August 1, 2016
Worker's death leads OSHA to fine Nucor-Yamato Steel
for poor loading operations at Arkansas steel mill
Employer name: Nucor-Yamato Steel Inc.
Location: 5929 E. State Highway 18, Blytheville, Arkansas 72315
Citations issued: July 29, 2016
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Little Rock issued citations for eight serious violations to Nucor-Yamato Steel Inc. after an employee died after a sling broke and a 14,000-pound bolt struck him. The April 18, 2016 investigation revealed violations surrounding lifting operations including:
- Missing the cotter pin on the shackle for the sling.
- Exposing workers to unprotected open-sided floors at a height greater than 4 feet.
- Not inspecting daily all functional operating mechanisms of the overhead crane.
- Using a damaged sling for lifting activities.
- Allowing workers to work within close proximity of suspended loads.
- Loading a sling in excess of its recommended safe working load.
Proposed Penalties: $56,000
Quote: "Nucor-Yamato Steel used damaged slings in their daily operations," said Carlos Reynolds, OSHA's area director in Little Rock. "Inspecting slings properly and not overloading them can make the difference between keeping workers safe and costing a man his life."
Link to the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Nucor-YamatoSteel_1141287.pdf
Background: Formed in 1987, the Nucor-Yamato Steel Company is a joint venture between Nucor and Yamato Kogyo to operate a steel mill to manufacture wide-flange beams in Blytheville. The company can produce more than 2.5 million tons per year of wide-flange beams, and other steel products. It is one of the world's largest structural steel mills and employs more than 800 workers. Nucor-Yamato is an affiliate of Nucor Corporation, manufacturers of steel products with operating facilities in the U.S. and Canada.
Information: Nucor-Yamato Steel has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties 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 Little Rock Area Office at 501-224-1841.
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