OSHA fines company $130,200 after worker dies
May 1, 1999 2 minutes read
OSHA fines company $130,200 after worker dies
An alleged violation of the confined-spaced standard has led the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to cite Protein Products for safety violations found during an inspection of a worker fatality at the company’s Sunflower, MS, plant. The citations carry proposed penalties totaling $130,200.
The accident appears to be a classic case of workers being overcome unexpectedly by a toxic atmosphere in a confined space. Clyde Payne, an OSHA area director in Mississippi, reports that one worker was killed and several others injured during repair of a broken chain in the "chain pit." The chain is used to operate a conveyor in the processing of fish oil and fish-meal products.
Employees overcome by fumes
Payne says two employees involved in a chain repair were overcome by a toxic gas, probably created by decaying fish parts caught in the chain pit. One worker was pronounced dead of asphyxiation on arrival at a local hospital, and the other was seriously injured. Several workers who attempted to rescue the two also suffered injuries from toxic fumes.
OSHA’s inspection revealed that the company failed to identify the chain pit as a confined space containing potentially toxic gases. As a result, atmospheric testing was not done; danger signs were not posted, and confined-space training was not conducted. Failure to implement confined-space entry procedures, failure to establish an adequate respiratory protection program, and failure to comply with lockout/tagout safety standards resulted in 14 serious citations with proposed penalties totaling $88,200.
Protein Products also was cited for one willful safety violation in connection with lockout requirements. A penalty of $42,000 was proposed for the company’s failure to require each exposed employee to place a lock on power sources to ensure that hazardous machinery is turned off and remains inoperative, or locked out, during maintenance.
The employer was aware of the importance of locking out equipment during servicing and, in fact, was cited by OSHA in 1990 for deficiencies in its lockout/tagout program, Payne says. Lifelines, harness equipment, and self-contained breathing apparatus were available, but rescuers hadn’t been trained to use them, Payne says.
Calls to Protein Products were not returned. The company has the option of contesting the fines.
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