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.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 2:06 pm and is filed under Hazard Communication, Dec, 2009, Powered Industrial Trucks, Occupational Health, Silica, Respiratory Protection, OSHA Inspections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.