Articles Posted in Workplace Hazards

A Massachusetts contractor has received several citations from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration for alleged repeat and serious violations of excavation safety standards. An OSHA inspector watched as three employees worked in an unprotected trench in Boston.

The trench was nearly 6 feet deep and was not sloped at a shallow angle or otherwise protected against a potential collapse of its sidewalls. According to OSHA standards, all trenches and excavations five feet or deeper must be protected against collapse.

As a result, OSHA has proposed $33,700 in total fines. $28,000 of that is a repeat citation due to a similar hazard in the past. Another $5,700 in fines is two serious citations for not having a ladder or other safe means to exit the trench and not having the trench inspected by a competent person. The contractor has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, contest the findings, or participate in an informal conference.

Source: Cave-In Hazard Leads to $33,700 in OSHA Fines for Hyde Park, Mass., Contractor, EHSToday.com, November 18, 2009 Continue reading

A Hingham, Massachusetts company has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) following a night inspection in July, 2009. Inspectors from OSHA’s Boston North Area Office discovered workers exposed to excess silica levels as they were jackhammering concrete on a bridge on I-93 in Melrose.

In addition to not protecting employees from overexposure to silica, OSHA also cited the company for alleged safety violations including not having controls to lower exposure levels, not fit-testing respirators, failing to evaluate employees’ exposure levels, and not providing a respiratory protection program and training. OSHA also alleges that the company has repeat violations found during an April, 2009 inspection. The proposed fines total $38,100.

The nighttime inspection was part of OSHA’s efforts to target highway construction job sites where silica is generated.

Silica Citations Follow Night Inspection, Safety.BLR.com, October 26, 2009 Continue reading

Our workplace accident attorneys have recently learned that a Massachusetts composites factory is facing a total of $442,150 in proposed fines. The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the Rockland, Massachusetts manufacturing and assembly facility for alleged violations of health and safety standards.

According to OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts, a safety inspective revealed inadequate or absent safeguards against workers’ exposure to lead. The two companies involved reportedly failed to conduct required air and biological monitoring to determine and track workers’ lead exposure levels. They also failed to implement adequate controls to reduce lead exposure and did not keep work surfaces and floors as clean of lead accumulation as possible.

Globe Composite Solutions faces $209,500 in proposed penalties for two willful, 41 serious, and 6 other-than-serious violations. ADP TotalSource II faces $233,650 in fines for two willful, 29 serious, and one other-than-serious violations. 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. The companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations to take action.

Composites factory facing $442,150 in OSHA penalties, Reliable Plant Magazine, August 6, 2009 Continue reading

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Massachusetts manufacturer for more than two dozen willful, serious, and other-than-serious violations of safety and health standards at its Watertown, Massachusetts production plant.

Fluid Management Systems Inc. faces proposed fines totaling $125,000, mainly for electrical, chemical, and respirator hazards. According to OSHA’s area director for Middlesex and Essex counties, OSHA inspectors found employees working without personal protective gear in close proximity to energized electrical circuits. OSHA safety regulations mandate that employees wear protective equipment if de-energizing is not feasible. Inspectors also found unqualified employees working on energized equipment and unguarded or uncovered live electrical parts. OSHA issues serious citations when injury is likely to occur from hazards that the company knew or should have known about.

The company also received one other-than-serious citation for not recording work injuries and illnesses in the OSHA 300 log or equivalent. OSHA gives companies 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

OSHA proposes $125K fine for Massachusetts manufacturer, ReliablePlant.com, August 3, 2009 Continue reading

In Rochester, Mass., Covanta has been cited for seven alleged “serious” violations of federal safety rules at its SEMASS waste incinerator by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The citations include an accumulation of fly ash on energy 208-volt electrical equipment and exposing workers to electrical hazards such as arc flash and blast. The total proposed penalties add up to $13,500 against the company.

The citations were issued following an inspection requested by Utility Workers Union Local 369, which represents employees at the plant. A spokesperson for the company said it will not appeal OSHA’s decision or fines on the June 1 citations and will drop its appeal of previous OSHA citations, because it is in the process of renewing its OSHA Voluntary Protection Program participation and needs the support of Local 369.

Four earlier citations were issued on April 2, 2009 and included alleged violations such as “maintaining” electrical equipment with duct tape and cardboard and storing combustible acetylene cylinders next to oxygen cylinders.

Covanta cited again for safety violations, WickedLocal.com, June 18, 2009 Continue reading

A North Attleboro, Massachusetts metals refining company has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 10 alleged serious violations of safety standards. A November 7, 2008 gas lack at the plant prompted an inspection by OSHA’s Boston South Area Office in Braintree. That inspection uncovered several alleged deficiencies in the plant’s Process Safety Management (PSM) program.

According to the citations, the company had not compiled information on the chemicals, equipment, and technology used in the purifying process, and it had not developed and implemented written procedures outlining the process or posted a sign to indicate a confined space, among other safety issues.

OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about the employer knew or should have known. The North Attleboro company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA Area Director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

OSHA proposes more than $46,000 in fines against North Attleboro, Mass., metals plant following chlorine gas leak, HR.CCH.com, June 10, 2009 Continue reading

Safety and health violations at a residential construction site in Woburn, Massachusetts have resulted in OSHA issuing $79,000 in proposed fines to a North Reading roofing contractor. After an OSHA inspection discovered employees working on a two-story roof without fall protection and with ladders that did not extend at least a yard above the upper landing surface, the company was issued two willful citations, carrying $56,000 in proposed fines. A willful citation is defined as when a safety violation is committed with indifference to or intentional disregard for employee’s health and safety.

In addition to two willful citations, OSHA also issued the roofing contractor 14 serious citations for several scaffold hazards including lack of fall protection, unsecured ladders, lack of head, eye, and face protection for employees exposed to overhead hazards. Those fines amounted to $23,000. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards which the employer knew or should have known about.

As OSHA’s area director for Middlesex and Essex counties pointed out, “It takes only one slip or misstep to turn a construction site into an accident scene.”

The company has 15 business days from the receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request and participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

OSHA proposes $79,000 in Fines For Fall Hazards, EHSToday.com, May 19, 2009 Continue reading

Following an inspection in response to chlorine gas leak at a North Attleboro, Massachusetts metal refining plant, OSHA has cited a Massachusetts company for 10 alleged serious violations of safety standards. The citations carry $46,500 in proposed fines.

OSHA inspectors found the plant’s Process Safety Management (PSM) to be lacking. The PSM is a detailed set of requirements and procedures employers must follow to assess and address potential safety hazards associated with large quantities of hazardous chemicals. The company had not compiled information on the chemicals, technology, and equipment used in the metal purifying process, nor had it performed an initial process hazard analysis. The company also failed to post signs indicating a confined space.

These safety violations resulted in 10 alleged serious citations, which OSHA issues when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards which the employer knew or should have known about. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to respond.

OSHA Proposes More than $46,000 in Fines for Chlorine Gas Leak, OHSonline, May 7, 2009 Continue reading