What’s on OSHA’s Roadmap?

At a meeting of the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association in Orlando late last month, David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health identified OSHA’s key strategies:

1. We are making deterrence the primary objective of our enforcement efforts—by targeting high-risk workplaces, exposing recalcitrant employers to a harsh, public spotlight, and strengthening our penalties.
2. We are promoting an active, engaged workforce by ensuring that men and women have a voice in their working conditions—by increasing workers’ awareness of their rights and how to exercise these rights, and by strengthening whistleblower protections.
3. We are refocusing and strengthening our compliance assistance programs to help employers abate hazards and save lives on the job. Our tools of choice are: the On-site Consultation Program, the Susan Harwood training grants, more and better compliance materials tailored to workers but especially workers with limited English literacy, and ensuring that our cooperative programs achieve their fundamental objective—protecting the safety and health of workers.
4. Injury and illness prevention programs that can help change the culture of our workplaces.
5. Agency collaborations—as we are doing with EPA, NIEHS, NIOSH and the Coast Guard to protect the cleanup workers on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico; and by partnering with MSHA to strengthen the OSH Act.
6. We are strengthening OSHA’s use of science—by working closely with our sister agency NIOSH to more quickly incorporate scientific advances into our regulatory and compliance assistance activities.
7. We are helping to strengthen State OSHA plans to ensure that they are at least as effective as states covered by Federal OSHA.
8. We are attempting to conduct our work with transparency, openness, integrity, and humility. We held a day-long “OSHA Listens” forum in March to welcome comments from employers, workers, safety and health professionals, and families of workers killed on the job; we have held interactive Web chats to discuss the Department of Labor’s strategic plan and regulatory agenda for OSHA; and we are making available online searchable statistics on worksite exposure measurements and other data.
9. Finally, we are also moving to modernize workplace injury and illness tracking by focusing on accurate recordkeeping.

Advertising Opportunities Available

Environmental Resource Center is making a limited number of advertising positions available in the Safety Tip of the Week™, the Environmental Tip of the Week™, and the Reg of the Day™. 

OSHA to Investigate Dangers of Long Work Hours

OSHA has been petitioned by Public Citizen, a national advocacy organization, as well as other groups and individuals, to issue regulations that would limit the work hours of resident physicians.

In response to the request, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels, issued the following statement:

We are very concerned about medical residents working extremely long hours, and we know of evidence linking sleep deprivation with an increased risk of needle sticks, puncture wounds, lacerations, medical errors and motor vehicle accidents. We will review and consider the petition on this subject submitted by Public Citizen and others.

The relationship of long hours, worker fatigue and safety is a concern beyond medical residents, since there is extensive evidence linking fatigue with operator error. In its investigation of the root causes of the BP Texas City oil refinery explosion in 2005, in which 15 workers were killed and approximately 170 injured, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board identified worker fatigue and long work hours as a likely contributing factor to the explosion.

It is clear that long work hours can lead to tragic mistakes, endangering workers, patients and the public. All employers must recognize and prevent workplace hazards. That is the law. Hospitals and medical training programs are not exempt from ensuring that their employees’ health and safety are protected.

OSHA is working every day to ensure that employers provide not just jobs, but good, safe jobs. No worker, whether low-skilled and low-wage, or highly trained, should be injured, or lose his or her life for a paycheck.

OSHA Proposes Improvements to its On-site Consultation Program

The changes will provide the agency greater flexibility for inspecting worksites that are undergoing an on-site consultation visit and those that are granted Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) status, as well as ensure enhanced worker safety.

The proposed changes include clarifying the Assistant Secretary’s authority to identify sites that will be inspected, even if those sites are normally exempt because of their SHARP status. For example, when workplace accidents occur that generate widespread public concern about a hazard or substance, such as diacetyl or combustible dust, the Assistant Secretary may require that OSHA respond to these hazards by inspecting all sites within a specific industry.

Referrals are allegations of potential workplace hazards or violations from state or local health departments, media, and other sources. The proposal maintains current procedures that allow enforcement visits to terminate an on-site consultation visit or SHARP status based on an imminent danger, fatalities or catastrophes, and complaints from workers.

OSHA is also proposing to revise the existing initial exemption from programmed inspections of up to two years with an extension of up to three years for employers who have achieved SHARP status to one year with an extension of up to another year.

Comments may also be submitted by mail or hand delivery to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket Number OSHA-2010-0010, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. Submissions not longer than 10 pages may be faxed to the OSHA Docket Office at 202-693-1648.

 

The On-site Consultation Program is largely funded by federal OSHA, but is administered by the States. Services are delivered by well-trained state government employees. 

U.S. Labor Department Announces OSHA Whistleblower Procedures

OSHA has published interim final rules that will help protect workers who voice safety, health, and security concerns. The regulations, which establish procedures for handling worker retaliation complaints, allow filing by phone, as well as in writing, and filing in languages other than English.

“When workers believe their employers are violating certain laws or government regulations, they have the right to file a complaint and should not fear retaliation. Silenced workers are not safe workers,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “Changes in the whistleblower provisions make good on the promise to stand by those workers who have the courage to come forward when they believe their employer is violating the law and cutting corners on a variety of safety, health and security concerns in the affected industries.”

The regulations, which cover workers filing complaints in the railroad, public transit, commercial motor carrier, and consumer product industries, also create greater consistency among various OSHA complaint procedures. The interim final rules establish procedures and time frames for handling complaints under the whistleblower sections of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

Comments must be submitted by November 1, 2010. 

OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act and 18 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various commercial motor carrier, airline, nuclear power, pipeline, environmental, railroad, public transportation, securities, and health care reform laws. 

OSHA Proposes $111,600 in Fines against U.S. Salt for Safety Violations

OSHA has cited U.S. Salt LLC for 37 alleged serious violations of workplace standards at its Watkins Glen, New York, manufacturing plant.

The manufacturer of food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade salt faces a total of $111,600 in proposed fines for crushing, fall, fire, mechanical, and electrical hazards identified during a comprehensive safety inspection of the plant begun in March of this year.

“These sizable fines reflect the breadth and gravity of the hazardous conditions identified during our inspection at this workplace,” said Christopher Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “For the safety of the plant’s workers, U.S. Salt must address these issues promptly and comprehensively to eliminate them now and prevent their recurrence in the future.”

OSHA found that workers were exposed to potential crushing hazards from two sources: damaged building structural support columns and lifting hooks that had not been rated to determine how much they could safely lift. OSHA also identified numerous electrical hazards, including unguarded or ungrounded electrical equipment, unapproved outlets in wet locations, misused electrical cords, lack of electrical safety-related work practices, and lack of personal protective equipment, as well as several instances of unguarded moving machine parts, including power presses, grinders, and fans.

Other cited conditions include an obstructed exit door, failure to maintain the building sprinkler system, not bonding flammable containers, lack of fire extinguisher training, tripping and fall hazards, unapproved modifications to a forklift and pressure vessels lacking pressure ratings and gauges. 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.

OSHA Cites S & S Plumbing for Trenching Hazards

OSHA has cited S & S Plumbing Inc., of Percy, Arkansas, with safety violations following an inspection at the company’s worksite on Central Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Proposed penalties total $46,975.

“Employers must implement safeguards against cave-ins when working in trenches to prevent injury or even death,” said Carlos Reynolds, area director of OSHA’s Little Rock Area Office. “It is fortunate in this case that no one was injured.”

OSHA’s Little Rock Area Office began its investigation on June 16 after an agency inspector observed an employee working on installing storm drains at the company’s worksite in Hot Springs. The investigation yielded a willful citation for not properly shoring or benching an excavation. 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.

OSHA issued three serious violations for failing to provide training on hazards associated with excavation cave-ins, failing to ensure employees were wearing the required personal protective equipment, and failing to provide a ladder for egress during excavation activities.

Work-Related Deaths in Colorado Decrease

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced the number of work-related deaths in Colorado decreased from 105 in 2008 to 80 in 2009, a decrease of almost 24%, according to the preliminary 2009 Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

The data identify transportation fatalities, primarily highway crashes, as the major cause of work-related deaths.

Also identified in the data were the state’s three leading causes of work-related deaths in 2009:

1. Transportation fatalities (which includes highway, rail, and aircraft accidents)
2. Assaults and violent acts
3. Falls

There were approximately three deaths in Colorado for every 100,000 workers in the state’s work force in 2009.

Fatal injuries in 2009 were most likely to occur on a Thursday, with a total of 26 deaths. The time of day at which the most fatal injuries occurred was between 11 a.m. and noon, with a total of seven fatalities occurring during those hours.

The top three causes of work-related deaths in Colorado were as follows:

1. Transportation deaths continued to be the leading cause, accounting for 43% of the state’s 80 occupational fatalities during 2009. Of Colorado’s 34 transportation-related occupational deaths in 2009, 23 were highway fatalities compared to 31 (of 48 transportation-related occupational deaths) the previous year. Seven resulted from aircraft accidents, up from four fatalities in 2008. Aircraft accidents include all aircraft that are used for business travel or for transporting work-related supplies. Highway accidents accounted for 29% of all occupational fatalities in 2009, slightly down from 30% in 2008. A total of seven workers died in non-collision highway accidents.
2. The second leading cause of occupational deaths in the state was assaults and violent acts, which resulted in 16 deaths compared to 14 deaths in 2008.
3. Falls accounted for 13 deaths, with three of those deaths resulting from falls from a roof and three resulting from falls from a ladder.

Work-related fatalities by worker characteristics:

• Men accounted for 73 of the 80 worker deaths in 2009
• By race/ethnicity, 56 deaths were white non-Hispanic workers; 16 were Hispanic workers; five were African-American workers; and the remainder were American Indians, Alaska natives, Asians, native Hawaiians, or Pacific Islanders
• Workers in the 45- to 54-year-old age group continue to have the highest number of fatalities, with 27 deaths in 2009

Work-related fatalities by industry:

• The construction industry had the highest number of deaths at 18
• The transportation and warehousing industry had nine deaths
• The retail trade industry had nine deaths
• The public administration industry had six deaths
• The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries combined had five deaths

Work-related fatalities by occupation:

• 21 deaths were in construction and extraction occupations, such as construction and engineering projects, and preparation of sites for new construction
• Transportation and material-moving occupations, including air, rail, water, and highway transportation, as well as couriers, warehousing, and storage, had 17 deaths
• Eight fatal injuries occurred to individuals working in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

The Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries is a cooperative effort of the Department of Public Health and Environment’s Health Statistics Section and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, which recently released its preliminary 2009 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data.

 

OSHA Fines Whitesell Corp. over $3 Million for Violations at Two Alabama Factories

OAHA fined Whitesell Corp., $3,071,500 and cited the company with 72 safety and health violations for exposing workers to amputation hazards and other problems at its manufacturing plants in Tuscumbia and Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

“Whitesell willfully tampered with the safety mechanisms of its hydraulic forging presses at its Tuscumbia plant to speed up production, resulting in the amputation of a worker’s hand,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Companies like Whitesell that value short-term gain over their workers’ safety will be held responsible for their reckless actions.”

OSHA began an inspection of the Tuscumbia plant in March after receiving a report that a worker’s hand had been amputated. Due to the seriousness of the hazards noted during that initial visit, the inspection was expanded to a comprehensive safety and health inspection of the facility. Three weeks later the inspection was again expanded to include the Muscle Shoals plant due to the probability that similar hazards existed at that location.

“This employer knowingly exposed these workers to serious injuries,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “The objective of OSHA’s actions today is to save the hands, and perhaps the lives, of other workers in the future.”

Regarding the Tuscumbia plant, OSHA is proposing $986,500 in penalties for 13 willful and five serious safety violations, as well as one willful, one serious, and two other-than-serious health violations. The willful safety violations address management’s failure to develop and utilize lockout/tagout procedures of energy sources for employees engaged in maintenance activities on hydraulic forging presses and bypassing a safety feature intended to protect workers. The serious safety citations concern hazards with machines lacking mechanical guards and electrical hazards. Health citations include management’s failure to provide engineering or administrative controls for workers exposed to high noise hazards and to provide audiograms for those employees.

OSHA is proposing $2,085,000 in penalties regarding the Muscle Shoals plant for 28 willful and 16 serious safety violations, and one willful and five serious health violations. The willful safety violations address this plant’s failure to develop and utilize lockout/tagout procedures for the plant’s mechanical forging presses and to lock out mechanical forging presses when dies are changed or maintenance is performed. The serious citations are related to obstructed exit routes, various machine guarding hazards and electrical hazards. Health citations include a willful violation for management’s failure to provide audiograms for employees exposed to noise hazards. The serious violations address failure to implement controls for employees exposed to the noise hazards, as well as electrical deficiencies and lack of hazard communication.

The Tuscumbia plant employs about 17 workers and manufactures parts used in the automotive, lawn care, and home appliance industries. The Muscle Shoals plant employs about 103 workers and manufactures fasteners. Whitesell employs about 1,000 workers corporate-wide and has about 25 locations combined in Michigan, Iowa, Alabama, Canada, and Asia.

OSHA Cites Hysco America $60,500 for 12 Violations

OSHA is proposing $60,500 in penalties against Hysco America. The department is alleging 12 workplace safety and health violations at the Greenville, Alabama, manufacturing plant.

OSHA began its inspection in June as part of its national emphasis program to prevent amputations in the workplace. The citations include one willful violation carrying a $49,000 penalty for the company allowing an amputation hazard to continue by failing to provide proper machine guarding on its production equipment.

“There is no excuse for management to wait for an accident to happen before taking corrective action,” said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA’s area director in Mobile, Alabama. “Hysco America knew that this was a hazard because they had experienced an employee injury at another location in 2009, and even though they corrected the hazard at that location, they failed to correct a similar hazardous condition at this plant.”

The company has received seven serious citations with penalties totaling $10,000 for tripping hazards due to excessive debris in the facility; open-sided floors; blocked exit routes; improper railings on stairs; failure to perform periodic inspection of lockout/tagout procedures; and machine guarding hazards.

OSHA has issued four other-than-serious citations with $1,500 in penalties for not properly completing the OSHA 300 log for 2007, 2008, and 2009 and for failing to provide information to workers employing voluntary-use respirators at the plant.

The Hysco America plant employs approximately 75 workers and manufactures parts for Hyundai Motors.

OSHA Fines Goodman Manufacturing Company $1.2 Million for Hiding Work-related Injuries and Illnesses

OSHA has issued Goodman Manufacturing Co., LP, 83 willful citations for failing to record and improperly recording work-related injuries and illnesses at the company’s Houston air conditioning cooling facility. Proposed penalties total $1,215,000.

“Accurate workplace injury and illness records are vital tools for identifying hazards and protecting workers’ health and safety,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Workers and employers need this information to recognize patterns of injuries and illnesses, and prevent future hazards.”

OSHA’s Houston North Area Office began its investigation March 2 in response to a complaint alleging that Goodman Manufacturing was not properly recording workplace injuries and illnesses in violation of OSHA’s regulations. The investigation determined that Goodman had either not recorded or failed to properly record the nature and/or duration of 72% of employee injuries and illnesses from January 2008 to March 15, 2010, on its log.

Although Goodman was extremely knowledgeable about OSHA recordkeeping requirements, it made many unsupportable decisions that resulted in the deficiencies found by the agency. With regard to the injuries and illnesses improperly recorded, important information reflecting severity, such as the time away from work, was grossly incorrect.

“OSHA takes these violations extremely seriously,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “OSHA needs accurate data to effectively target its inspections and resources, and to measure the impact of OSHA’s actions on workplace safety. Employers and workers need to understand how important accurate data are to workplace safety and health.”

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director in Houston, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Employers and employees with questions about workplace safety and health standards can call OSHA’s Houston North Area Office at 281-591-2438 or its Houston South Area Office at 281-286-0583. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-6742.

Apart from this particular investigation, OSHA has implemented a National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Recordkeeping to assess the accuracy of injury and illness recorded by employers.

CSB Studies Reducing Inventory of Toxic Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) at West Virginia Chemical Site

 

The 12-month, $575,000 study was mandated by Congress late in 2009 as part of the fiscal year 2010 CSB operating budget and resulted from the tragic August 2008 explosion at the Bayer facility that killed two plant employees and endangered a nearby aboveground storage tank containing approximately 13,000 pounds of methyl isocyanate or MIC. The CSB and a Congressional committee investigated the accident and its aftermath.

In December 1984, a sudden release of MIC vapor from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killed thousands of residents and injured thousands more, leaving many with permanent disabilities. The Bhopal plant was shut down, but Union Carbide’s larger sister plant in Institute, West Virginia, has remained in operation and was acquired by Bayer in 2002.

After sustained public attention to the dangers of MIC after the 2008 accident, in August 2009 Bayer announced measures to reduce the hazards of MIC, including an inventory reduction of approximately 80%. In August 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an agreement with Bayer to phase out production of one of two remaining MIC-derived pesticides made at the plant (aldicarb) due to toxicity concerns. That action followed a December 2009 EPA ban on carbofuran, another MIC derivative made in Institute.

“As long as MIC continues to be stored and used at the Bayer plant in any significant amount, the surrounding community and the workforce have a legitimate right to know whether everything possible has been done to reduce or eliminate the potential hazard,” said CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso. “We hope the National Academy study will serve as an important model for both Bayer and the rest of the chemical industry for how to assess and reduce toxic chemical hazards.”

 

“The final agreement between the Board and the National Academy reflects the views and opinions of community, labor, environmental, and business leaders,” Dr. Moure-Eraso said. “It ensures a diverse study panel that will include independent community organizations, environmental justice interests, and workforce representatives as well as the best experts from industry and academia. The study will carefully and independently examine the many benefits of safe technology choices—including potentially reduced spending on compliance, liability, and emergency preparedness—as well as the implementation costs involved. We hope the study benefits industry in its efforts to ensure the highest levels of process safety and provides Institute community members with effective tools to promote their well-being.”

Bayer CropScience stated to the Board in a May 2010 letter that it would “strive to cooperate fully with the [NAS] panel as the study progresses.”

The CSB’s investigation of the root causes of the August 2008 explosion at the Bayer plant is nearly complete; the final report and recommendations are expected to be considered by the Board at a public meeting in West Virginia in the fall.

OSHA Fines Alabama Lumber Company for Violations Following Worker Death

OSHA has cited MDLG, doing business as Phenix Lumber Co., for 53 safety and health violations following the death of one worker and the critical injury of a second at its Phenix City facility. Proposed penalties total $439,400.

“Phenix Lumber failed to protect its workers from death and serious injury,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “Employers are legally bound to provide a safe work environment for their employees. This company has repeatedly failed to do so, costing one worker his life and grievously injuring another. This must stop.”

In March, OSHA inspectors opened a follow-up joint safety and health inspection to verify abatement from a previous visit that identified failure-to-abate violations. Before OSHA could conclude its review, one worker was killed when his head was crushed between a motor being hoisted with a forklift and other equipment. Another worker was seriously injured after he fell approximately 10 feet, breaking his neck, while doing daily maintenance on the debarker in the saw mill.

In connection with the fatality, Phenix Lumber has been issued one willful and five serious safety and health citations for permitting a worker to stand under an elevated portion of a powered industrial truck allowing a crushing injury. In relation to the fall resulting in critical injury, the company has been issued one willful, one repeat, and one serious safety citation for not providing guardrails and fall protection, and not having a means to disconnect a rotor motor.

The follow-up inspection additionally resulted in the company being issued two failure-to-abate, 11 repeat, 21 serious, and 10 other-than-serious safety and health citations for other violations. Those violations include failing to provide energy control procedures for equipment and machinery that require more than one lockout device, failing to provide proper electrical enclosures around live conductors, and allowing ignitable or combustible dust to accumulate.

“Phenix Lumber has a history of saying it will correct its safety deficiencies, yet continues to allow a hazardous environment for its workers,” said Cindy Coe, regional administrator for OSHA in Atlanta, Georgia. “This horrendous situation cannot continue and will not be tolerated.”

MSHA Reminds Mining Industry about Miners’ Rights to make Hazardous Condition Complaints

MSHA announced the release of two new program information bulletins pertaining to the rights of miners who make hazardous condition complaints and request inspections, as well as miners’ protections against discrimination.

MSHA decided to distribute these guidelines based on testimony delivered in May during a House Education and Labor Committee hearing in Beckley, West Virginia, as well as testimony delivered during recent Senate hearings. Statements from family members of miners who died in the April 5, 2010, explosion at Upper Big Branch Mine indicated that workers who had expressed concerns over safety conditions existing prior to the deadly blast feared retaliation by mine management.

Section 103(g)(1) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 provides that a miner or miners’ representative has the right to obtain an immediate MSHA inspection if there are reasonable grounds to believe that an imminent danger, a violation of the Mine Act, or a violation of a mandatory safety or health standard exists. The agency will conduct a special inspection to determine if a violation or danger exists, issue a citation or order as appropriate, and take all reasonable steps to maintain and assure the confidentiality of the complainant.

MSHA maintains an anonymous hotline to report hazardous conditions. The phone number is 800-746-1553. 

“Miners have a right to identify hazardous conditions and refuse unsafe work without fear of discrimination,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “The more people participate actively in mine safety, the better.”

Section 105(c) of the Mine Act prohibits individuals from discriminating against miners; applicants for employment and representatives of miners for exercising statutory rights, especially concerning safety or health activities such as identifying hazards; requesting MSHA inspections; or refusing to engage in unsafe work.

“MSHA will vigorously investigate all discrimination complaints against miners,” said Main. “We will not hesitate to seek more substantial civil penalties against mine operators who repeatedly discriminate against miners as a deterrent to future such illegal acts.”

Among the most common forms of discrimination the Mine Act prohibits are discharge, suspension, loss of pay, demotion, changes in pay and changes in work hours, as well as reduction in benefits, vacation, bonuses, overtime, or rates of pay. The Mine Act also protects miners against more subtle forms of interference, such as intimidation or threats of reprisal.

Since January 2009, MSHA has received 3,951 hazard condition complaints and 289 discrimination complaints. MSHA recently revised its publication “A Guide to Miners’ Rights and Responsibilities under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.” As the title suggests, the booklet summarizes the rights guaranteed all miners under the Mine Act as well as the responsibility of all miners to take an active role in matters of mine safety and health. Other resources at this site include a miners’ rights tri-fold brochure and pocket card, an online hazardous condition complaint form, an online notification of miners’ representative form, and a discrimination complaint packet.

OSHA cites Brass Foundry $550,400 for Exposing Workers to Lead and Other Workplace Hazards

OSHA has issued citations to Kief Industries Inc., doing business as Excelsior Brass Works. The citations allege the company knowingly exposed workers to lead hazards and violated federal workplace safety and health standards at its Blandon, Pennsylvania facility. Proposed penalties total $550,400.

“The employer deliberately refused to protect workers from overexposure to lead and other workplace hazards. Even though company management knew of the OSHA requirements and the workers’ lead exposures, it failed to provide medical surveillance to monitor worker health and to train its workers about lead-exposure risks,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. “OSHA will use the full extent of the law to ensure employers are held accountable for failing to protect workers.”

Following its investigation, OSHA cited Excelsior Brass Works for willful and serious violations of the lead standard, which requires employers to protect their workers from lead exposure. Lead can cause brain damage, paralysis, kidney disease, and even death.

The willful citations allege the company did not take air samples as required for workers who were over-exposed to airborne lead, and it did not provide the required annual training about lead-exposure hazards. Willful citations also allege failures to provide the required medical surveillance for the lead-exposed workers and to make available the results of medical tests performed shortly after OSHA came to the facility and opened the inspection. An additional willful violation alleges that the company stopped providing hearing tests to employees over-exposed to noise.

Serious citations of the lead standards allege failures to install additional engineering controls; to have an updated, written lead compliance program; to store lead-contaminated clothing in a closed container; to maintain surfaces like microwaves and lunchroom floors free of lead dust; to vacuum clothes to remove lead dust before entering the lunchroom; to provide medical exams to employees with high blood-lead levels; and to maintain proper air sampling records.

Additional serious citations allege that the employer failed to install engineering controls for noise; establish a written respirator program; to provide respirator fit-tests; and establish a program with procedures to shut down and lock out hazardous energy sources before servicing and maintaining machines.

Two other-than-serious violations, accounting for $1,200 of the total penalties, allege recordkeeping deficiencies. Excelsior Brass Works, with six previous OSHA inspections at its Blandon facility, manufactures brass and bronze castings.

OSHA Fines VPP Group $369,500 for 38 Violations

OSHA has cited VPP Group LLC with $369,500 in proposed penalties for 38 alleged serious, willful, and other-than-serious safety and health violations at the company’s meat packing facility in Norwalk, Wisconsin.

As a result of two inspections earlier this year, OSHA has issued four alleged willful citations with proposed penalties of $280,000 for failing to perform hearing tests on employees exposed to extremely high noise levels, and failure to record more than 125 injuries that occurred from 2007 through 2009 in the required OSHA 300 injury log.

“The company’s disregard for OSHA’s injury and illness recordkeeping requirements could be seen as an attempt to hide poor health and safety practices,” said OSHA Area Director Kim Stille in Madison, Wisconsin. “Indifference to safe practices and OSHA regulations is inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”

Twenty serious citations with proposed penalties of $75,500 have also been issued. Some of these alleged serious violations include the company’s failure to provide proper fall protection and hand rails; failure to provide hazardous energy control and fork lift training; lack of eye wash stations; improper hazardous chemical storage; overexposure to high noise levels; lack of proper personal protective equipment; and lack of required worker protection against blood borne pathogens.

Additionally, OSHA has issued $14,000 in proposed fines for 14 other-than-serious violations involving failure to record injury/illness reports that occurred since 2007. Other-than-serious citations are given when the violation would not directly cause a death or serious physical harm, but would affect the safety and health of employees.

VPP Group LLC, previously know as Valley Pride Pack Inc., is a meat processing plant. It primarily provides beef and other meat products to fast-food companies and businesses that supply beef to school lunch programs. Since 1996, there have been nine inspections and 24 citations issued to the company. One inspection, in 2009, was initiated after a worker was electrocuted.

OSHA Cites Felman Production Inc. for Workplace Safety and Health Hazards

OSHA has cited Felman Production Inc., for exposing employees to workplace safety and health hazards at its plant in Letart, West Virginia. Proposed penalties total $44,000.

OSHA initiated an inspection on May 12, after being notified of an explosion in a waste dumpster at the facility. As a result of the inspection, the company was cited for 10 serious violations.

“Each of these hazards threatens the company’s ability to provide employees with a safe and healthful work environment, and should be corrected immediately,” said Prentice Cline, director of OSHA’s Charleston Area Office in West Virginia.

The violations include inadequate hearing and respiratory protection programs, electrical hazards, improper use of compressed air, as well as employee exposure to silica, lead, and manganese fumes.

Safety News Links