US Department of Labor’s OSHA proposes $220,000 in fines to Syracuse, NY, manufacturer for willful, serious and uncorrected violations.

OSHA  has cited Oberdorfer LLC for 28 alleged violations of workplace health and safety standards, including failing to correct hazards cited during a previous OSHA inspection. The Syracuse manufacturer of aluminum castings faces a total of $220,000 in proposed fines following an OSHA inspection opened July 30, 2010, to verify correction of previously cited hazards.

OSHA previously cited the company for a variety of violations involving employee overexposure to airborne concentrations of silica, which has been classified as a human lung carcinogen. This newest inspection found the company failed to implement engineering controls to reduce workers’ exposure to silica. In addition, the inspection found that an employee who was overexposed to silica lacked a respirator.

“This company was given the time and opportunity to take effective corrective action, yet our latest inspections identified silica-related hazards that either went uncorrected or were allowed to recur. This is unacceptable,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “The sizable fines levied here reflect the severity and recurring nature of these conditions. They must be corrected - once and for all - to help ensure the health and safety of the workers at this plant.

As a result of its latest inspections, OSHA issued the company two failure-to-abate notices carrying $75,000 in fines for the uncorrected conditions and one willful citation with a $70,000 fine for the lack of respiratory protection. A failure-to-abate notice is issued, and additional fines proposed, when an employer fails to correct previously cited hazards. A willful violation exists when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

The company also was issued 21 serious citations with $72,000 in fines for fall, electrical and machine guarding hazards; a locked exit door; lack of a permit-required confined space program and training; failure to develop specific lockout/tagout procedures to prevent the unintended startup of machinery; lack of an eyewash station; and failing to provide training on silica. Finally, the company was issued four other-than-serious citations with $3,000 in fines for inadequate recording of workplace injuries and illnesses. OSHA issues a serious citation 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. 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.

“One means of addressing workplace hazards such as these is for employers to establish and maintain an illness and injury prevention program, in which workers and management work together continuously to identify and eliminate hazardous conditions,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.

Breathing crystalline silica dust can cause silicosis, which in severe cases can be disabling or even fatal. The respirable silica dust enters the lungs and causes the formation of scar tissue, thus reducing the lungs’ ability to take in oxygen. Detailed information on silica hazards and safeguards, including an interactive eTool, is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/silicacrystalline/index.html.

Agency now inspecting company’s sites in Illinois, Louisiana and Texas

OSHA has cited U.S. Minerals LLC of Dyer, Ind., for willfully exposing its workers to dangerously high levels of hazardous dust and not providing adequate breathing protection at its Baldwin facility. The company, which manufactures abrasive blasting and roofing materials from slag produced at coal-fired power plants, has been issued a total of 35 health and safety citations with proposed penalties of $466,400.

“U.S. Minerals has severely jeopardized the health of its workers by exposing them to extremely high levels of dust containing silica,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “Even with employees covered head to toe in dust, the company still failed to provide breathing protection and other controls.”

Inhalation of the material produced at the facility can cause debilitating lung disease such as pneumoconiosis, which is characterized by symptoms including chronic cough, difficulty breathing and shortness of breath. The antiquated and poorly maintained facility billowed clouds of dust that were noted by and affected residents as far as two miles away.

OSHA has issued U.S. Minerals 10 willful citations with proposed fines of $392,000 for exposing workers to levels of hazardous dust at concentrations higher than the permissible exposure limit; failure to implement a written respiratory protection program or to provide respirators to employees; and failure to implement engineering controls to reduce harmful dust exposures. 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.

“U.S. Minerals has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the safety and welfare of its workers,” said OSHA Area Director Nick Walters in Peoria, Ill. “That is not acceptable, and we are committed to seeing that the workers at this facility are provided a safe and healthy workplace.”

The company also has been issued 15 serious citations with proposed penalties of $37,600. Violations include failure to assess the need for adequate personal protective equipment; inadequate eye protection; unsanitary washing facilities; failure to develop procedures and practices for permit-required confined space entry; lack of a written hazard communication program; and inadequate information and training on dust containing silica. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.

The company has received six repeat citations with fines of $34,400 for violating permit-required confined space entry rules and failure to maintain a clean and orderly workplace. OSHA issues repeat citations if an employer was previously cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility within the last three years. The company also has received four other-than-serious citations with $2,400 in penalties for lack of proper injury and illness recordkeeping.

As a result of this inspection, OSHA has opened inspections of additional U.S. Minerals facilities in Coffeen, Ill., Harvey, La., and Galveston, Texas.

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.

Top Stories

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.

Top Stories

In early February, OSHA announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) to target worksites where employees are at risk for developing Silicosis.  “Exposure to silica threatens nearly two million American employees annually,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. “Under this program, OSHA will work diligently to maximize the protection of employees and eliminate workplace exposures to silica-related hazards.

“The NEP compliance directive builds on policies and procedures instituted in the 1996 Special Emphasis Program and includes an updated list of industries commonly known to have overexposures to silica; detailed information on potential hazards linked to silica and about current research regarding silica exposure hazards; guidance on calculating the Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for dust containing respirable crystalline silica in the construction and maritime industries; and guidance on conducting silica-related inspections.

Two additional elements included in the directive are an evaluation procedure for recording reductions of employee exposures to silica, as well as information on outreach programs, partnerships and alliances with employers to share resources, and training to reduce employee exposures.Silicosis is a disabling, nonreversible, and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by breathing in a large amount of crystalline silica.

Top Stories