OSHA to the Public: ‘You Can’t Handle The Truth!’

OSHA has engaged in a furious flurry of press activity over the past month.

Well, “furious” by Trump-OSHA standards. By anyone else’s standards, it’s still pathetic. OSHA has issued an astonishing total of six press releases since the beginning of August.  This is, of course, practically nothing compared with the more than 50 large cases that OSHA issued during that time. From what are they trying to protect the sensitive ears of American industry? Who can tell?

In any case, those cases are listed below (along with a significant workplace violence case that we wrote about here.)

Great White Construction Inc., based in Jacksonville, FL, received violations and proposed penalties totaling $1,523,710 because employees were removing shingles and plywood sheeting from the roof of a multi-story residential structure – without the use of proper fall protection. This was an “egregious” citation due the the employer’s past history of endangering workers. It included 11 separate willful citations for failing to protect employees from fall hazards, and three repeat violations for failing to ensure employees used eye protection while operating nail guns and for ladders used to access roof sites, again exposing employees to fall hazards. OSHA has placed Great White Construction into its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP.)

Carthage Specialty Paperboard Inc., a Carthage, New York paperboard mill received $357,445 in proposed penalties for exposing workers to 61 safety and health hazards. According to OSHA, “Machinery in the mill did not have safety locks to prevent the accidental start-up of machinery during maintenance, and employees did not receive required training or Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to work on electrical systems with up to 2,300 volts. Metal catwalks did not have restraints to help protect employees from falls, some as high as 13 feet. Employees also entered confined spaces without prior atmospheric testing, or means to rescue persons overcome by fumes.”

First Dakota Enterprises Inc., of Fort Pierre, SD has received  proposed penalties of $95,064 for failing to protect its workers from trench collapse hazards. A 34-year-old worker narrowly escaped death after he was completely buried when the walls of a 14-foot trench collapsed around him last May. Co-workers quickly freed the victim’s head, which allowed him to breathe while emergency personnel worked for more than 30 minutes to free him. OSHA cited the company, which was contracted by the City of Emery to replace the city’s main sewer and water lines, for two repeat and one serious safety violations.

Felker Brothers Corp., a Marshfield, Wisconsin manufacturer of steel pipes and tubes faces $110,458 in proposed penalties after OSHA found 13 serious safety and health violations following a worker complaint. At least one employee at the facility was exposed to excessive levels of hexavalent chromium, which can cause serious health issues, and another worker suffered severe injuries after being struck by a moving piece of machinery.

Hometown Foods USA – a Medley, FL, commercial bakery doing business as Bagelmania Inc., faces $129,145 in proposed penalties from OSHA for exposing workers to amputation, fire, and noise hazards. OSHA cited the employer for 16 serious and other-than-serious safety and health violations after receiving a complaint alleging machine-guarding, forklift, and noise hazards. The company also was cited for not providing employees’ formal training on operating a powered industrial truck, failing to inspect powered industrial trucks for defects prior to putting them into service, and improper use of electrical cables.

Meanwhile…

While we praise the agency for slowwwwwly recognizing that workers (and employers) may benefit from hearing about some workplace safety and health cases, we are still confused about what the criteria for a press release is, especially since there were at least six other large citations over the last month and a half that, for some unfathomable reason, did not merit their own press releases.

• Schwans Global Supply Chain, Salina, KS: $114,978
• Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning, Malden, MA:  $126,749
• Willbanks Metals, Forth Worth, TX: $172,540
• Polyvision Corporation, Okmulgee, OK: $244,994
• Cranberry Growers Cooperative, Warrens, WI: $154,638
• Houston Refining, LP, Houston, TX: $139,425

Is there any rhyme or reason for OSHA not issuing citations for these large cases? Did these employers express sufficient remorse while the others didn’t? Did they contribute to someone’s political campaign?Without some kind of process or criteria, my inquiring mind wonders in all directions.

But happily, despite OSHA’s reticence and/or confusion about the purpose and importance of publicizing the agency’s enforcement activities, a few members of the press have been on the job, publicizing some of those citations that OSHA doesn’t want the American public to hear about:

Fort Miller Fab3 Corp. of Greenwich, NH, received $34,404 in proposed fines from OSHA for the death of an Argyle man in a workplace accident last October. The company reached a settlement with OSHA for $25,803.45-year-old Daniel J. Ingram was killed last October when he was crushed by a 7,000-pound steel box that was fabricated at the company’s Wilbur Avenue plant. The OSHA report on the fatality shows that the box was on a forklift that lifted it 10 to 18 inches off the ground, and when Ingram stepped out of it through a door, it tipped over because the forklift’s forks did not extend the length of the box. Ingram was pinned between the box and a paint tank, and died from severe trauma. Seven co-workers lifted the equipment off him, but he was pronounced dead a short time later. OSHA issued three “serious” citations to the company for equipment or safety violations.

And in the state plans…