A company that manufactures products for the cosmetics industry has been cited for 20 serious safety violations for conditions at its manufacturing plant in Dayville, CT.

The OSHA inspections of the U.S. Cosmetics Corp. facility began in October 2012 under the agency’s Site-Specific Targeting Program that directs enforcement resources to workplaces where the highest rates of injuries and illnesses occur. Proposed fines total $53,561

U.S. Cosmetics Corporation manufactures and markets a wide variety of surface treated pigments and mineral substrates such as talc, mica, sericite and kaolin to the cosmetics industry.

"These citations address a cross section of electrical, mechanical, chemical and other hazards that can exist in a manufacturing environment, but which must be addressed systematically and effectively to protect the safety and health of workers at this plant," said Warren Simpson, OSHA's area director in Hartford. "Left uncorrected, they expose employees to the hazards of electrocution, arc blasts, lacerations, falls and being trapped or overcome in confined spaces."

Agency inspectors found that the employer failed to develop and implement an electrical safety-related work practices program for employees performing live electrical diagnostic work and supply personal protective equipment to employees performing live trouble-shooting, or who verified that electrical equipment was properly de-energized. Additionally, maintenance personnel had not been trained regarding safe electrical work practices and personal protective equipment.

OSHA also identified deficiencies in the plant's program regulating employees' entry into confined spaces to perform work. These included entry permits that did not address entry procedures, safeguards and hazards, not locking out hazardous power sources before entry and no rescue service or retrieval equipment to remove employees during an emergency in a confined space. The inspection found instances of unguarded machinery; fall and tripping hazards; unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals; ungrounded containers used to dispense flammable liquids; lack of quick drenching facilities for employees working with caustic chemicals; and ungrounded electrical equipment, damaged power cords and other electrical hazards.