The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Atlantic Pipe Corporation of Plainville, Conn., for 57 alleged serious and other-than-serious violations of workplace safety and health standards at the company's Plainville manufacturing plant. The maker of precast concrete pieces faces a total of $117,250 in proposed fines.
"The sizable fines proposed here reflect the scope of hazards identified during this inspection," said C. William Freeman III, OSHA's area director in Hartford. "Left uncorrected, they expose employees to the dangers of falls, crushing injuries, burns, hearing loss, lacerations, amputations and electrocution. It is imperative that this employer take prompt and effective corrective action to eliminate these conditions and prevent their reoccurrence."
Specifically, $109,250 in fines was proposed for 52 serious citations. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
These serious citations include defective forklifts; an employee working under a lift's raised load, unstable loads and unapproved attachments; tripping hazards; wet floors and clogged floor drains; missing guardrails and fall protection where required; improper dispensing of a flammable liquid; inadequate or damaged ladders; no program to lock out concrete mixers to prevent their start up during maintenance; excessive noise levels and lack of hearing protection; uninspected cranes and lifting slings; damaged lifting slings; unguarded saws and grinders; lack of chemical hazard communication training; and ungrounded equipment, unprotected cables and other electrical deficiencies.
Five other-than-serious citations, with $8,000 in fines, were issued for failing to retest the hearing of employees who experienced hearing loss; failure to retain records; illegible identification for a fork truck; inadequate guarding of a fan; and an unguarded pulley. An other-than-serious violation is a hazardous condition that would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have an immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees.
Atlantic Pipe has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to meet with OSHA or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
