OSHA Cites Companies
for Fatal Fall, Chemical Fire
A fatal fall for a worker has resulted in willful and
serious violations of safety standards for The MacMillin Co. Inc, a Keene,
N.H.-based construction company. The worker’s death, reported the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), occurred at a Keene Middle School
construction site where temporary employees of the Keene-based contractor were
erecting scaffolding. A plank of the scaffolding snapped under the victim’s
weight.
Although OSHA courses, such as OSHA 10 training
and OSHA 30 certification
(both online OSHA training), are now pre-employment requirements by many
contractors, many preventable worksite accidents still occur because of
negligence or ignorance.
A subsequent OSHA inspection discovered the following: the contractor
failed to have the scaffold inspected for defects; the contractor failed to
adequately train its employees in the erection and inspection of scaffolding; and
the contractor failed to determine the feasibility of or to ensure the use of
fall protection for employees while the scaffold was being put up.
OSHA’s New Hampshire area director, Rosemarie Ohar pointed
out that "[p]roper planning, inspection procedures, employee training and
equipment could have prevented this incident and the worker's death that
resulted. I strongly suggest that employers who use scaffolding make the time
and effort to review their equipment, work practices and employee training, and
take any necessary corrective steps to prevent future falls that can result in
injuries and deaths."
OSHA has also levied seven serious safety and health
violations on Magnablend Inc., a company specializing in the blending and
manufacturing of chemicals for the industrial and consumer markets, for an
October 2011 chemical fire that razed the company's blending plant in
Waxahachie, Texas to the ground. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $45,000.
OSHA's inspection found that workers were exposed to fire
hazards caused by inadequate ventilation, a situation that can easily lead to an
accumulation of inflammable or explosive vapors. Among the violations OSHA
discovered were: failure to conduct a hazard assessment; failure to install a
sufficient ventilation system; failure to train workers in specific hazardous
chemical protection procedures; failure to evaluate respiratory-inhalation
hazards; failure to ensure that the fire-sprinkler system was adequate; failure
to use electrical equipment in accordance with its labeling; and failure to document
the classification of hazardous locations for electrical purposes.
"Magnablend exposed its workers to fire hazards by
failing to provide adequate ventilation that would have removed flammable
hydrogen and other vapors," explained Jack Rector, OSHA's area director in
Fort Worth. "OSHA's standards must be followed to prevent injuries and
illnesses. It is fortunate that no one was injured."
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