Articles Tagged with ''OSHA violations''

Once again, fall-related violations were behind most of the biggest fines OSHA issued to construction companies in the second quarter of 2019. One of the contractors, Shawn D. Purvis, has been charged criminally in relation to a death that occurred on one of his company's jobsites.

A Long Island, New York construction company faces nearly a quarter of a million dollars in penalties in the death of an employee who was killed when a building he was working on collapsed. OSHA issued willful and serious citations against Northridge Construction Corp., with proposed fines of $224,620.

OSHA inspected the company in December 2018 after an employee was electrocuted while using a damaged portable lamp when cleaning the inside of a metal tank. A second employee suffered electrical shock injuries in an attempt to assist the injured co-worker. Inspectors determined that the lamp's cord had exposed bare conductors, and the lamp was unsuitable for use in wet locations. They also found a damaged extension cord used to connect the lamp to power.

OSHA has cited Woodgrain Millwork Co. – operating as Woodgrain Distribution Inc. – for exposing employees to chemical and struck-by hazards at the company’s distribution facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The company faces $125,466 in penalties. The agency cited the wood molding, window, and door distributor for failing to provide employees with eye, face, and hand protection to prevent exposure to chemical injuries, and provide a functioning eyewash station for employees handling corrosive chemicals.

OSHA has cited the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida for an incident earlier this year in which a zookeeper was seriously injured by a rhinoceros. News reports say Archie, a 50-year-old male Southern white rhinoceros, struck the zookeeper with his horn. She was treated for her injuries at a local hospital and released after several days.

OSHA has cited Southern Tire Mart LLC – based in Columbia, Mississippi – for failing to protect employees from serious safety hazards after a worker suffered fatal injuries while attempting to mount a monster truck tire rim at the company’s retreading facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The company faces $341,195 in fines.

A Maine contractor who was indicted on manslaughter charges after the death of an employee – his own half-brother – maintains that he is not culpable because his workers are not his employees and he cannot compel them to use fall protection. Shawn D. Purvis, owner of Purvis Home Improvement Co. in Saco, pleaded not guilty to the charges in April.

OSHA has cited both a contractor and the operator of a natural gas processing plant in Houston, Pennsylvania, following a fire that killed one worker and left three others badly burned. The agency cited Energy Transportation LLC, the company contracted to clean lines and vessels at the plant, for violations of the process safety management (PSM) standard, and for exposing employees to flammable vapor and liquid while they off-loaded waste material from a vessel into a mobile tank.