Category Archives: OSHA FINES

OSHA Fines Solvay Specialty Polymers $77,000

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On February 6, 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Solvay Specialty Polymers for 12 violations, and proposed $77,000 in fines for said violations. These violations centered around exposing workers to chemical hazards from solvents and came after an investigation of the company’s plant in Marietta, Ohio.

“The plant needs to ensure all equipment and processes receive the proper evaluation and scrutiny before the use of these highly hazardous chemicals. Workers must be trained to handle these chemicals safely,” said Deborah Zubaty, OSHA’s area director in Columbus. “Process safety management programs are designed to prevent the catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals and to prevent workers from being exposed to these harmful chemicals.”

Eleven serious and one repeat violation were issued. The repeat violation was issued for failing to follow recognized good engineering practices. The eleven serious violations were all related to OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard. The Process Safety Management Standard is a detailed set of requirements and procedures which address hazards that are associated with hazardous chemicals.

If you own a company that uses hazardous chemicals and you have not recently ensured you are up to code with the safety management standard, it might be a good time to have your safety and health management system audited by a professional third party auditing firm. OSHA is constantly auditing companies, searching for violations; third party audits can go a long way in protecting your company.

If you have any questions about OSHA’s Process Safety Management Standard or about third party audits, please contact us. If you have anything to add about either of these topics, please leave a comment.

MFA Fined $91,000 by OSHA for 13 Serious Violations

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A worker was fatally injured on August 26 at an Aurora-based Milling plant in Aurora, Missouri which is owned by MFA, Inc. Following the tragedy, OSHA inspected the facility and found 13 serious violations, including several relating to the death of the employee. OSHA has proposed fines in the amount of $91,000.

“This was a terrible, preventable tragedy that underscores the importance of OSHA’s standards. Employers are required to use equipment in accordance with manufacturer’s specifications,” said Barbara Theriot, OSHA’s area director in Kansas City, Mo. “Employers are responsible for identifying hazards, providing safety precautions such as guard rails and ensuring workers follow proper procedures to prevent injury or death.”

The 13 serious violations include: failing to guard open-sided floors throughout the plant with varying fall distances up to 20 feet; inadequate footing space on industrial ladders creating fall distances up to 125 feet; failing to inspect man lifts every 30 days; failing to have guarded belts and pulleys on machinery; failing to use proper connectors, thus exposing workers to electrical conductors on motors; failing to have two exit doors; obstructed exits; unmarked and poorly lighted exit routes; and failing to have an alarm system to warn workers of fires and other emergencies.

All of these citations would have been easy to correct and could have saved an employee’s life. And the cost to fix these issues would have been virtually nothing. That is why it is important to have a qualified occupational safety and health auditing firm inspect your facility on a regular basis. A simply third party safety audit would have uncovered these problems in a matter of hours.

If you have any questions about third party safety audits, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the importance of third party safety audits, please leave a comment.

Forever 21 Fined Over $236k by OSHA for Repeat Violations

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OSHA inspectors audited Forever 21 locations in Paramus and Manhattan in July after receiving complaints alleging violations. The results of those audits have come in, with proposed penalties to Forever 21 in the amount of $236,500. These fines were for six repeat citations and one serious citation.

The repeat citations, which are citations issued when a substantially similar violation is found at any other facilities owned by the same employer within the previous 5 years, were for: obstructed exit routes, fluorescent lights with no covers, a fire extinguisher that was not mounted and readily accessible, and stored material that was not secured against sliding or collapsing. The obstructed exit routes and fluorescent lights with no covers were citations at both facilities, while the other two were only at the Paramus location.

The serious citation, which is a citation issued when there is “substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have know, of the hazard,” was issued because the Manhattan store was not kept clean and orderly.

This is a prime example of why companies need to have all of their facilities audited by professional third party occupational health and safety experts. Many employers do not think of retail spaces as a place where OSHA will come knocking to audit, but it is important to remember that OSHA will take complaints anywhere you have employees working.

If you have any questions about third party safety and health auditing, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the importance of third party safety audits, please leave a comment.