By Justin Zaremba | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author
on August 18, 2016 at 2:01 PM, updated August 18, 2016 at 2:31 PM
DENVILLE — After three recent serious falls at job sites in New Jersey including the death of a painter in Denville on Monday, federal labor authorities are urging companies in the Garden State to use the proper safety equipment.
"These tragic — and preventable — incidents involved workers not provided with, or the companies' failure to enforce use of, proper fall protection," the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a news release Thursday.
OSHA said it was targeting employers in New Jersey for failure to take the necessary steps to prevent falls, such as guardrail systems, safety net systems, properly anchored body harnesses and lanyards, and safe work practices.
Adilson Vozniak, 37, of Newark, was part of a crew that was sandblasting and painting a water tower in the woods behind Morris Knolls High School on Monday when he fell about 50 feet. He was pronounced dead at Saint Clare's Hospital.
The company for which he worked — Allied Painting, Inc. of Cherry Hill — has been cited by OSHA on multiple occasions for serious safety lapses including fall-related accidents.
Allied Painting was also the focus of an OSHA news release last year in which the agency investigated elevated lead levels in the company's employees who performed abrasive blasting and painting on a bridge spanning the Taunton River in Massachusetts.
During the investigation, OSHA officials found excess lead levels in areas where workers ate, changed their clothes and worked. Employees were also exposed to fall hazards of more than 100 feet because of ladder obstructions and insufficient heights for temporary railings, the agency said.
Incident occurred on Rockaway Valley Road Wednesday
A representative of Allied Painting declined comment Thursday.
OSHA also pointed out two other instances of alleged fall-related safety lapses by employers.
In April, an employee of Station Builders suffered serious injuries after falling 20 feet in Matawan while installing windows. In March, an employee of Cosmos Furniture Ltd.'s fell 15 feet to his death in a New Brunswick warehouse while fulfilling an order using a powered industrial truck.
"With basic fall protection in place, these employers could have prevented these tragedies," OSHA regional administrator Robert Kulick said in the news release. "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the deceased worker and with those who must learn to cope with permanent disabilities because their employers failed to ensure a safe workplace."
During an enforcement crackdown in May, OSHA conducted 25 fall-related inspections in Atlantic and Cape May counties and 23 inspections in Middlesex and Union counties, which resulted serious and some repeat citations related to falls in construction.
Penalties for these companies ranged from $2,800 to $12,320 for the lapses in Atlantic and Cape May counties, and $1,600 to $24,942 in Middlesex and Union counties, the agency said.
More information on fall prevention is available at OSHA's Stop Falls online resource and at 1-800-321-OSHA.
A working phone number for Station Builders was not available Thursday. Representatives with Cosmos Furniture reached Thursday afternoon have not yet provided comment.
================
OSHA: Denville worker’s death preventable
Michael Izzo, @MIzzoDR 4:27 p.m. EDT August 18, 2016The death of a painter who died while working on a water tower in Denville this week was preventable, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Adilson Vozniak, 37, of Newark, was painting and sandblasting a water tower with additional crew members in the woods about half a mile behind Morris Knolls High School. While working, Vozniak fell about 50 feet from the tower. He was then taken to St. Clare’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
OSHA said there have been similar fall-related deaths in New Jersey this year.
“In April, an employee of construction company Station Builders suffered serious injuries after falling 20 feet from a second floor while installing windows in Matawan,” OSHA said. “A month prior to that, an employee fell 15 feet to his death while fulfilling an order using a powered industrial truck at Cosmos Furniture Ltd.’s warehouse in North Brunswick.”
“These tragic – and preventable - incidents involved workers not provided with, or the companies’ failure to enforce use of, proper fall protection.”
OSHA called on New Jersey companies to ensure their workers are properly equipped and protected from work-related falls.
“With basic fall protection in place, these employers could have prevented these tragedies. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the deceased worker and with those who must learn to cope with permanent disabilities because their employers failed to ensure a safe workplace,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA regional administrator in New York. “Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, and the use of proper fall protection can be the difference between death and workers going home to their families. We at OSHA cannot – and will not – tolerate employers who jeopardize worker safety.”
OSHA is now making targeted efforts and inspections to prevent work-related falls.
25 recent inspections in Atlantic and Cap May counties have resulted in primarily serious and some repeat citations related to falls in construction, with the average penalties ranging from $2,800 to $12,320. 23 similar inspections Middlesex and Union counties yielded serious and some repeat citations related to the employers failure to provide or enforce the use of a fall protection system, with the average penalties ranging from $1,600 to $24,942.
Basic fall protection for workers includes installing guardrails, safety nets, and personal fall arrest systems, including properly anchored body harnesses and lanyards. Basic safe working practices and training are also crucial.
Vozniak was an employee of the Cherry Hill-based Allied Painting Inc., which declined to comment on the matter. Vozniak’s death remains under investigation by both OSHA and Denville Police.
For more information on workplace falls, visit OSHA’s “Stop Falls” online resource at https://www.osha.gov/stopfalls/index.html or call 1-800-321-OSHA.