Crystal manufacturer fined over half a million dollars
Federal OSHA has cited NDK Crystals Inc. in Belvedere Illinois with fines of $510,000 for alleged egregious willful and serious violations of federal workplace safety standards following an explosion at the company’s crystal manufacturing building that took the life of a truck driver parked at a nearby service station. Workers at this facility were exposed to hazards that created a dangerous environment.
“The employer knowingly operated high pressure vessels even after being warned of the potential for a catastrophic failure due to material design and fabrication defects,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “This simply is unacceptable, and OSHA will use the full extent of the law to ensure the company is held accountable for its actions.”
Following its investigation, OSHA cited NDK Crystals with seven willful and five serious violations. The willful violations, one for each of seven individual high pressure vessels, involved the company’s continued operation of these high quality quartz production vessels even though it knew the vessels were susceptible to explosion and catastrophic failure as a result of defective design and fabrication. Willful violations are those committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for legal requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
The serious violations include failing to evaluate the building for a catastrophic event; failing to have an emergency evacuation program; failing to implement a hazard communication program; and a lack of personal protective equipment assessment and training certification.
COMPUSPAR USA Inc. has been cited again by OSHA for failing to abate previously cited workplace safety and health violations. Penalties total $101,700.
OSHA initiated its investigation on Sept. 15, 2009, to determine the abatement status of previously identified hazards. As a result of the investigation, the company has been cited with four failure to abate violations with a penalty of $83,400. The company also has been cited for six repeat violations with a penalty of $11,400; six serious violations with a penalty of $6,900; and one other-than-serious violation, which carries no penalty.
“The company’s refusal to abate these violations leaves its employees exposed to a variety of hazards and at risk of injury and illness,” said Jean Kulp, area director of OSHA’s Allentown office. “It is imperative that COMPUSPAR take all necessary steps to remove these hazards to ensure the safety and health of workers at the Allentown facility.”
The failure to abate citations address the company’s failure to maintain OSHA 300 logs for two years; to develop and implement a hazard communication program; to train employees on hazardous chemicals; and to develop and implement a respiratory protection program. The repeat violations include the company’s failure to maintain a material safety data sheet for hazardous chemicals used in the spray painting operation; failure to cover flammable liquids; use of unapproved electrical equipment in hazardous locations; lack of proper ventilation in a spray booth and the lack of cleanliness of the spray area. OSHA issues a repeat violation when an employer previously was cited for the same or similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facilities in federal enforcement states within the last three years.
The serious violations are due to the company’s failure to properly label a drum containing hazardous chemicals; failure to properly guard machinery; improper use of electric boxes and the use of a power strip as an alternative to fixed wiring.
COMPUSPAR USA Inc. repairs and reworks electronic and electromechanical equipment, and employs 76 workers at its Allentown Pennsylvania site.
Atlanta Intown Granite Company has been cited by Federal OSHA for continuing to expose its employees to health hazards more than a year after OSHA had cited the company for similar violations.
OSHA is proposing $133,875 in penalties against the company for exposing workers to excess amounts of silica by not fully implementing a respiratory protection program, failing to fully implement a hearing conservation program and failing to establish a written hazard communication program on exposure to hazardous substances.
Exposure to silica can lead to silicosis, a disabling, nonreversible and sometimes fatal lung disease. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that each year more than 250 people die from and hundreds more are disabled by silicosis.
“Silica and noise exposure remain serious hazards to employees at work, but both hazards are 100 percent preventable if employers fully implement protection programs,” said Andre Richards, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-West Area Office.
OSHA inspected this company in September 2008 and cited it with five serious violations for similar hazards. The current inspection followed up on the earlier one to determine if the hazards had been corrected.
The agency also is citing the stone countertop manufacturer with one serious safety violation and a proposed penalty of $2,000 for not equipping portable tools with machine guards.
OSHA has cited HomeGoods for 16 alleged violations of workplace safety standards. The retailer faces a total of $233,500 in proposed fines, chiefly for exit access, fire and crushing hazards at its Commack, N.Y., store.
Responding to an employee complaint, OSHA found exit routes obstructed by stock and equipment, an exit route too narrow for passage, stacked material that prevented employees from identifying the nearest exit, blocked access to fire extinguishers, workers not trained in fire extinguisher use and boxes stored in unstable 8-foot high tiers.
OSHA had cited Home Goods in 2006 and 2007 for similar conditions at the company’s Mount Olive, N.J., and Somers, N.Y., locations. As a result of what OSHA calls “recurring conditions”, OSHA issued the company five repeat citations, with $200,000 in proposed fines, for the hazards at the Commack store.
“It’s been 99 years since the fire at The Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in New York City took the lives of nearly 150 workers and almost 19 years since two workers were killed when they were unable to exit the McCrory’s store in Huntington Station, N.Y., during a fire,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “Blocked fire exits can be deadly. It is that simple.”
OSHA’s Commack inspection identified additional hazards, including a defective fire alarm box, a missing exit sign, electrical hazards and inadequate chemical hazard communication. These conditions resulted in nine serious citations, with $32,500 in fines. Finally, the store was issued one other-than-serious citation, with a $1,000 fine, for not providing injury and illness logs.
“There can be no delay in exiting a workplace during a fire or other emergency when the difference between escape and injury or death can be measured in seconds,” said Michaels. “Employers must ensure that exit routes are unobstructed at all locations.”
“One means of preventing recurring hazards is for employers to establish an effective comprehensive workplace safety and health program through which involve their employees in proactively evaluating, identifying and eliminating hazards,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Jan. 7, 2010
Contact: Office of Communications
Phone: 202-693-1999
OSHA announces informal public hearing on hazard communication rule
WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will hold three informal public hearings to accept comments and testimony on the proposed rule to align the agency’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).
The first hearing will begin March 2 at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. Additional hearings are scheduled for March 31 in Pittsburgh and April 13 in Los Angeles. OSHA will provide the location for the Pittsburgh and Los Angeles hearings in a future notice.
A number of countries, including the United States, and international organizations participated in developing the GHS to address inconsistencies in hazard classification and communications. The system provides a single, harmonized system to classify chemicals, labels and safety data sheets with the primary benefit of increasing the quality and consistency of information provided to workers, employers and chemical users.
Those interested in attending the hearings must provide a notice of intention to appear by January 18, 2010. Notices may be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Notices can also be submitted by regular mail to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-H022K-2006-0062, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C. 20210. Submissions not exceeding 10 pages can be faxed to the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648.
Technical inquiries should be directed to Maureen Ruskin, OSHA, Office of Chemical Hazards-Metals, 202-693-1950. Press inquiries should be directed to Jennifer Ashley, OSHA, Office of Communications, 202-693-1999.
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 safe and healthful working 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.
Cranesville Aggregate Co., doing business as Scotia Bag Plant, Scotia, N.Y., faces a total of $509,000 in proposed fines from OSHA. The plant, which bags cement and asphalt, has been cited for 33 alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety and health standards following comprehensive OSHA inspections over the past six months.
OSHA representatives felt workers have been needlessly exposed to potentially disabling or fatal respiratory illness, falls, crushing injuries, burns, lacerations, amputation and electrocution.
OSHA found that plant employees who bagged cement were exposed to excess levels of cement dust without adequate ventilation, respiratory protection, personal protective equipment and training. In addition, the plant did not evaluate and identify respiratory hazards, train forklift operators or prevent an employee from working under a suspended load. As a result, OSHA has issued the plant six willful citations, with $375,000 in fines.
Seven repeat citations, with $75,000 in fines, have been issued for conditions similar to those cited in earlier OSHA inspections of Cranesville facilities in Kingston, Glens Falls and Fishkill, N.Y. These included an unsanitary workplace, unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals, and fall and electrical hazards. Twenty serious citations, with $59,000 in fines, have been issued for ineffective respirator training, a lack of personal protective equipment, a lack of emergency eyewashes, obstructed exits, unguarded machinery, and additional forklift and electrical hazards.
OSHA issued citations to Cambria Contracting Inc. for 11 alleged willful violations of the OSHA construction asbestos standard for failing to train and protect its workers at a Buffalo jobsite. The Lockport, N.Y., demolition contractor faces a total of $484,000 in proposed penalties.
“These significant penalties reflect the fact that this employer, an asbestos contractor with extensive knowledge of the OSHA standards that govern asbestos removal and handling, chose not to follow these standards and put its workers, including young, inexperienced college students, in harm’s way,” said acting Assistant Secretary for OSHA Jordan Barab.
OSHA found that several Cambria Contracting workers, who were cleaning up debris at the former AM&A department store warehouse on Washington Avenue, had not been trained in asbestos hazards and how to protect themselves. The workers also lacked proper respirators and protective clothing, and had not been informed of the presence of asbestos at the site. In addition, the employer failed to determine the asbestos exposure level and to establish a regulated work area for asbestos removal and handling. It also did not use vacuums with HEPA filters to collect debris but used methods to move debris with asbestos-containing material that typically can cause asbestos to be released into the air.
“This employer knew that training and other safeguards, which are well-known in the industry, were required, yet chose not to provide them,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s New York regional administrator. “That is unacceptable and needlessly placed the health of these workers at risk.”
“Asbestos is well recognized as a health hazard since inhalation of asbestos fibers may lead to lung cancer and other diseases,” said Arthur Dube, OSHA’s Buffalo area director. “As exposures frequently occur during renovation and demolition work, we strongly urge contractors to ensure that their workers are adequately trained and protected against asbestos hazards.”
Detailed information on asbestos is available on OSHA’s Web site at:
OSHA is proposing $69,550 in penalties against Wheel Repair Solutions, doing business as World of Wheels & Hubcaps, for safety and health violations at its Decatur, Ga., location.
OSHA observed seven failure-to-abate violations while conducting a follow-up inspection at World of Wheels & Hubcaps. The employer failed to develop a written hazard communication program, failed to provide a hazard communication training, failed to certify that a hazard assessment for personal protection had been conducted, failed to develop or implement a written respiratory protection program, and did not train workers who wear tight-fitting respirators. In addition, the employer allowed workers to use compressed air greater than 30 pounds square inch (PSI) for cleaning and did not provide employees with hazard communications training. The proposed penalty for the failure-to-abate violations is $66,750.
The citations also include three repeat violations with a proposed penalty of $2,800 for employees wearing tight-fitting respirators without a medical evaluation and not being fit-tested for the equipment, and for the employer storing compressed cylinders of oxygen and acetylene together.
The company has received one other-than-serious violation with no monetary penalty for not having a visible exit sign.
“All workers deserve a safe workplace. This company is fully aware of what needs to be corrected with its safety and health program. It is time that World of Wheels & Hubcaps takes responsibility for its employees’ safety and health,” said Gei-Thae Breezley, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office.
OSHA cites Little Falls, N.Y., paper mill for 33 safety and health violations after worker is caught in machine Burrows Paper Corp. faces $136,500 in fines
OSHA has cited Burrows Paper Corp. for 33 alleged violations of workplace health and safety standards after a worker sustained serious arm injuries following being partially pulled into the roller of a paper machine at the company’s Little Falls, N.Y., paper mill on April 28. The paper manufacturer faces a total of $136,500 in proposed fines.
OSHA’s inspection found that the roller had not been guarded against contact, and the machine’s power source had not been locked out to prevent contact with moving parts while the worker was cleaning paper off the rolls. OSHA identified several other instances of unguarded machinery, fall hazards, a locked exit, a blocked exit access, uninspected and untested lifting equipment, improper storage of compressed gas cylinders, electrical hazards, a failure to monitor employees for chromium hazards, an inadequate hearing conservation program and several deficiencies with the mill’s confined space entry program.
“These conditions, which exposed the mill’s workers to risk of lacerations, amputation, crushing injuries, falls, electrocution and burns, as well as injuries due to being unable to swiftly exit the mill in the event of a fire or other emergency, must be addressed completely and effectively to protect safety and health,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse.
OSHA has issued the company two repeat citations for the unguarded roller and for unguarded open-sided work platforms, as it had cited the employer in January 2008 for similar hazards at another worksite. In addition, the mill has been issued 29 serious citations for the remaining hazards, and two other-than-serious citations for incomplete illness and injury reporting and not posting a copy of OSHA’s noise standard. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.
“One means of preventing accidents and injuries is through an effective safety and health management system in which employers and employees work together to proactively evaluate, identify and eliminate hazards,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Syracuse Area Office; telephone 315-451-0808.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit:
Does the Current Use of the Globally Harmonized System Comply with OSHA’s HazCom Standard?
In line with the recent OSHA announcement to move toward adopting Globally Harmonized System (GHS) OSHA released a letter of interpretation on its current policy on GHS complying with OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS).
A writer asked specific questions regarding the use of the GHS of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. The following responses constitute OSHA’s interpretation of only the requirements discussed and may not be applicable to any questions not delineated outside of the listed scenarios and questions. The paraphrased scenario and questions are below, followed by OSHA’s responses.
Scenario: Your company manufactures various ink products for industrial inkjet printers and some of these ink products are considered hazardous within the context of:
OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), 29 CFR 1910.1200;
Canada Hazardous Products Act;
European Union (EU) Regulation EC/1272/2008 (EU GHS);
United Nations (UN) Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (UN GHS).
Question 1: Would you consider an EU GHS label sufficient to meet the spirit and intent of OSHA’s current HCS?
Reply 1: A qualified yes, as long as the label complies with the provisions of the HCS as discussed herein. The HCS was promulgated to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals produced in or imported into the U.S. are evaluated and that information concerning their hazards is transmitted to employers and employees. The transmittal of information is to be accomplished by means of comprehensive hazard communication programs which include container labeling and other forms of warning covered under 29 CFR 1910.1200(f).
The HCS requires that labels contain the identity of the chemical; appropriate hazard warnings; and the name and addresses for the chemical manufacturer, importer, or other responsible party [29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(1)]. The identity of a chemical is the chemical name or common name that is also used on the material safety data sheet (MSDS), and a hazard warning means words, pictures, symbols, or a combination thereof which conveys the specific physical and health hazards, including the target organ effects [29 CFR 1010.1200(c)]. Manufacturers, importers, and distributors must ensure that containers of hazardous chemicals leaving their facilities have labels which contain these elements.
Classification schemes in the EU and other countries may be different from those in OSHA’s HCS. These classification schemes may affect the information provided on both the safety data sheet and the label. However, as long as the EU GHS label contains the information required by the HCS, OSHA will consider the EU GHS label sufficient.
OSHA is proposing to amend the HCS to incorporate the GHS. If these changes are ultimately adopted, then EU GHS labels should generally meet the requirements of the HCS.
Question 2: Would you take enforcement action under your current regulations against manufacturers, importers or distributors that market products that have been appropriately labeled according to EU GHS requirements?
Reply 2: OSHA would not issue any citations so long as the chemical label and other forms of warning include the information required by OSHA’s HCS, as discussed above.
Question 3: Would you take enforcement action under your current regulations against employers or users of a product that has been appropriately labeled according to EU GHS requirements?
Reply 3: Employers obligations under the HCS are distinct from those of manufacturers, importers, or distributors. According to the Hazard Communication Directive, CPL 02-02-038, Paragraph (E)(1)(d)(1), available on OSHA’s website: “Employers are not to be held responsible for inaccurate information on the MSDS/label which they did not prepare and they have accepted in good faith from the chemical manufacturer, importer, or distributor. The “responsible party” named on the MSDS and the label would be held responsible for the accuracy of the information and potentially subject to citation if a violation of the HCS was determined to exist.”
Manufacturers, importers and distributors of hazardous chemicals are required to determine the hazards of the chemical(s) they produce or import and provide that information downstream to employers and employees through MSDSs and labels that comply with 29 CFR 1910.1200.
