Sawmill Cited by OSHA for Violations After a Worker Was Killed

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Nix Forest Industries Inc. in Timpson, Texas, with 17 safety and health violations, including one willful, after a worker was killed in December 2012 when he was struck by a broken band saw blade and other workers were exposed to hazards at the sawmill.

The willful violation resulted from failing to use control procedures for hazardous energy when cleaning, removing debris and unjamming equipment and machinery. 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.

Some of the 14 serious safety violations cited include failing to provide easily understood lockout/tagout training for energy control, failing to certify that energy control training was completed and current and failing to ensure that tagout devices were affixed to clearly indicate the operation or movement of the energy isolating device. Violations were also cited for failing to guard machines, ensure that pulleys with parts less than 7 feet from the floor were guarded, ensure that entry point warning signs were posted at possible low carriage areas, ensure band saw wheels were completely enclosed or guarded, and ensure flexible cords and cables were not used as substitutes for fixed wiring. One health violation was cited for failing to administer an effective hearing conservation program for workers exposed to occupational noise. 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.

An other-than-serious violation was cited for failing to ensure that an OSHA 300A injury and illness form was properly certified. 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.

“Nix Forest Industries failed to take adequate measures to protect workers from a variety of hazards, including being struck-by and caught-between machinery and equipment,” said Stephen Boyd, OSHA’s area director in Dallas. “Following OSHA standards saves lives. This unfortunate loss of life could possibly have been avoided.”

The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/NixForestIndustriesInc_771461_0603_13.pdf* and http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/NixForestIndustriesInc_798862_0603_13.pdf*.

Proposed penalties total $116,200. The company, which specializes in cutting lumber to size for its customers, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Dallas area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Dallas office at 214-320-2400.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions exist for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Texas Sawmill Cited After A Worker Was Killed

Dallas, TX (WorkersCompensation.com) – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Nix Forest Industries Inc. in Timpson, Texas, with 17 safety and health violations, including one willful, after a worker was killed in December 2012 when he was struck by a broken band saw blade and other workers were exposed to hazards at the sawmill.

The willful violation resulted from failing to use control procedures for hazardous energy when cleaning, removing debris and unjamming equipment and machinery. 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.

Some of the 14 serious safety violations cited include failing to provide easily understood lockout/tagout training for energy control, failing to certify that energy control training was completed and current and failing to ensure that tagout devices were affixed to clearly indicate the operation or movement of the energy isolating device. Violations were also cited for failing to guard machines, ensure that pulleys with parts less than 7 feet from the floor were guarded, ensure that entry point warning signs were posted at possible low carriage areas, ensure band saw wheels were completely enclosed or guarded, and ensure flexible cords and cables were not used as substitutes for fixed wiring. One health violation was cited for failing to administer an effective hearing conservation program for workers exposed to occupational noise. 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.

An other-than-serious violation was cited for failing to ensure that an OSHA 300A injury and illness form was properly certified. 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.

“Nix Forest Industries failed to take adequate measures to protect workers from a variety of hazards, including being struck-by and caught-between machinery and equipment,” said Stephen Boyd, OSHA’s area director in Dallas. “Following OSHA standards saves lives. This unfortunate loss of life could possibly have been avoided.”

The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/NixForestIndustriesInc_771461_0603_13.pdf* and http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/NixForestIndustriesInc_798862_0603_13.pdf*.

Proposed penalties total $116,200. The company, which specializes in cutting lumber to size for its customers, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Dallas area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

WI Foundry Cited For Exposing Workers To Coal Tar Pitch And Formaldehyde

Waukesha, WI (WorkersCompensation.com) – Castalloy Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 14 safety and health violations as the result of a follow-up inspection at the company’s Waukesha foundry on Nov. 28, 2012. The inspection found two repeat violations for allowing workers to be exposed to coal tar pitch volatiles in excess of permissible exposure limits and failing to provide medical surveillance for workers exposed to formaldehyde. OSHA has proposed fines totaling $83,160.

“Castalloy has failed in its responsibility to monitor exposure to hazardous materials and to provide proper respiratory and personal protective equipment to its foundry workers,” said Chris Zortman, OSHA’s area director in Milwaukee. “Repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to worker safety and health.”

The November inspection follows one in February 2011 where the company was cited for exposing workers to both coal tar pitch volatiles above the permissible exposure limit and to formaldehyde above the action level. A repeat violation exists 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.

Nine serious violations include exposure to formaldehyde in excess of the 8-hour OSHA permissible exposure limit, lack of eye protection for formaldehyde exposure and failing to post restricted warning signs regarding the use of formaldehyde. Other violations involve OSHA’s respiratory protection standards, including inadequate respirators for protection from coal tar pitch volatiles, allowing a respirator to be worn with a beard, deficient medical evaluations and changing cartridges without leaving the respirator use area and infrequently changing cartridges. 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.

Three other-than-serious violations were issued involving personal protective equipment, machine safety and an electrical panel. An other-than-serious violation is one that has direct relationship on job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

The steel foundry employs 132 workers. Six of the 13 previous inspections since 1976 have resulted in citations. The last inspection in 2011 was conducted under the primary metal industries local emphasis program. Castalloy Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Safety checklist for your first office space

This week’s “Ask the Mompreneur” features an interview with Ed Foulke, former head of OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, from 2006 to 2008.  Foulke is now a partner at Fisher Phillips LLP, a law firm that represents employers across the country.

Ask the Mompreneur:

Many owners of growing businesses will need to rent commercial office space when they outgrow the spare bedroom.  What do they need to do when setting up their space to ensure safety and avoid potential liability?

Ed Foulke:

When beginning a new venture and purchasing or renting an office or building space, many small business owners assume there are no safety or health issues or that those issues are handled by the seller or rental management agent.  Such an assumption is wrong and, in many cases, could result in the small business owner being faced with significant OSHA penalties for safety and health violations.

Every entrepreneur needs to realize that once he or she starts their new venture and hire their first employee, they are automatically covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and subject to safety and health inspections by Compliance Officers with OSHA.  In addition, depending on the state in which the new business is started, there may be additional safety and health laws which have been promulgated by that particular state or local government entity.

There are three broad areas of safety and health concerns that all entrepreneurs must examine when setting up their first office space.  The first concern involves the physical structure to be purchased or rented.  It is critical that the entrepreneur receive written assurances that the space being purchased or rented complies fully with the state and local building codes, the life safety codes and all OSHA safety and health standards.  Specifically, from an OSHA perspective, the small business owner must determine if there are any physical safety and health hazards to which employees may be exposed.  Those physical hazards may include electrical hazards, walking and working surface issues, sanitation, exit routes, ventilation, noise exposure, hazardous materials, fire protection, and machine guarding.  The owner must also closely examine whether there are any other health hazards, including mold, hazardous chemicals or substances in the walls, ceilings and carpeting and, if the building is built before 1980, that either all the asbestos in the space has been removed or is in a non-friable state, thus not exposing any employees to asbestos fibers.

The second major concern involves the selection of equipment and office furniture.  Clearly the set-up of the office furniture must be examined to ensure that no exit routes are being blocked and that there is free access to all exits for emergency use.  In addition, the business owner must review ergonomic issues associated with the selection of office furniture and equipment, particularly the placement of computer keyboards.  The entrepreneur also needs to ensure there are no electrical hazards associated with improper wiring or use of extension cords in lieu of permanent wiring.  Finally, the business owner should also examine the work site to ensure that the use of office equipment, and particularly electrical cords, does not present a tripping hazard for the employees.

The final concern involves other safety and health issues of which the small business owner must be aware.  These issues can include state and local safety regulations not covered under the two concerns set forth above.  In addition, the entrepreneur must determine (1) if there are any safety and health hazards that would necessitate the use of personal protective equipment at the work site; and (2) if any safety training will be necessary to meet the requirements of either OSHA safety and health standards or the use of protective equipment.

Lastly, every entrepreneur or small business owner needs to be aware that if their employees are present while the office space is being setup and outside contractors are being utilized, OSHA’s multi-employer citation policy could be applicable.  If outside vendors and contractors are working on or in the entrepreneur’s space, the entrepreneur becomes the “controlling” employer of the site and thus is responsible for any safety and health violations caused by the contractor or vendor where employees are exposed to a safety or health hazard.  In this scenario, the entrepreneur or small business owner may be cited by OSHA and receive penalties for safety and health violations that have been created by their contractors or vendors.

It is clear that there are many safety and health issues to which small business owners could be exposed when starting up and purchasing or renting their first office space.  These issues can be easily addressed, but it is critical that the small business owner realizes and addresses those issues before they become potential OSHA violations.

For additional resources for small business, check out www.osha.gov.

Jennie Wong, Ph.D. is an executive coach, author of “Ask the Mompreneur,” and founder of the social shopping startup CartCentric.com. Follow her on Twitter @DrJennieWong.

Workers Memorial Day spotlights deaths, injuries on the job

A recent report from the Center for Progressive Reform, citing federal data, says one farm worker dies on the job every day of the year. Hundreds more get injured or ill. The report was issued as unions across the country commemorated April 28 as Workers Memorial Day, a time to remember those killed and injured on the job and renew the commitment to workplace safety.

”The hazards of farm work run the gamut,” the report adds. “Oppressive heat is common in every area with major agriculture. Heavy loads and repetitive motion strain workers’ bodies. Slips, trips, and falls happen on a regular basis. Irrigation equipment can electrocute workers. Tractors overturn. Workers can become entrapped in grain silos and engulfed in clouds of pesticides. In short, farm work is dangerous business.”

The farm workers whom the report cites are 98% non-union because federal labor law bans farm workers from its coverage. That lack of protection, among other factors – many farm workers are immigrants and 44% don’t speak English — are not the only workers who die on the job. They’re just some of the most-frequent victims.

Last year, they were joined by truck drivers killed in crashes, 17 union workers dying in derailments, warehouse workers in Illinois and California, toiling for Wal-Mart, who collapse in 110-degree heat, and even utility linemen shot to death by irate customers, among others. Some 4,000 workers died on the job, according to federal data.

And while industrial accidents that kill and injure dozens of workers, such as the ammonia plant blast in Texas, get the headlines, state and federal inspectors discover job safety and health violations almost daily. But many go unreported.

In one typical example, OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, announced just in mid-April that it wants to fine the New England Confectionery Company in Revere, Mass., $133,000 for widespread and willful health and safety violations inspectors found there last year. Multiply Revere by hundreds of plants.

Meanwhile, Workers Memorial Day ceremonies nationwide on April 28 honored all workers killed on the job, including the truck drivers, the rail workers, the ammonia plant workers and the farm workers. The theme of the observances, as always, was “Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.”

Commemorations ranged from a prayer vigil with bagpipes and a bugle at a workers’ memorial in Cumberland, Md., to an annual remembrance of the 506 workers who died over the years at U.S. Steel’s plant in Gary, Ind. There also was a memorial ceremony at the Manhattan site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire where 146 workers died 101 years ago.

Besides the workers who die on the job every year – a number that declined sharply since unions pushed through the law creating OSHA in 1970 – hundreds of thousands more suffer on-the-job injuries or illnesses. OSHA does what it can to stop the carnage, unionists say, but neither the law nor the agency is strong enough.

The best honor those workers could get, the union leaders say, is for Congress to beef up OSHA’s strength, adding inspectors, increasing fines, and extending its coverage to the 22 million federal, state and local government workers: Teachers, Fire Fighters, police, corrections officers and more. The maximum fine against a firm when a worker dies on the job is $7,500. And the law should have more and better protections for whistleblowers, the unionists add.

Fixing some of the holes is the point of the Protecting America’s Workers Act, reintroduced by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.

But the biggest sanction OSHA now lacks, and that Murray’s bill does not provide, is to give the agency the power to unilaterally declare a worksite so unsafe that it must shut down. Gary Beevers, the Steel Workers vice president who heads their oil and chemical workers sector, says that power would change corporate attitudes fast.

A multi-million-dollar fine means nothing, he says, to ExxonMobil. Shutting an oil refinery whose leaking toxic fumes killed workers and others would.

This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.

Report: Food on American tables costs a life a day

WASHINGTON – The food on your dining table comes at a particularly high price, and we don’t mean in dollars and cents.

We mean in lives.

A recent report from the Center for Progressive Reform, citing federal data, says one farm worker dies on the job every day of the year.  Hundreds more get injured or ill.

“The hazards of farm work run the gamut,” the report adds.  ”Oppressive heat is common in every area with major agriculture.  Heavy loads and repetitive motion strain workers’ bodies.  Slips, trips, and falls happen on a regular basis.  Irrigation equipment can electrocute workers.  Tractors overturn.  Workers can become entrapped in grain silos and engulfed in clouds of pesticides.  In short, farm work is dangerous business.”

The farm workers whom the report cites are 98 percent non-union because federal labor law excludes farm workers from its coverage.  That lack of protection, among other factors – many farm workers are immigrants and 44 percent don’t speak English — are not the only workers who die on the job.  They’re just some of the most-frequent victims.

Last year, they were joined by truck drivers killed in crashes, 17 union workers dying in derailments, warehouse workers in Illinois and California, toiling for Wal-Mart, who collapse in 110-degree heat, and even utility linemen shot to death by irate customers, among others.  Some 4,000 workers died on the job, federal data calculate.  

And while industrial accidents that kill and injure dozens of workers, such as the ammonia plant blast in Texas, get the headlines, job safety and health violations, unco-vered by state and federal inspectors, occur almost every day and many go unreported.

In one typical example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced just in mid-April that it wants to fine the New England Confectionery Company in Revere, Mass., $133,000 for widespread and willful health and safety violations inspectors found there last year.  Multiply Revere by hundreds of plants.

Meanwhile, Workers Memorial Day ceremonies nationwide on April 28 honored all workers killed on the job, including the truck drivers, the rail workers, the ammonia plant workers and the farm workers.  The theme of the observances, as always, was “Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.”

Commemorations ranged from a prayer vigil with bagpipes and a bugle at a workers’ memorial in Cumberland, Md., to an annual remembrance of the 506 workers who died over the years at U.S. Steel’s plant in Gary, Ind.

Indiana’s GOP governor was scheduled to attend a ceremony on the state capitol grounds, the state AFL-CIO said.  And there was another memorial ceremony at the Manhattan site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.  It killed 146, 101 years ago.

Besides the workers who die on the job every year — a number that declined sharply since unions pushed through the law creating OSHA in 1970 — hundreds of thousands more suffer on-the-job injuries or illnesses.  OSHA does what it can to stop the carnage, unionists say, but neither the law nor the agency is strong enough.

The best honor those workers could get, the union leaders say, is for Congress to beef up OSHA’s strength, adding inspectors, increasing fines, and extending its coverage to the 22 million federal, state and local government workers: Teachers, Fire Fighters, police, corrections officers and more.  The maximum fine against a firm when a worker dies on the job is $7,500.  And the law should have more and better protections for whistleblowers, the unionists add.

“The toll of workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths still remains enormous,” says Teamsters President James Hoffa, whose words could be echoed by other unionists when it comes to job safety and health.

“Truck drivers suffer more on-the-job fatalities than any other individual occupation.  Ergonomic hazards cripple and injure hundreds of thousands of workers every year and musculoskeletal disorder cases continue to increase and remain the nation’s biggest workplace safety and health problem, without corresponding standards to prevent them,” he continues.

“Hispanic and immigrant workers, who often work in the most dangerous jobs and are exploited by employers, have no union protections and are afraid to speak out….Hundreds of workers are fired or harassed by their employers each year simply for voicing job-safety concerns or reporting injuries.  Although there are dozens of whistleblower protection and anti-retaliation laws, some are simply too weak and others are just not aggressively enforced due to insufficient funding of the regulatory agencies.”

Fixing some of the holes is the point of the Protecting America’s Workers Act (PAWA), reintroduced by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.

But the biggest sanction OSHA now lacks, and that Murray’s bill does not provide, is to give the agency the power to unilaterally declare a worksite so unsafe that it must shut down.  Gary Beevers, the Steel Workers vice president who heads their oil and chemical workers sector, says that power would change corporate attitudes fast.

A multi-million-dollar fine means nothing, he says, to ExxonMobil.  Shutting an oil refinery whose leaking toxic fumes killed workers and others would.

Photo: Demonstrators march in honor of undocumented farm worker Maria Isabel Vasques Jimenez, who collapsed and died in a vineyard in 2008 when her employer denied her drinking water.   Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Transmission Lineman in Training Killed in Fall

Las Vegas, NV (WorkersCompensation.com) – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Las Vegas-based NV Energy for seven alleged safety and health violations, including six serious, following an investigation into a worker’s death on Sept. 25, 2012.

A lineman in training died when he fell 75 feet from a temporary horizontal ladder used as a platform between a transmission tower and a live 500-kilovolt transmission line. The transmission tower was part of a power grid that crosses the Moapa Paiute Reservation northeast of Las Vegas.

“Working with lines energized at thousands of volts demands expertly trained workers clad in gear that can protect workers from shocks associated with strong electromagnetic fields,” said Joy Flack, director of OSHA’s Las Vegas Area Office. “NV Energy spelled disaster when it failed to ensure these workers were protected from falling.”

The serious violations include failing to provide properly fitting personal protective equipment for each worker. Conductive booties too small were modified by cutting off the top portion and securing it to the work boots with tape, resulting in potential exposure to transient electrical shock and falls. Gloves and conductive suits had holes and tears. Additionally, NV Energy also failed to ensure that fall arrest equipment met required safety rules; ladders and platforms were used in applications other than for which they were designed, such as a ladder used as an anchorage for a personal fall arrest system, although the spliced horizontal ladder was not designed for this purpose; failure to comply with fall protection rules applicable to power transmission lines, which require trainees to use fall protection equipment any time they work more than 4 feet above the ground. 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.

One other-than-serious violation was cited for failing to provide OSHA with injury and illness records within four hours of request. 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.

Proposed penalties total $43,000. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Corvallis asphalt plant cited for safety, health violations

CORVALLIS – A Corvallis asphalt production plant, M.R. Asphalt Inc., has been cited with 16 safety and health violations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration following an investigation into the death of a worker last fall.

William Irby Jr., 54, of Corvallis, was killed last September after he slipped off a tank that he was measuring and fell 15 feet, hitting his head on a concrete structure.

Irby was checking asphalt levels from the top of the tank when he slipped.

Following an investigation, OSHA cited the company with one willful violation for failing to provide a guardrail or fall protection on the working surface.

According to OSHA, 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.

“By ignoring fall protection requirements, this employer showed plain indifference and intentional disregard to worker safety,” said Jeff Funke, director of OSHA’s Billings Area Office, in a statement. “Employers who knowingly expose workers to life-threatening hazards will be held fully accountable.”

The company was also cited for 13 serious violations, which include failing to provide workers with information and training on hazardous chemicals, failing to provide adequate toilet and hand-washing facilities, and failing to protect workers from moving parts such as horizontal shafts, drive systems, rotating chains and sprocket assemblies.

Other violations included exposing workers to electrical hazards and leaving ladders with defects in service.

A serious violation occurs when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known, according to a statement from Jose A. Carnevali, a Department of Labor spokesman.

Two other-than-serious violations were given for failing to record each work-related fatality, injury or illness case, and to notify OSHA within eight hours of an occupational fatality.

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.

The company was given $54,000 in proposed penalties by OSHA. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

M.R. Asphalt owner Marty Romano declined to comment for this story.

Reach reporter David Erickson at 363-3300 or david.erickson@ravallirepublic.com.

Southern Hens Inc. in Mississippi cited by OSHA for 43 Violations Following …

OSHA has cited Southern Hens Inc. with 43 safety and health violations following the death of a worker who slipped and fell into an unguarded screw conveyor while cleaning the conveyor at the company’s Moselle facility. OSHA initiated the inspection Sept. 9, 2012, in response to the fatality.

The 37 alleged serious safety and health violations cited include ones directly related to the death of the worker, such as the failure to develop energy control procedures for augers, chillers, scalders, cookers and dumpers; failing to provide lockout/tagout training of energy sources to all affected workers; and a lack of machine guarding on several pieces of equipment and exposing workers to shock, struck-by, burn, crushing, tripping, falling, slipping and amputation hazards. The proposed penalty for all violations is $160,000.

“Employers cannot allow workers to be exposed to unguarded equipment or other workplace hazards,” said Clyde Payne, OSHA’s area director in Jackson, Miss. “It is imperative that management take immediate action to eliminate the hazards identified in this inspection before another worker is injured or killed.”

Other alleged serious violations issued by OSHA include failing to establish an audiometric testing program; protect propane tanks from vehicular traffic; provide personal protective equipment for employees; conduct monthly inspections of self-contained breathing apparatuses; evaluate hazards in the workplace to determine if any spaces were permit required confined spaces; identify mechanical hazards in the offal pits prior to employees entering; and provide training for employees entering offal pits. Other violations include obstructing exit routes and not having exit signs visible. 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.

Six alleged other-than-serious safety and health violations include failing to post the approved floor load capacity for the parts supply area above the maintenance office; post not-an-exit sign in the evisceration room and steam cook area; have cover plates on electrical boxes; allow a metal duplex receptacle and flexible cord to be used instead of permanent wiring; and not labeling containers of chlorinated sanitizer and refrigeration oil. 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.

The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/southern-hens-inc_62087803_03072013.pdf.

The poultry processing plant has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

OSHA finds 43 violations following fatality at poultry company

OSHA finds 43 violations following fatality at poultry company

by MBJ Staff

Published: March 12,2013

Tags: Chicken, death, fatality, fine, food, manufacture, manufacturer, manufacturing, penalty, poultry, processing, processor, workplace safety

MOSELLE — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Southern Hens Inc. with 43 safety and health violations following the death of a worker who slipped and fell into an unguarded screw conveyor while cleaning the conveyor at the company’s Moselle facility. OSHA initiated the inspection Sept. 9, 2012, in response to the fatality.

The 37 serious safety and health violations cited involve failing to establish an audiometric testing program; protect propane tanks from vehicular traffic; provide personal protective equipment for employees; conduct monthly inspections of self-contained breathing apparatuses; evaluate hazards in the workplace to determine if any spaces were permit required confined spaces; identify mechanical hazards in the offal pits prior to employees entering; provide training for employees entering offal pits; develop energy control procedures for augers, chillers, scalders, cookers and dumpers; and provide lockout/tagout training of energy sources to all affected workers. Other violations include obstructing exit routes, not having exit signs visible, a lack of machine guarding on several pieces of equipment and exposing workers to shock, struck-by, burn, crushing, tripping, falling, slipping and amputation hazards. 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.

Six other-than-serious safety and health violations include failing to post the approved floor load capacity for the parts supply area above the maintenance office; post not-an-exit sign in the evisceration room and steam cook area; have cover plates on electrical boxes; allow a metal duplex receptacle and flexible cord to be used instead of permanent wiring; and not labeling containers of chlorinated sanitizer and refrigeration oil. 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.

“Employers cannot allow workers to be exposed to unguarded equipment or other workplace hazards,” said Clyde Payne, OSHA’s area director in Jackson. “It is imperative that management take immediate action to eliminate the hazards identified in this inspection before another worker is injured or killed.”

The citations for the serious violations carry a proposed penalty of $160,000. The citations for the other-than-serious violations do not carry monetary penalties.

The poultry processing plant has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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