Cincinnati-based DCS Sanitation Management Inc. has been cited by OSHA for ten alleged violations of federal safety and health standards following the Oct. 12, 2007, death of an employee at its Springfield, Mo., poultry processing facility, according to OSHA.

The agency’s proposed penalties for all violations total $124,500.

The employee was working to sanitize poultry processing equipment and was electrocuted when the equipment’s conductive surface became energized.

An OSHA inspection revealed multiple violations of the agency’s electrical standards, according to Charles E. Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator in Kansas City.

An alleged willful violation addresses hazards associated with DCS’s failure to ensure employees are removed from equipment hazard areas, all tools are removed and equipment is operationally intact prior to its release from lockout/tagout safeguards and employee use.

An alleged repeat violation addresses a hazard associated with the lack of suitable facilities for quick drenching and/or flushing of the eyes and body in the event of an emergency when employees were working with injurious corrosives.

Alleged serious violations address a host of hazards: failure to ensure electrical equipment was free from recognized hazards; failure to ensure the means of grounding machines and equipment was continuous and effective; enclosures for electrical components in wet environments that were not waterproof; failure to provide all flexible cords with a strain relief; failure to provide a standard guardrail system for every floor opening or platform above dangerous equipment; failure to provide and/or require the use of appropriate eye and face protective equipment; and allowing the consumption of food and beverages in areas exposed to toxic chemicals.

An other-than-serious violation addresses the employer’s failure to report the fatal accident to the nearest OSHA area office within the required eight hours of occurrence.