With the arrival of cold weather, OSHA is reminding employers to take necessary precautions to protect workers from the serious, and sometimes fatal, effects of carbon monoxide exposure.
Recently, a worker in a New England warehouse was found unconscious and seizing, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Several other workers at the site also became sick. All of the windows and doors were closed to conserve heat, there was no exhaust ventilation in the facility, and very high levels of carbon monoxide were measured at the site.
Every year, workers die from carbon monoxide poisoning, usually while using fuel-burning equipment and tools in buildings or semi-enclosed spaces without adequate ventilation. This can be especially true during the winter months when employees use this type of equipment in indoor spaces that have been sealed tightly to block out cold temperatures and wind. Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure can include everything from headaches, dizziness and drowsiness to nausea, vomiting or tightness across the chest. Severe carbon monoxide poisoning can cause neurological damage, coma, and death.
Sources of carbon monoxide can include anything that uses combustion to operate, such as gas generators, power tools, compressors, pumps, welding equipment, space heaters, and furnaces.
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Department of Labor Files Whistle-Blower Lawsuit Against Kbec Inc.
The US Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Montana alleging that Helena-based Kbec, Inc., a Dairy Queen franchisee, illegally terminated an employee for making complaints regarding workplace violence at the company's facility.
"Employees should be free to exercise their rights under the law without fear of termination or retaliation by their employers," said Gregory Baxter, regional administrator of the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Denver. "This lawsuit underscores the department's commitment to vigorously take action to protect workers' rights."
OSHA opened an investigation after the worker filed a whistle-blower complaint alleging retaliation by the company in violation of Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which prohibits discharge or other retaliation against workers for filing a safety or health complaint, or for exercising other rights afforded to them by the act. The investigation revealed that the employee was fired shortly after raising concerns about workplace violence.
The department is seeking reinstatement of the employee, payment of lost wages and benefits and enjoining the company from future retaliation against its employees. Kbec, Inc., operates two Dairy Queen franchises in Helena.
OSHA enforces the whistle-blower provision in Section 11(c) of the act and 21 additional statutes protecting employees who report violations of various securities laws, trucking, airline, nuclear, pipeline, environmental, rail, workplace safety and health regulations, and consumer product and food safety laws. Under the various whistle-blower provisions that Congress has enacted, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government.
Worker Dies from Heat Stroke on Miamisburg, Ohio, Work Site
OSHA has cited A.H. Sturgill Roofing, Inc., for two serious safety violations after a worker died from complications caused by heat stroke on August 22, 2012.
"Sturgill Roofing has a responsibility to mandate that workers take frequent breaks in the shade and drink plenty of water during adverse heat conditions, which poses a risk of injury or death," said Bill Wilkerson, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati. "Employers must train their supervisors and workers to recognize the warning signs of heat illness and take appropriate action."
The 60-year-old temporary worker sustained heat stroke while working in direct sunlight on a commercial flat roof, performing tasks consisting of throwing rubber roofing material into a dump truck on the ground. The worker was hospitalized due to work-related heat exposure on August 1.
Two serious violations involve failing to provide a program addressing heat-related hazards in the workplace and to train workers on recognizing the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses, including taking preventive measures, such as consuming adequate amounts of water. A serious violation occurs 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.
OSHA has developed heat illness educational materials in English and Spanish, as well as a curriculum to be used for workplace training.OSHA also has released a free application for mobile devices that enables workers and supervisors to monitor the heat index at their work sites. The app displays a risk level for workers based on the heat index, as well as reminders about protective measures that should be taken at that risk level.
The industrial and commercial roofing company, which faces a proposed fine of $8,820, has 15 days from receipt of the citation and proposed penalty to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the finding before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Pyongsan America Inc. Cited by OSHA Following Amputation of Worker's Finger
OSHA has cited Pyongsan America, Inc., with one willful safety violation after a worker had a finger amputated while crimping air conditioning hoses on a new vehicle at the company's manufacturing facility in Auburn. OSHA's Mobile Area Office initiated an inspection on September 11, 2012, in response to the amputation.
The willful violation involves failing to provide machine guarding for the points of operation on the crimping machines. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
"Although management was aware the crimpers and bending machines lacked machine guarding, no action was taken to protect workers' from injury," said Joseph Roesler, OSHA's area director in Mobile. "It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that proper protections and safety procedures are followed at all times."
Pyongsan America manufactures automotive parts for Hyundai Motor Co. Proposed penalties total $69,300.
OSHA Signs Alliance with Montana Grain Elevators Association to Address Industry Hazards
OSHA and the Montana Department of Labor and Industry recently signed an alliance with the Montana Grain Elevators Association. The alliance, signed during the Montana Agricultural Business Association and MGEA joint annual convention in Great Falls, will focus on identifying, reducing, and preventing workers' exposure to hazards in the grain handling industries throughout Montana.
"This alliance clearly shows the commitment to address cooperatively the unique safety and health hazards associated with grain handling operations," said Jeff Funke, director of OSHA's Billings Area Office. "By working together, we will continue to improve the safety and health of Montana's workers."
Suffocation and falls have been identified as the two leading causes of fatalities at grain handling facilities, along with fires, explosions from combustible dust, electrocutions, and injuries from improperly guarded machinery.
Under the alliance, OSHA's Billings Area Office, MDLI and MGEA will provide information and guidance and will develop training programs to prevent injuries and improve overall safety and health. The partners will convene and participate in forums, discussions, and meetings to forge innovative solutions in the workplace and provide input on safety and health issues.
"The Montana Grain Elevator Association and its members are committed to the safety of our employees and have worked diligently to provide safe work environments," said MGEA president Tim Mattick. "We look forward to working with OSHA to provide a means of communication on opportunities to improve safety at our facilities."
The purpose of each alliance is to develop compliance assistance tools and resources and to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities.
OSHA Fines Panthera Painting Inc. $460,000 for 38 Safety Violations
OSHA has cited Canonsburg-based Panthera Painting, Inc., with 38 alleged violations—including 14 willful and 11 repeat—found at bridge work sites in Slatington, Harrisburg and Slatedale, where workers were exposed to lead and other safety and health hazards while performing abrasive blasting and repainting projects. Proposed penalties total $459,844.
"The employer's refusal to correct the hazards, along with its history of failing to correct hazards, demonstrates a clear resistance to worker safety and health and leaves workers vulnerable to potential illnesses and injuries from overexposure to lead and other hazards," said MaryAnn Garrahan, OSHA regional administrator in Philadelphia. "Employers have a legal responsibility to provide workers with safe and healthful workplaces. Anything less is unacceptable."
The willful violations, with $365,750 in fines, include failing to properly protect workers from exposure to lead and provide fall protection.
The repeat violations, with $63,294 in proposed penalties, relate to employee exposure to lead above the permissible exposure level; a lack of warning signs posted in lead work areas; failing to ensure workers showered at the end of each work shift; provide medical evaluations and fit tests for respirator users; notify employees of the results of lead monitoring; provide workers with initial medical surveillance for lead; provide blood tests every two months for employees exposed to lead; and certify the OSHA 300 injury and illness logs and monitor data in the lead compliance programs. A repeat violation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited in 2011.
The program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations.
Eleven serious violations with $30,800 in penalties were cited for allowing workers to have and/or consume food in the area where lead exposure was above the permissible level, not notifying employees in writing of blood lead test results within five days, lack of guarding on electric wiring to prevent accidental contact and ensuring workers wore respirators while blasting with glass media or when exposed to lead in excess of permissible limits. Additionally, the employer was cited for failing to provide personal protective equipment for workers when blasting, provide a dead man switch on the blasting nozzle, provide the proper filter for the vacuum used for cleaning lead and cadmium, and train workers on the physical and health hazards of the chemical to which they were exposed.
The company was also cited for two other-than-serious violations, with no penalty, for failing to indicate when a filter had been changed on a compressor and notify workers in writing of blood lead test results within five days. 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.
Panthera has been inspected by OSHA five times in the last five years with four of these inspections resulting in the issuance of serious citations.
OSHA Cites Roofing Contractor for Fall Hazards at Work Site
OSHA has cited Amilicar Samper Perez, doing business as Roof Systems of Connecticut, for alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards while its workers installed a roof on Page Street in Milford. The Milford-based roofing contractor faces a total of $44,880 in proposed fines, chiefly for fall hazards identified during an inspection by OSHA's Bridgeport Area Office that began in November 2012.
OSHA found workers exposed to falls of up to 11 feet 2 inches while they installed roofing without the use of fall protection. The workers had not been trained to recognize fall hazards and workers using a pneumatic nail gun were not wearing eye protection. OSHA had cited Perez in 2008 and 2009 for similar hazards at work sites in Milford and Hamden.
As a result of these recurring hazards, OSHA issued the employer three repeat citations with $37,400 in fines. Perez was also issued three serious citations with $7,480 in fines for ladder hazards and not training workers to recognize ladder hazards.
"Our inspectors all too often encounter job sites where fall protection is inadequate or absent," said Robert Kowalski, OSHA's area director in Bridgeport. "Lack of fall protection means employees are one slip or step away from deadly or disabling falls. For the safety and well-being of their workers, employers must provide effective fall protection for their employees and ensure that their workers are trained to recognize and address fall hazards."
The page offers fact sheets, posters, and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.
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