Thursday, October 6, 2016

Allstate Can Corp. fined $104K for five federal violations after the New Jersey aluminum company continues to expose employees to machine hazards - resulting in worker injuries, amputations





October 6, 2016

New Jersey aluminum company continues to expose employees
to machine hazards - resulting in worker injuries, amputations
Allstate Can Corp. fined $104K for five federal violations

Employer name: Allstate Can Corp.
One Wood Hollow Road
Parsippany, New Jersey

Inspection site One Wood Hollow Road
Parsippany, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Sept. 16, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company citations for one willful violation and four serious violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA's inspection began on March 24, 2016, after investigators noted noise hazards during an inspection. They found that the company failed to institute a hearing conservation program, and failed to provide annual hearing tests for all employees exposed to excessive noise. Allstate Can neglected to retrain workers who suffered hearing loss, and did not refit them with hearing protection or refer workers for a medical examination. The agency also found the company exposed employees to high noise levels in the production area.

Quote: "Twenty-two million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise at work each year. Exposure to sustained loud noise kills the inner ear's nerve endings, and leads to permanent hearing loss that neither surgery nor medicine can correct," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office. "Despite knowing the requirement for annual hearing tests, Allstate Can failed to take the proper steps to protect workers from hearing loss, which is unacceptable."

Proposed penalties: $104,220

The citations can be viewed at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AllstateCanCorporation_1134959.pdf.

The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, 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 Parsippany Area Office at 973-263-1003.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

# # #

Did you know?

• The steel can is America’s most recycled container
• Steel has the highest recycling rates of any packaging material in the U.S.
• Hermetic cans (like coffee cans) offer 100% protection against gas, oxygen, light, moisture or other contamination
• Steel is recycled an infinite number of times without loss of strength or durability
• When you buy steel, you are ALWAYS buying recycled
• Every minute, approximately 20,000 cans are recycled in the United States
• If every American recycled just two food cans this year, we would save the equivalent of 10 million gallons of gasoline
• Consumers can recycle food cans as well as paint cans and aerosol cans
• Tin cans can be stacked high on pallets without damage to the package or its contents. This reduces the need for secondary packaging that could end up in landfills. Storage efficiency and transportation costs can also be reduced as a result of stack-ability
• Consumers are demanding that packaging be more than just a pretty face—not only must it protect its contents, be tamper evident, convenient and convey personality but it must also be durable, sustainable and not drain environmental resources. Tin packaging fulfills all of these requirements and more