OSHA has cited Guam-based Big Light Construction for alleged safety violations following the investigations of a Feb. 22 accident in which employee Antonin Wengu fell to his death from the roof of a gas station under construction in Dededo, Guam. Proposed penalties total $147,000.

Big Light Construction was cited for two alleged willful violations, with penalties of $70,000 each, for failing to provide and enforce the use of fall protection and failing to train employees exposed to fall hazards.

OSHA standards require fall protection when employees are working six feet or more above ground level, as were these workers applying coating to the roof of the gas station. A willful violation is one committed with intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The agency also assessed a $5,000 penalty for failure to report the death. OSHA was not notified of the fatality until March 8 when the state worker's compensation program contacted OSHA regarding a claim filed by the company on the worker's behalf. Big Light Construction's failure to maintain a log of occupational injuries and illnesses, despite being cited by OSHA for the same violation in 2004, cost the firm an additional $2,000 in penalties. OSHA has inspected the firm four times since 1999, issuing citations following each inspection.