BP Settles for Over $13 million for Abate Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that the agency and BP Products North America Inc. have resolved most (409 of 439) citations issued by it in October 2009. BP agreed to pay $13,027,000 in penalties and has already stopped some violations and is in the process of abating the rest, with the end of 2012 as its deadline.

OSHA reported that most of BP’s infractions were willful violations of OSHA's process-safety management (PSM) standard at the oil company’s refinery in Texas City, Texas.

Although OSHA safety training—OSHA 10 training and OSHA 30, for example—is now a pre-employment requirement by many employers, many workers continue to be exposed to avoidable worksite hazards because of employer ignorance, negligence, or plain disregard of basic health and safety standards.

"Protecting workers and saving lives is the ultimate goal of this agreement," pointed out Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "For the workers at BP's Texas City refinery, this settlement will help establish a culture of safety. The workers who help keep our nation's oil and gas industries running deserve to go to work each day without fear of losing their lives."

According to OSHA, in September 2005 it cited BP for a record $21 million following the catastrophic explosion at its Texas City facility that killed 15 workers in March 2005. OSHA and BP later came to an agreement that compelled BP to correct its deficiencies.

In a follow-up investigation in 2009, OSHA discovered that BP had failed to correct many items in the agreement, which resulted in 270 failure-to-abate notices and in BP agreeing to pay a penalty of $50.6 million to resolve the notices. In addition, OSHA cited BP for 439 willful violations of the agency's PSM standard. The new citations carried $30.7 million in proposed penalties.

"Make no mistake, the scope of this [new] agreement should send a clear signal that OSHA is committed to ensuring BP takes seriously the safety and health of America's most important natural resource – its workers," stated Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

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OSHA Cites American Biltrite for Worker Fatality

OSHA has cited Massachusetts-based American Biltrite Inc. for work-safety and health violations that have resulted in the death of one of its employees. The victim, according to a subsequent OSHA investigation, was crushed in a coating machine while trying to fix a jammed equipment. OSHA pointed to the company’s failure to use "lockout/tagout" procedures before letting the worker work within the machine's danger area as the violation that led to the victim’s death. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $51,300.

Although OSHA 10 hour training and OSHA 30 course (both online OSHA training) are now pre-employment requirements, many workers are still exposed to unnecessary worksite hazards because of employer negligence, ignorance, or plain disregard of applicable safety protocols.

The company actually committed several serious violations and one repeat violation. The serious violations included: failure to put in place a lockout/tagout program for the equipment power sources; failure to provide adequate working area around electrical equipment; and failure to ensure that equipment guards were in place to prevent workers from coming into contact with moving parts.

The repeat violation involved allowing Class I flammable liquids to be decanted into containers without electrical continuity between the container and the nozzle, which elevates the risk of ignition. American Biltrite was cited for the same violation in 2010. 

"This company continues to compromise the safety of its workers by disregarding OSHA's safety and health standards," lamented Paula Dixon-Roderick, director of the OSHA Marlton Area office. "Employers are responsible for ensuring safe and healthful workplaces, and will be held legally accountable when they fail to do so."

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OSHA Citations: Cincinnati Contractor Penalized for Fatality

OSHA has cited American Building LLC, a steel-erection contractor, for work-safety violations that resulted in the accidental fall and death of one of its workers at a construction site in Stamford, Cincinnati. 

The fatal accident happened last Oct. 25, 2011 during the installation of metal roofing onto a prefab building. The victim fell 35 feet to the ground.

OSHA courses, such as OSHAcampus 10 hourtraining and 30 hour course (both online OSHA training), are now required by many employers; they provide excellent orientation on the essential protocols to follow to steer workers out of harm’s way.

OSHA’s investigation revealed that workers not only were not properly trained to identify and avoid fall dangers but also did not have fall protection. The work-safety watchdog discovered that the victim’s safety harness—as were those of two other workers—was not tied to anchorage points, which would have broken the fall. 

"Inadequate and ineffective fall protection can be as dangerous and deadly as no fall protection at all," observed Robert Kowalski, OSHA area director in Bridgeport, Cinn. "This employer was well aware that these workers were exposed to falls but did not take steps to eliminate a significant hazard. A combination of proper fall protection and effective training could have prevented this needless loss of life."

Following the investigation, American Building received one serious violation for the lack of training and one willful violation for the lack of fall protection, with total proposed penalties totaling $51,700.

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OSHA Cites Ohio Company for Safety Violations

For a company’s failure to ensure that a shear was kept in good working condition, one of its workers has lost an arm and the company has been cited for workplace safety violations by OSHA.

Polymerics Inc., a rubber-manufacturing facility in Cuyahoga Falls and Kent, Ohio, was actually found guilty of four safety violations, including a willful violation that caused the accidental amputation.

Knowledge of OSHA safety requirements is required by law and OSHA training is now mandatory in many states. Most employers now require for employment OSHA 30 certification (for supervisors) and OSHA 10 hour training (for workers), and 40 Hour HAZWOPER training (in certain worksites) to improve safety and health conditions at worksites.

Following a complaint alleging a malfunctioning safety pin on a hydraulic shear machine, OSHA conducted an investigation in August 2011 and was able to verify the complaint. OSHA explained that a willful violation constitutes an “intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.”

OSHA's Cleveland area director, Howard Eberts, said that "Failing to ensure that safety mechanisms on hazardous machines are working properly demonstrates a lack of regard for employees' safety and health."

In addition, OSHA cited Polymerics for one repeat violation for its failure to do the mandatory yearly review of lockout/tagout procedures, and for two serious violations for its failures to orient its employees on hazardous chemicals and to train workers in machine-specific lockout/tagout procedures. OSHA proposed fines totaling $74,900.

OSHACampus.com, a leading provider of online OSHA training, offers OSHAcampus.com 10 training and OSHAcampus.com 30 course for workers, supervisors, and contractors, as well as 40 Hour HAZWOPER training.

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OSHA Penalties and Violations – Polymerics Inc.

For a company’s failure to ensure that a shear was kept in good working condition, one of its workers has lost an arm and the company has been cited for workplace safety violations by OSHA.

Polymerics Inc., a rubber-manufacturing facility in Cuyahoga Falls and Kent, Ohio, was actually found guilty of four safety violations, including a willful violation that caused the accidental amputation.

Knowledge of OSHA safety requirements is required by law and OSHA training is now mandatory in many states. Most employers now require for employment OSHA 30 certification (for supervisors) and OSHA 10 hour training (for workers), and 40 Hour HAZWOPER training (in certain worksites) to improve safety and health conditions at worksites.

Following a complaint alleging a malfunctioning safety pin on a hydraulic shear machine, OSHA conducted an investigation in August 2011 and was able to verify the complaint. OSHA explained that a willful violation constitutes an “intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.”

OSHA's Cleveland area director, Howard Eberts, said that "Failing to ensure that safety mechanisms on hazardous machines are working properly demonstrates a lack of regard for employees' safety and health."

In addition, OSHA cited Polymerics for one repeat violation for its failure to do the mandatory yearly review of lockout/tagout procedures, and for two serious violations for its failures to orient its employees on hazardous chemicals and to train workers in machine-specific lockout/tagout procedures. OSHA proposed fines totaling $74,900.

OSHACampus.com, a leading provider of online OSHA training, offers OSHAcampus.com 10 training and OSHAcampus.com 30 course for workers, supervisors, and contractors, as well as 40 Hour HAZWOPER training.

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OSHA Penalizes Walmart; Serious Safety Violations Cause Accidental Amputations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited one of the most ubiquitous discount-department-store chains in the U.S. for repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards: Walmart. The company now stares at a total of $365,500 in proposed fines.

Although OSHA training, such as OSHA 30 certification (for supervisors) and OSHA 10 hour training (for workers), and 40 Hour HAZWOPER training (in certain worksites), are now required by most employers as hiring requirements, many companies, including big-name ones like Walmart, still fail to observe the safety standards consistently.

"The sizable fines proposed here reflect not only the seriousness of these conditions but the fact that several of them are substantially similar to hazards identified at nine other Walmart locations in New York and eight other states," Arthur Dube, OSHA area director in Buffalo, N.Y. explained.

OSHA, following inspections and an investigation, identified 10 repeat violations and 14 serious violations. Among the repeat violations discovered were obstructed exit routes, fall hazards, an absence of lockout/tagout procedures for energy sources, no training for employees using personal protective equipment, and a lack of information and training on hazardous chemicals.

The serious violations—safety infractions that probably would result in death or serious physical harm because of a hazard or hazards that the employer knew or should have known about—included failure to develop a confined-space entry program, failure to share confined-space information with contractors, and an incomplete bloodborne pathogen program and training for employees whose work exposed them to blood or body fluids.

Knowing and implementing OSHA safety standards are required by law and OSHA training—such as OSHA 30 certification, OSHA 10 hour training, and 40 Hour HAZWOPER training—is mandatory in many states. Disregarding these safety protocols is a serious violation with very serious consequences.

Recently, OSHA came down hard on Oklahoma-based Zaloudek Grain Co. for causing the accidental amputation of the legs of two of its workers, both 17-year-olds. Both lost their legs when they were caught in a conveyor auger while cleaning out a grain flat storage structure.

"Employers who endanger the lives and limbs of their workers will be held accountable for putting them at risk," explained OSHA Dallas regional administrator John Hermanson,. "In this case, the lives of two teenagers will never be the same."

OSHA’s investigation revealed that the company neglected to put in place the machine guard over the moving conveyor auger, a failure that ultimately led to the amputations. The investigation also discovered the following failings: the storage structure's exit was not free and unobstructed; no exit signs from the storage structure; and no training for workers assigned to enter grain structures.
OSHA proposed penalties totaling $21,500.

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OSHA Training and Safety Standards – Company Violations

You’d think that safety violations were limited to accidents only as far the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is concerned. But despite appearances, safety and health are not limited to accidents alone. This October, OSHA cited Bridgford Foods Corp. for 27 safety and health violations at its food manufacturing facility in Dallas. Among the infractions was the company’s failure to establish a hearing-conservation program for its workers who are exposed to unhealthy noise levels—a topic that actually comes up in online OSHAcampus.com 10 hour training and OSHA 30 certification.

Bridgford was also found to have failed to put up a measure called a lockout/tagout for energy sources to protect workers from machines unexpectedly starting up. These two major violations, plus 25 others, will cost the company in penalties totaling $422,600.

“Bridgford Foods has a history of failing to implement necessary safety and health,” said OSHA regional administrator John Hermanson in Dallas. “Under the law, it is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace.”

There are routine violators and there are occasional violators. And then there are the serial violators who repeatedly and wilfully violate the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSAHA requirements for safety and health at the workplace. One such is All-Feed Processing & Packaging Inc. One would think that the company never heard of OSHA 10 hour training, OSHA 30 certification, or 40 hour HAZWOPER training.

Recently, OSHA cited All-Feed Processing & Packaging for 23 safety and health violations at its pet-food production and packaging facility in Galva, Illinois, among them nine wilful infractions of OSHA’s air-contaminant, respiratory-protection, and hearing-conservation minimums. Other violations included failure to provide appropriate fire and explosion protection in locations of high concentrations of combustible dust. In all, OSHA proposed fines reaching $758,450.

All-Feed Processing & Packaging had been issued several citations for similar violations before, including one for a dangerous, potentially fatal dust explosion and fire that occurred at the same facility in 2009.
“By showing a blatant disregard for worker safety and health, this employer continues to expose workers to deadly hazards,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels.

OSHA health and safety standards are a focus of training programs for workers, safety directors, foremen, and field supervisors at OSHAcampus.com, a leading online training resource for OSHA and HAZWOPER programs such as 10 hour OSHA training, OSHA 30 certification, and 40 hour HAZWOPER training.

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