Inspection site: 2811 Day Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36103
Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the inspection on Nov. 4, 2014, as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Lead.
Investigation findings: OSHA issued nine serious citations for failing to complete the initial sampling to determine if employees were exposed to lead hazards; not providing proper clothing for workers exposed to lead levels greater than the permissible exposure limit; not providing a room for employees to change their work and street clothes; failing to train workers exposed to lead levels above the permissible exposure limit; not having a warning sign where lead exposure could be present; and not establishing a medical surveillance program for employees.
Lead exposure can cause impaired kidney function, high blood pressure and other negative health effects. Other violations include not having standard guardrails where employees were working from a roof that exposed them to a fall up to 14 feet, not having specific procedures for performing maintenance and servicing of equipment and exposing workers to electrical shock hazards. One other violation was cited for not performing a periodic inspection of the locomotive crane in 12 months.
Quote: "Lead exposure is a serious health concern and employers such as Sabel Steel need to understand that the fumes produced when cutting metal could exceed OSHA's permissible exposure limits. As a result, they need to evaluate health hazards employees are exposed to in the workplace," said Joseph Roesler director of OSHA's area office in Mobile. "OSHA holds employers accountable for correcting conditions that threaten workers' safety and health."
Proposed Penalties: $51,476
Link for citations: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20150795fs.pdf*
Sabel Steel Service, a scrap metal processing facility, 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 Mobile Area Office at 251-441-6131.