By Matt Glynn | News Business Reporter
The death of an employee at Tonawanda Coke could have been prevented, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Buffalo office said following an inspection.
A 60-year-old employee, Richard Wade, died Jan. 6 after he was pulled into the rotating shaft of a coal elevator.
As he prepared to grease and lubricate the elevator, his jacket was caught, pulling him on to the rotating shaft, OSHA said.
The company neither shut down the elevator at the River Road plant, nor locked out its power source, as required by OSHA’s standards, the agency said.
Additionally, the company “failed to train employees on how to use energy-control procedures,” OSHA said.
“Training employees on lockout procedures and ensuring those procedures are used would have prevented this needless loss of a worker’s life,” Michael Scime, OSHA’s Buffalo area director, said in a statement. “Compounding this tragedy is the disturbing fact that OSHA cited Tonawanda Coke in the past for not following the requirements of the lockout standard.
“Yet, the company exposed both the victim and another employee who greased and lubricated plant equipment to these same hazards,” Scime said. “This is unacceptable. It is Tonawanda Coke’s responsibility to eliminate these hazards once and for all and protect its employees.”
OSHA proposed a total of $175,200 in fines connected to the alleged violations.
The company faces two “repeated” and six “serious” violations of workplace safety standards. The agency said the repeated violations are based on similar hazards the agency cited during inspections in 2010 and 2014.
Tonawanda Coke, which produces foundry coke, has 15 business days from receiving the citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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Last January, an employee servicing a coal elevator got his coat caught and pulled the man into the rotating shaft.
OSHA says the death could have been prevented if Tonawanda Coke shot down the elevator, or locked out its power source, as required by OSHA's hazardous energy-control, or lockout standard.
“Training employees on lockout procedures and ensuring those procedures are used would have prevented this needless loss of a worker’s life,” said Michael Scime, OSHA’s area director in Buffalo in released statement. “Compounding this tragedy is the disturbing fact that OSHA cited Tonawanda Coke in the past for not following the requirements of the lockout standard. Yet, the company exposed both the victim and another employee who greased and lubricated plant equipment to these same hazards. This is unacceptable. It is Tonawanda Coke’s responsibility to eliminate these hazards once and for all and protect its employees.”
OSHA’s inspection determined that Tonawanda Coke failed to:
- Ensure the shut down of power sources for the coal elevator and a machine in the plant battery department and that energy isolation devices had lockout devices affixed.
- Guard projecting shafts and bolts on the coal elevator against employee contact.
- Provide hazardous energy control training to authorized employees and inform them of the location of energy control devices. This resulted in a repeated violation.
- Conduct and certify an inspection of energy-control procedures. This resulted in a repeated violation.
- Ensure the full lock out of an energy control device.
- Maintain working surfaces in a clean and dry condition.
- Ensure to bolt covers of electrical disconnects used in a classified location fully.
Tonawanda Coke has 15 days to respond to the violations.