OSHA has cited Anheuser-Busch Cos. LLC in Houston with one alleged willful and five serious violations for failing to protect workers from exposure to carbon dioxide and other workplace hazards while working in brewery cellars. The October 2012 complaint inspection of the facility on Gellhorn Drive has resulted in a proposed penalty totaling $88,000.
The alleged willful violation was cited for failing to consider the carbon dioxide atmosphere in the brewing cellars to be immediately dangerous to life or health while also failing to identify respiratory hazards. A willful violation is one where an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, or a plain indifference to employee safety and health.