Mass. workers used metal-tipped rods to lift overhead power lines
P. Gioioso & Sons Inc. cited for electrocution hazards
OSHA has proposed more than $70,000 in fines for Hyde Park, Mass. contractor who exposed its workers to possible electrocution from working close to energized power lines at a Cambridge work site where required safeguards were not used.
A May 9 inspection by OSHA found that employees used a trench rod and a fiberglass pole with a metal end to lift overhead power lines, so that workers could move excavating equipment under the lines and onto the work site. The Hyde Park contractor faces $70,290 in proposed fines.