August 18, 2015
Peco Pallet Inc., a pallet repair and rental company, fined nearly $59K by OSHA for failing to protect employees from noise hazards at Hazelton depot
Employer name: Peco Pallet Inc., a pallet repair and rental company, located at 1104 North Park Drive in Hazelton, Pennsylvania
Citations issued: On August 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful, two serious, and one other-than-serious health citations.
Investigation findings: OSHA found the company did not have controls in place to reduce noise levels, failed to conduct audiometric testing for employees overexposed to noise, and did not report a hospitalization as mandated by OSHA's reporting requirements.
Proposed Penalties: $58,500
Quote: "Exposure to high levels of noise can cause permanent hearing loss that cannot be corrected by surgery or a hearing aid. It also contributes to workplace accidents and injuries by making it difficult for employees to hear warning signals," said Mark Stelmack, OSHA's area director in Wilkes-Barre. "Peco Pallet should take immediate steps to reduce noise levels to prevent its workers from experiencing these avoidable health effects."
View the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/PecoPallet_1049285_08052015.pdf*
To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, losses of an eye, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Wilkes-Barre Area Office at 570-826-6538.