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
If you have been injured on the job, then contact a Massachusetts work injury lawyer.