Employees at Superior Plastics Extrusion Co. Inc., doing business as Impact Plastics, were exposed to two dozen safety and health hazards, including falls and mechanical hazards, according to federal inspectors. OSHA has proposed penalties totaling $66,789 for violations at the company's Putnam, Connecticut, manufacturing plant.

"While the range of hazards in a manufacturing setting can be broad, their proliferation is unacceptable,” said Warren Simpson, OSHA's area director in Hartford.

Lack of machine guarding, training

OSHA's inspection found that employees were exposed to hazards, including:

• falls from unguarded work platforms,
• being caught in unexpectedly activated machinery due to a lack of specific procedures to lock out machines' power sources,
• lacerations and amputation from machinery whose operating parts were not guarded against contact,
• electric shock due to lack of training for electrical maintenance staff, and
• fire or explosion from improperly secured gas cylinders.

These conditions resulted in OSHA citing the company for 22 serious violations and two other violations of workplace safety standards.

Superior Plastics Extrusion Co. Inc., a maker of plastic products, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission.