The agency initiated an investigation of Cherry Valley Furniture, Inc.’s Richwood, W.Va., site in August 2004 in response to a complaint alleging that the company had not abated machine-guarding and ventilation violations cited after an OSHA inspection in May. The company, which employs 20 workers, now has received 24 failure-to-abate notices from OSHA, with a proposed penalty of $149,640. The company also was issued citations for three alleged repeat violations with a proposed penalty of $4,800, and two alleged serious violations with a proposed penalty of $7,200.

The failure-to-abate notices address spray-paint booth hazards; respirator deficiencies; lack of fire-extinguisher training; electrical hazards; machine-guarding hazards; recording errors; and a lack of hazard communication training. The repeat violations include electrical hazards; failure to maintain a clean and orderly place of employment; and failure to post the citations from the May 2004 inspection. The serious violations include deficiencies related to personal protection equipment and various electrical hazards.

The company has 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties.