Employer fined after messy chemical spill clean-up
After failing to take appropriate precautions following a chemical spill, Valmont Coatings-Oklahoma Galvanizing in Claremore, Okla., was cited by OSHA and fined $126,000 for safety and health violations that sent 18 employees to the hospital.
OSHA penalized the hot-dip galvanizing company, which is owned by Omaha, Neb.-based Valmont Industries, Inc., following an inspection that began last Aug. 31. Valmont Coatings, which employs more than 3,000 workers — about 100 of which are located in Claremore — was hit with one alleged willful and eight alleged serious violations for exposing employees to sulfuric acid during a clean-up spill from the rupture of a storage tank.