OSHA cites AAR Summa Technology in Huntsville, Ala., with proposed penalties of $191,500 for 22 safety and health violations
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 22 citations against AAR Summa Technology for exposing workers to safety and health hazards at its Huntsville plant. Proposed penalties total $191,500.
“Management needs to show a commitment to worker safety and health consistent with this company’s ranking as one of the top defense contractors in the world,” said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA’s area director in Birmingham, Ala.
OSHA began its inspection in February after receiving a complaint about hazards at the facility, which produces military aircraft parts. Two willful safety violations were issued for failing to provide proper lockout/tagout procedures of energy sources for workers performing maintenance and service functions on machinery, and for failing to provide protective machine guards on equipment.
Sixteen serious safety violations were issued for failing to repair or replace hooks used to lift and hold shop fabricated lifting devices, allowing materials to obstruct the exit pathways, failing to properly maintain machinery, exposing workers to electrical hazards, failing to train workers on hazards associated with aluminum dust, and using excessively pressurized compressed air to clean off parts.
Three serious health violations were issued for exposing workers to noise hazards, failing to perform audiometric tests on employees and failing to train workers on hazards related to noise.
A repeat health violation was issued for failing to provide a site-specific written respiratory protection program. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last three years.
OSHA Fines Small Employer nearly $1,000 per employee.
WAUKESHA, Wis.— The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited KBRK Inc., doing business as Baird Display in Waukesha, with $60,750 in proposed penalties for alleged willful and serious violations of federal workplace safety standards.
As a result of a January 2010 inspection, OSHA has issued a willful citation to the company with a proposed penalty of $35,000. OSHA discovered that employees were bypassing safety switches in order to reach into running machinery to un-jam it without shutting down the machine. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
OSHA also has issued the company 18 serious citations with proposed penalties of $25,750. Some of the alleged violations include: failure to provide guardrails and other fall protection from platforms; to establish a lockout/tagout energy control program; to produce procedures for controlling potentially hazardous energy sources on equipment or provide proper training; and to have proper guarding on machinery or rotating shafts. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.
“There is no excuse for a company to disregard the safety and welfare of its workers by not following the OSHA safety guidelines,” said OSHA Area Director George Yoksas in Milwaukee, Wis. “Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
The company, which manufactures displays and employs 68 people at its Waukesha factory, has 15 business days from receipt of its 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. 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, visithttp://www.osha.gov.
Federal OSHA has cited Scovill Fasteners in Clarksville, Ga., for 60 safety and health violations. Penalties total $133,350.
OSHA began its inspection in October 2009 after receiving a complaint concerning a partial amputation of an employee’s index finger. Inspectors found a number of deficiencies at the plant including unguarded power presses, failing to develop lockout/tagout procedures for energy sources, lack of training for forklift operators, improper personal protection equipment for employees handling acids and caustics, and failing to provide a written hazard communications plan. The investigation was expanded to all areas of the facility when inspectors observed a high number of safety hazards.
The company is being cited with 40 serious safety violations with $99,050 in proposed penalties. The violations are associated with several instances where mechanical power presses were unguarded, exposing employees to amputation hazards. Other violations are related to fall hazards, damaged storage racks, crane and overhead hoists exposing employees to struck-by hazards, lack of adequate lighting and signage for emergency egress, and several electrical deficiencies.
A separate health inspection revealed 14 serious violations with $34,300 in proposed penalties. They include hazards associated with abrasive blasting, noise overexposure, lack of noise training for employees, failing to address all the required elements in the emergency response plan, failing to provide an appropriate eye wash and shower station, failing to perform a personal protection equipment assessment, as well as deficiencies in the respiratory protection program and the permit required confined space program. 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 facility is also being cited with six other-than-serious violations with no proposed penalty. The violations concern dip tank ventilation deficiencies, improper use of respirators, lack of a written exposure control plan and failing to label containers. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
“These types of violations show the kind of disregard this company has for the safety and welfare of its employees and why it needs to make the required improvements to prevent needless injuries,” said Gei-Thae Breezley, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East Area Office.”
Federal OSHA has cited the Allen Family Foods Inc. poultry processing facility in Harbeson Delaware for exposing workers to a variety of workplace safety hazards. Proposed penalties total $182,200.
OSHA initiated an investigation on Sept. 9, 2009, in response to a referral made by Maryland Occupational Safety and Health after numerous serious and willful violations were issued at a similar processing facility in Maryland.
OSHA has cited the company with 45 serious violations and proposed a penalty of $182,000, and two other-than-serious violations with a proposed penalty of $200. The serious violations address hazards with industrial trucks, falls, personal protective equipment, machine guarding, electrical hazards, process safety management, respirators and emergency response.
“It is vital that the company abate these hazards as quickly as possible to ensure that safety and health of workers at that facility are not at risk,” said Domenick Salvatore, director of OSHA’s Wilmington, Del., office.
The Maryland inspection netted three proposed “willful” violations involving Lockout/Tagout and machine guarding. Proposed penalties of $109,750.
OREGON, Ohio — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited BP North American Inc. and BP-Husky Refining LLC’s refinery in Oregon, Ohio, with 42 alleged willful violations, including 39 on a per-instance basis, and 20 alleged serious violations for exposing workers to a variety of hazards including failure to provide adequate pressure relief for process units. Proposed penalties total $3,042,000.
“OSHA has found that BP often ignored or severely delayed fixing known hazards in its refineries,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “There is no excuse for taking chances with people’s lives. BP must fix the hazards now.”
OSHA began its inspection at the refinery located near Toledo, Ohio, in September 2009 as part of the agency’s Refinery National Emphasis Program and as a follow-up to a 2006 inspection and a 2007 settlement agreement between OSHA and BP at this location. Although the 2009 inspection found that BP had complied with the settlement agreement, OSHA found numerous violations at the plant not previously covered by the agreement.
The inspection revealed that workers were exposed to serious injury and death in the event of a release of flammable and explosive materials in the refinery because of numerous conditions constituting violations of OSHA’s process safety management standard. OSHA has issued willful citations for numerous failures to provide adequate pressure relief for process units, failures to provide safeguards to prevent the hazardous accumulation of fuel in process heaters, and exposing workers to injury and death from collapse of or damage, in the event of a fire, to nine buildings in the refinery. Additional willful citations allege various other violations of OSHA’s standard addressing process safety management. These citations carry proposed penalties totaling $2,940,000.
The serious citations address a variety of other hazards, including violations of other requirements of the process safety management standard. These carry proposed penalties totaling $102,000.
Since 1991, this refinery has been inspected 12 times. Nationally, BP Products North American has been inspected by OSHA 44 times at various sites and is facing pending cases in which 439 willful citations and failure-to-abate notices were issued to its Texas City Refinery as a result of a 2009 inspection. Proposed penalties in those pending cases total $87 million, the largest penalties by far ever proposed by OSHA. BP’s Texas City Refinery experienced a devastating explosion and fire in 2005 that killed 15 workers and injured 170. A large portion of the penalties proposed for the Texas City Refinery results from OSHA’s allegations that BP failed to fully live up to a settlement agreement entered into after the explosion. BP has contested the citations, notifications of failure-to-abate and the proposed penalties in those cases.
BP North American Inc. operates and jointly owns the refinery with Canadian-based Husky Energy Inc. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an information conference with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Toledo Refinery Citations and Proposed Penalties
Forty-two willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $2,940,000 are proposed as follows:
1. Thirty-eight (38) per-instance, willful citations with penalties totaling $2,660,000 allege as follows:
a. Twenty-six instances allege deficient pressure relief, a violation of 29 CFR parts 1910.119(d)(3) and 1910.119(j)(5), with total penalties of $1,820,000;
b. Three instances allege the lack of flame-out protection on heaters and a furnace, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(d)(3), with total penalties of $210,000; and
c. Nine instances allege facility-siting hazards, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(e)(5), with total penalties of $630,000.
2. Four willful citations with penalties totaling $280,000, allege as follows:
a. Lack of pressure vessel information, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(d)(3), with a penalty of $70,000;
b. Cross-connections between fire-emergency water supplies and process systems, a violation of 29 CFR parts 1910.119(d)(3) and 1910.119(e)(5), with a penalty of $70,000;
c. Failure to conduct thickness measurements at designated test sites and as required at the flare header, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(j)(4)(ii), with a penalty of $70,000; and
d. Failure to conduct thickness measurements in accordance with RAGAGEP, a violation of 29 CFR 1910.119(j)(4)(iii), with a penalty of $70,000.
Twenty serious citations with total penalties of $102,000 allege the following failures: to support pipes properly; to maintain heat transfer information for refractory-lined vessels; to assure the accuracy of P&IDs, the maintenance of pressure vessel nameplates, and proper documentation of pressure relief design information; to document implementation of the vessel grounding program; to assure that car-sealing practices were used for intervening valves; to password protect safety instrumented systems; to assure that PHAs addressed combustion safeguards, pressure relief, and human factors, and reflected updated layer of protection analysis and safety integrity levels; to establish and to implement a written program for refinery valve car-seal procedures; to consult employees on the frequency of refresher training; to implement procedures for operating limits changes and other matters; to investigate contamination of the fire-water system; to include contributing factors and recommendations in accident investigation reports; to audit a statistically significant number of pressure vessels, piping and instrument controls during compliance audits; to assure that LOTO procedures were implemented during burner maintenance; to assure that LOTO devices were applied during service and maintenance; and to assure that electric lighting equipment was appropriate for hazardous atmosphere classifications.
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.
Federal OSHA issued three Mueller Industries Inc. subsidiaries in Fulton Mississippi 128 citations for allegedly exposing workers to safety and health hazards. The privately-held corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., owns and operates 20 facilities located in eight states and two foreign countries.
OSHA began its investigation in July 2009 after a maintenance worker employed by Mueller Copper Tube Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Mueller Industries, was killed, and two other workers were injured when naphtha, a flammable liquid of hydrocarbon mixtures, leaked from an electric pump and ignited.
“Mueller Industries subsidiaries’ dangerous practices exposed workers at their facilities to a variety of hazards that ultimately took one worker’s life,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The significant fines of $683,000 cannot replace this worker’s life or bring peace to the family, but they will go a long way in letting this employer know disregarding worker safety and health will not be tolerated.”
Mueller Copper Tube has been issued willful, repeat and serious citations. A willful citation with a penalty of $40,000 alleges the failure to repair a corroded live electrical disconnect, which exposed workers to electrical shock. Ten repeat citations with penalties of $150,000 allege failure to guard machinery; unsafe electrical equipment and practices; and failure to label hazardous chemicals. Sixty-nine serious citations, with proposed penalties of $223,500, allege unsafe cranes; fall hazards; unsafe ladders; blocked and inadequate exits; unsafe flammable liquid and compressed gas use and storage; locking out hazardous energy sources during maintenance and service; a lack of machine guards; unsafe electrical equipment and practices; and failure to establish a respiratory protection program.
The initial safety inspection at Mueller Cooper Tube was expanded to include Mueller Fittings LLC and Mueller Packaging LLC, two additional subsidiaries of Mueller Industries. Mueller Fittings has been issued 22 serious citations, with penalties of $64,000, alleging the failure to lock out energy sources, unsafe propane storage and handling, overexposure to noise, unsafe material storage, and the likelihood of exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Eight repeat citations also have been issued, with penalties of $102,500, alleging a lack of machine guarding, electrical hazards and the inadequate labeling of hazardous chemicals.
Mueller Packaging has been issued 12 serious citations, with penalties of $28,000, alleging unsafe crane operation, failing to lock out sources of hazardous energy, hazardous chemical exposures, and overexposure to noise; five repeat citations, with penalties of $75,000, alleging an unsafe forklift modification, electrical hazards and inadequate labeling under the hazard communication standard; and one other-than-serious violation, with no penalty, for an electrical deficiency.
OSHA has cited Chapman Printing Co. in Huntington, WV for workplace safety and health violations. Proposed penalties total $158,400.
OSHA initiated its inspection on June 18 in response to a complaint. As a result of the investigation, the company has been issued citations for six willful violations, with a penalty of $126,000; eight serious violations, with a penalty of $27,900; and five other-than-serious violations, with a penalty of $4,500
The willful violations address OSHA’s belief that the company failed to provide adequate energy control procedures and a hearing conservation program. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to, or intentional disregard for, employee safety and health.
The serious violations include a lack of machine guarding, failure to conduct a hazard assessment of the workplace to determine the need for personal protective equipment, failure to provide personal protective equipment for employees, and failure to provide and use protective equipment when working on or near energized electrical equipment.
The other-than-serious violations are due to the company’s inadequate recordkeeping.
Federal OSHA has cited Solid Waste Transfer & Recycling Inc. for alleged safety and health violations. Proposed penalties total $212,400.
OSHA initiated an inspection on June 3 as part of its program targeting companies in industries with high injury and illness rates. As a result, the company has been issued citations for four willful violations with a penalty of $198,000 and six serious violations with a penalty of $14,400.
The willful violations address the company’s failure to have an adequate lockout procedure and a lack of machine guards. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to, or intentional disregard for, employee safety and health.
The serious violations include blocked exits, inadequate energy control procedures, lack of training, failure to properly mark compressed gas cylinders and effectively close electrical box openings. A serious citation is issued when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.
“Lockout procedures are designed to safeguard workers from the unexpected startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities,” said Phil Peist, area director of OSHA’s office in Parsippany, N.J. “It is imperative that the company correct the identified hazards to protect the safety and health of its workers.”
“One means of helping ensure worker safety is for employers is to establish an effective safety and health management system through which they and their employees work together to proactively evaluate, identify and eliminate hazards before they result in injury or illness,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
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).
