REYNOLDS NATIONWIDE EXPOSES WORKERS TO DANGEROUS
FUMES IN FOOD TRANSPORT TANKERS AT LONDON, OHIO, FACILITY. FREIGHT-HANDLING
COMPANY FACES $179K IN PENALTIES FOR 2 WILLFUL, 6 SERIOUS VIOLATIONS
ALWAYS REMEMBER:
WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IS KILLED
OR INJURED BY A PREVENTABLE WORKPLACE HAZARD, THIS IS NO ACCIDENT. IT MEANS THE EMPLOYER FAILED TO PROTECT
WORKERS FROM DANGERS THAT CAN CAUSE INJURY, ILLNESS OR, NEEDLESS DEATH
February 9, 2015
LONDON, Ohio – Employees at Reynolds Nationwide risked potentially
lethal suffocation caused by dangerous fumes as the company did not test the
atmosphere and properly ventilate the air in food transport tankers before
allowing workers to enter. After receiving an employee complaint, the U.S.
Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated
an investigation on Aug. 6, 2014, at the London tank-cleaning facility.
The agency
issued two willful and six serious safety violations involving permit-required confined spaces and
fall
hazards. The agency proposed fines of $179,000.
"Fumes
can reach dangerous levels in confined spaces, and that puts workers in real
and immediate danger," said Deborah Zubaty, OSHA's area director in
Columbus. "Reynolds Nationwide failed to implement training and procedures
to protect workers entering these tanks, and that is unacceptable."
OSHA's
investigation found that Reynolds did not ventilate the tankers to eliminate
and control atmospheric hazards and failed to test and monitor the atmospheric
conditions in the tankers before allowing workers to enter and clean them.
Employees were also exposed to fall hazards of nearly 11 feet while cleaning
the tankers, resulting in the issuance of the two willful violations.
A willful
violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for
the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
OSHA
regulations require that the atmosphere in a confined space must be tested for
oxygen, combustible gases, toxic gases and vapors. Steps must also be taken to
ensure the atmospheric conditions are safe before a worker enters the space. A
confined space is one large enough for workers to enter and perform certain
jobs, such as cleaning a food transport tanker, but it has limited or
restricted means for entry or exit and is not designed for continuous
occupancy.
The agency
determined that Reynolds Nationwide failed to develop a confined space entry
permit program to include training workers on hazards, procedures for summoning
emergency services and providing monitors when an employee entered a confined
space. Electrical safety violations were also noted. A total of six serious
citations were issued for these violations.
An OSHA
violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a
hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.
Exposure to
harmful substances and environments accounted for 330 fatal occupational injuries* in the United
States in 2013.
View the
current citations at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/REYNOLDSNATIONWIDE_989312_0130_15.pdf*
Based in
San Antonio, Reynolds Nationwide employs about 750 workers corporatewide and 10
at the London location. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its
citations and penalties to comply, request an informal 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 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 Columbus Area Office at 614-469-5582.
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.