the entry supervisors verified that all the entries were known; and failing to train each member of the emergency response team in confined space rescue.

The facility is also being cited with 17 serious safety and health violations with $47,950 in proposed penalties. The safety hazards include several deficiencies in the company’s enclosed and limited space program, hazards associated with poor housekeeping, no guardrails on walkways, unsuitable eye wash and shower facilities, inoperable safety interlocks on a baler machine, no tongue guard on a bench grinder and a damaged tool. The health violations concern hazards associated with several deficiencies related to noise overexposure, the employer’s respiratory program and a damaged welding lead on the mobile service truck.

Two other-than-serious citations with a $1,400 proposed penalty are being issued to the company for recordkeeping deficiencies and not properly storing air-supplied air respirators after usage.

“This incident could have resulted in fatal consequences because Frit Car management knowingly violated OSHA safety and health standards,” said Kurt Petermeyer, director of OSHA’s Mobile Area Office.

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OSHA has proposed $314,000 in fines against Dana Container Inc. of Summit, Ill., for alleged willful, serious and repeat violations of federal workplace safety standards.

As a result of a safety and health inspection, OSHA has cited the company for three willful violations with a proposed penalty of $210,000. The willful citations address the company’s alleged failure to have adequate written programs and permits required for working in confined spaces and not insuring proper working conditions before allowing workers to enter those confined spaces. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

The company also has been cited for 16 serious violations with proposed penalties of $86,500. Some of the citations allege the company failed to provide proper training and procedures on uses of personal protective equipment such as respirators; review permit space entry operations and permit required confined space programs; install guardrails on elevated runways; provide proper identification and warnings on hazardous material tanks; and provide an adequate hazard communication program.

Dana also has received one citation for a repeat violation with a penalty of $17,500. The alleged repeat violation addresses failure to provide emergency eyewash and a safety shower for employees working with corrosive materials. OSHA issues a repeat violation when it finds a substantially similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any of an employer’s facilities in federal enforcement states when an initial one previously was cited.

“Injuries and fatalities from accidents such as asphyxiation due to overexposure of hazardous gases are preventable,” said Gary Anderson, OSHA’s area director in Calumet City, Ill. “Employers must remain dedicated to keeping the workplace safe and healthful or face strong enforcement actions by OSHA.”

Dana Container Inc. is a tank washing company that employs about 375 workers nationally. Its facility has been inspected seven times by OSHA, including two inspections after worker fatalities, and the company has received numerous citations from these past inspections.

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OSHA has proposed more than $1.1 million in penalties to Milk Specialties Co.

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