APRIL 9, 2015
ADAIRSVILLE, GEORGIA
An inspection of a
wood crate manufacturer found that permanent and temporary employees faced excessive noise, improper hand protection and respiratory irritation
due to wood dust exposure at the North American Container Corp. in Adairsville.
The company makes crates and corrugated boxes for lawn and garden products,
such as all-terrain vehicles, tractors, lawn mowers and blowers. Headquartered
in Marietta, Georgia, North American Container has eight other production
facilities in Georgia, Wisconsin, Tennessee and South Carolina.
Georgia-based North American
Container's Adairsville facility
After a complaint,
the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
began an inspection in October 2014 and identified eight safety and health
violations, with proposed penalties of $59,400.
"North American
Container puts workers at risk of serious injury or illness by disregarding
OSHA safety and health standards," said Christi Griffin, director of
OSHA's Atlanta-West Area Office. "The repeated violations cited in this
inspection show the employer's lack of commitment to protect employees from
workplace hazards."
OSHA issued four
repeated citations to the container manufacturer for lacking an emergency
action plan; failing to anchor a drill press to the floor securely; not
providing employee training on the hazards of inhalation of wood dust; and
failing to give workers Appendix D of the respirator standard. A repeated
violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a
similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in
federal enforcement states within the last five years. North American Container
was cited for these same violations in 2010 and 2014.
Four serious
violations include equipping exit doors with sliding locks that could prohibit
employees from leaving the facility quickly; not providing proper hand
protection; failing to establish a noise testing program; and not training
employees on the hazards of excessive noise levels.
A serious violation
occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical
harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have
known.
North American
Container employs temporary workers through staffing agencies TRP Partners LLC,
in Dalton, and Flexible Staffing, in Cartersville. North American provides
training and oversight for its temporary employees, so OSHA did not cite the
staffing agencies after this inspection.
OSHA has inspected North American Container four times
since 2010. The company received citations for noise exposure, respirator
protection and proper installation of guards to protect users from operating
machine parts.
The company 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 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 Atlanta-West Area Office at 678-903-7301.
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/.