Photo courtesy: Tyson Foods
Inspectors with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found two repeated and 15 serious violations after responding to a report of the amputation.
By Karen Robinson-Jacobs Follow @krobijake krobinson@dallasnews.com
Hospitality/Leisure Industry Reporter
Published: 16 August 2016 01:40 PM
Updated: 16 August 2016 03:09 PM
Tyson Foods, one of the largest meat processors in the world, faces a potential fine of more than $263,000 after an employee suffered a finger amputation and federal inspectors found more than a dozen "serious violations" at the company's chicken processing plant in Center.
Inspectors with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found two repeated and 15 serious violations after responding to a report of the amputation. Inspectors said workers were exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide and the disinfectant peracetic acid without being provided personal protective equipment.
Officials with Arkansas-based Tyson could not be reached for comment.
The investigation determined that an employee suffered an amputation when his finger became stuck in an unguarded conveyor belt as he worked in the de-bone area and tried to remove chicken parts jammed in the belt.
That's according to a news release from the Dallas office of the Department of Labor. The release did not identify the employee.
OSHA inspectors also found serious violations including failing to ensure proper safety guards on moving machine parts; allowing carbon dioxide levels above the permissible exposure limit; failing to provide personal protective equipment; and not training employees on hazards associated with peracetic acid, which can cause burns and respiratory illness if not handled safely.
"Tyson Foods must do much more to prevent disfiguring injuries like this one from happening," David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health, said in the release. "As one of the nation's largest food suppliers, it should set an example for workplace safety rather than drawing multiple citations from OSHA for ongoing safety failures."
Inspectors also found employees exposed to slip-and-fall hazards due to a lack of proper drainage, trip-and-fall hazards caused by recessed drains and fire hazards resulting from improperly stored compressed gas cylinders. The inspection falls under OSHA's Regional Emphasis Program for Poultry Processing Facilities.
OSHA cited the company for repeated violations for not making sure employees used appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to eye or face hazards.
The agency cited Tyson for a similar violation in a 2012 investigation at its Carthage facility. The company also failed to separate compressed gas cylinders of oxygen and acetylene while in storage — a violation for which OSHA cited the company in 2013 at its facility in Albertville, Ala.
Tyson has 15 business days from receipt of the 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.
Tyson is one of the largest employers in Center, in southeast Texas.
Last year, according to the city's website, the Center plant was awarded a designation from the state for participation in the Texas Enterprise Zone. The award allowed Tyson to receive reimbursement on state sales tax paid on equipment purchased as part of a multimillion-dollar capital equipment purchase and maintenance program. Tyson agreed to invest up to $5 million in the project. "We partnered with them before in this program and we want to help Tyson be successful in Center," Mayor David Chadwick said in a statement
OSHA issues $21k in
fines over East End Bridge crane collapse Posted: Aug 15, 2016 12:44 PM
EST Updated: Aug 15, 2016 4:39 PM EST
By Marcus Green
By Gil Corsey
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The companies building an eastern Ohio River bridge have been fined $21,379 in connection with a crane collapse earlier this year, according to federal safety regulators.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Walsh Construction Co. and Vinci Construction Grand Projects last week over the Feb. 19 incident in which a crane fell into the river.
The citation deemed the two violations “serious,” which OSHA says could “cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.”
Walsh and Vinci are part of the WVB East End Partners group that oversees the eastern segment, including the span between Utica, Ind., and Prospect, Ky., and the roads leading to it on both sides of the river.
“WVB does not typically comment on such citations,” spokesman Dan Hartlage said in a statement. “That said, we continually strive to make our work zones safe for our employees and the public. Safety is our top priority.”
He did not immediately say if the companies plan to contest the citation.
In its investigation, OSHA found that the crane’s wind indicator wasn’t working and that the machine should have been taken out of service and replaced, said Bill Cochran, area director for the agency’s Nashville office, which has jurisdiction over navigable waters in Kentucky.
He said the crane also was being operated outside the manufacturer’s recommendations for the angle of the boom.
Wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour were reported the morning of the collapse. No one was injured, but a worker who fell into the river had to be rescued.
Shortly after the incident, an official with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 181 said the crane should not have in use because of the high winds.
The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators recommends a crane the size of the one that toppled into the river be lowered about halfway to the ground and not be operating when winds exceed 30 miles per hour.
WDRB News has requested the documents from the OSHA investigation under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
The crane collapse is the second construction-related incident investigated by OSHA during work on the bridges project. In 2015, federal investigators concluded that Walsh Construction didn’t violate U.S. safety rules after three workers were thrown into the Ohio River in 2014 as they tried to recover a boat that had broken loose downtown.
No citations were issued.Walsh Vinci received a Governor’s Safety and Health Award this year from the Kentucky Labor Cabinet after working 1.4 million hours without time lost to injury or illness. The joint venture was approved for the award on Feb. 2, according to the Cabinet
Painter who died in fall from Denville water tower ID'd as Newark man
Justin Zaremba | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on August 16, 2016 at 11:20 AM, updated August 16, 2016 at 11:46 AM
DENVILLE — Police have identified the painter who died after falling from a municipal water tower on Monday.
Adilson Vozniak, 37, of Newark, was sandblasting and painting the tower with a crew in the woods behind Morris Knolls High School when he fell about 40 to 50 feet from the tower, Capt. Paul Nigro said. The tower is located about a half-mile in the woods behind the high school, Nigro said.
He was taken to Saint Clare's Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Vozniak was employed by Allied Painting Inc., based out of Cherry Hill, according to Joanna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Allied Painting has been cited by OSHA on multiple occasions for serious safety lapses including fall-related accidents. A call placed to Allied Painting Tuesday morning hasn't yet been returned.
Both the Denville police and OSHA are investigating.
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Painter dies after falling from water tower in Denville
By Justin Zaremba | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author
on August 16, 2016 at 7:40 AM, updated August 16, 2016 at 12:30 PM
UPDATE: Cops ID painter who died after fall from Denville water tower
DENVILLE, NJ — A man working with a painting crew on a municipal water tower fell to his death Monday, police said.
The man, identified only as a 37-year-old Newark resident, was sandblasting and painting the tower with a crew in the woods behind Morris Knolls High School when he fell about 40 to 50 feet from the tower, Capt. Paul Nigro said. The tower is located about a half-mile in the woods behind the high school, Nigro said.
The man was taken to Saint Clare's Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The man's identity hasn't yet been released pending notification of his family.
The man was employed by Allied Painting Inc., based out of Cherry Hill, according to Joanna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Allied Painting has been cited by OSHA on multiple occasions for serious safety lapses including fall-related accidents. A call placed to Allied Painting Tuesday morning hasn't yet been returned.
Both the Denville police and OSHA are investigating.
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April 16, 2015BOS 2015-082
Allied Painting Inc. exposes employees to lead and fall hazards
at Braga Bridge worksite in Fall River, Massachusetts
New Jersey-based painting contractor faces more than $41K in OSHA fines
Employer name: Allied Painting Inc., a painting contractor based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Inspection site: Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, Fall River, Massachusetts 02720
Date inspection initiated: The inspection, which began Oct. 30, 2014, was conducted in response to a referral from the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standard's Lead Program, which found elevated lead blood levels in Allied Painting employees who were performing abrasive blasting and painting on the bridge which spans the Taunton River between Fall River and Somerset. The work was performed on a catenary scaffold located beneath the bridge, and workers used caged ladders to climb down to the scaffold.
Investigation findings: OSHA found excess levels of lead on various surfaces where the employees work, change contaminated clothing and eat. These surfaces include floors, benches, door knobs, lockers and a microwave oven in a decontamination trailer as well as the bench seat of the company van in which employees eat lunch. Employees were also exposed to fall hazards of more than 100 feet because of access ladder obstructions and insufficient heights for temporary railings between access ladders and the permanent bridge railing. As a result of these conditions, OSHA cited Allied Painting Inc. for six serious violations of workplace health and safety standards.
Proposed Penalties: $41,580
Quote: "The health and safety of these employees were needlessly compromised by both long-term and immediate hazards. Lead* can damage workers' nervous systems, kidneys, blood-forming organs and reproductive systems if inhaled or ingested in dangerous quantities. Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work," said Robert Carbone, OSHA's acting area director for southeastern Massachusetts. "It's imperative that Allied Painting Inc. provides and ensures the effective use of all required safeguards for its employees' health and well-being."
Next: Allied Painting Inc. has contested its citations and penalties to 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 Braintree Area Office at 617-565-6924.
# # #
Painter Injured on DE Bridge Project
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
A painter was injured in a fall from a Delaware bridge over the weekend, but details about the fall—particularly the distance—remain unclear.
An employee of Cherry Hill, NJ-based Allied Painting Inc., Julio Rivera, 40, was injured about 10 a.m. ET Saturday (Sept. 14) while painting the substructure of the Delaware-bound span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the bridge's owner, Delaware River and Bay Authority, reported.
According to DRBA, Rivera was painting under the roadway deck between the tower and the anchorage when he fell and became trapped on the lower catwalk. Authorities described it as a "short fall" and said Rivera was "conscious, alert, and attempting to speak with paramedics."
Jim Salmon, spokesman for DRBA, was not sure of the exact distance of the fall, he told PaintSquare News on Monday (Sept. 16).
Delaware River and Bridge Authority
An Allied Painting employee was injured while working on the Delaware Memorial Bridge on Saturday (Sept. 14). Details were unclear, with initial reports indicating that he fell a short distance, while the company says it was a "same level" fall.
He suffered injuries to his wrist, arm and abdomen and was taken to Christiana Care Medical Center for treatment, DRBA reported. Rivera was treated and released, Salmon said on Monday.
Allied Painting's Account
However, Jim Cannon, owner of Allied Painting, and Bobby Stathakopoulos, project manager for Allied Painting, said that Rivera fell at the same level he was working on.
Rivera was working from the catwalk, pulling something with a rope, when the rope broke and he fell against the guardrail, bruising his ribs and knocking the wind out of himself, Cannon and Stathakopoulos told PaintSquare News on Monday.
According to Stathakopoulos, the catwalk has handrails, midrails and toe boards in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. He said that the OSHA standards do not mandate personal fall protection with the guardrail system in place.
OSHA is investigating the incident, a spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
Delaware River and Bay Authority police officers, numerous fire and EMS units, and the New Castle County Technical High Angle Rescue team responded to the accident, DRBA reported.
Two lanes of traffic were closed during the incident but reopened by 11:45 a.m., authorities said.
OSHA
OSHA standards require railings and toeboards for open-sided floors, walkways, platforms and runways.
Allied Painting was awarded two contracts in 2010, with a combined value of $2,853,600, to clean and recoat steel surfaces on the west girder spans of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
The 3,650-foot-long suspension bridge connects Delaware and New Jersey with two suspension spans over the Delaware River. The bridge is a memorial to soldiers who gave their lives in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm.
Past OSHA Inspections
Allied Painting has been previously inspected and cited by OSHA, including seven serious violations totaling $25,200 in penalites in 2011, according to OSHA records. The violations included fire protection, rigging equipment for material handling, electrical requirements, wiring design and protection and wiring methods.
In 2009, OSHA said, the company paid $3,200 in penalties for one serious violation regarding lead and one other-than-serious violation for respiatory protection. Allied Painters was also cited and penfor one other-than-serious fixed ladder violation in 2008.
In 2004, an Allied Painting employee fell 15 feet into the Delaware River while working on the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge. The worker was not seriously injured.
"There was fall protection on site this morning, including a safety harness which [the worker] was wearing," Linda Spalinski, spokeswoman for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, told The Philadelphia Inquirer after that incident.
However, since the worker was near the bridge abutment and "preparing to move onto land, he moved off the harness and slipped," Spalinksi said.
OSHA opens investigation into deadly tree-trimming incident
POSTED: 11:44 AM CDT Aug 12, 2016 UPDATED: 04:50 PM CDT Aug 15, 2016
Tree limb kills 25-year-old man working for tree service
COLUMBIA, Mo -
UPDATE, August 15: OSHA has opened investigation into Friday's incident in which a tree trimmer was killed by a falling tree limb.
The Kansas City office for the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate what happened.
OSHA says the incident happened Wednesday, but wasn't reported until Friday.
ORIGINAL: Columbia police say a 25 year-old man was killed on Wednesday when a tree limb fell on him.
Nelson's Tree Service confirms it was one of its employees.
Authorities said the limb fell on the victim around 2p.m. Wednesday in the 3900 block of Deerfoot way.
Police say the man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Nelson's Tree Service said in a statement Friday, "Our heart goes out to the family. We are doing everything we can to figure out what happened and to make sure something like this never happens again."
Police said a death investigation is pending.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Friday it had not received a report from Nelson's Tree Service about the death.A duty officer with OSHA said he will be reaching out to the company today and there will most likely be an investigation into the company for the death.
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Gerbers fire ‘pretty much out;’ crews still watchful
Traci Rosenbaum, trosenbaum@greatfallstribune.com 5:27 p.m. MDT August 15, 2016
(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/TRACI ROSENBAUM)
The fire that blazed for more than three hours Sunday at Gerbers of Montana’s machine and fabrication building is considered under control, according to Chief Steve Hester of Great Falls Fire/Rescue.
“I think the fire is pretty much out,” Hester said. “We’re trying to keep an eye on it, though, because some of that stuff is pretty insidious.”
As of 5 p.m. Monday, the remaining fire crew hadn’t put any water on the building for the last 5 to 6 hours, but Hester said all it takes is a hot ember inside a wall to start things up again. A crew was stationed at the building all day Monday and planned to stay there until at least late Monday evening, when GFFR would reassess the situation.
“If nothing happens by then, we’ll probably turn it back over to the owners and just do regular checks on it just to make sure,” Hester said.
Hester had been in contact with the business’ owner, who was not available for comment Monday, to “start the whole process of making that facility secure.”
According to Hester, that process includes getting an insurance adjuster on site and making the building safe for the community. After that, cleanup and remediation can begin, along with the filing of insurance claims to try to get things back to normal.
“We don’t want anybody to mess with it until the adjusters get there and look at it,” Hester said. “It’s up to the insurance company once we turn it back over to the private party.”
Gerbers of Montana, which provides sales and repair of a variety of agricultural, automotive, oil and gas field and commercial kitchen equipment, is currently open for business, but Hester emphasized that the area around the burned building could still be unsafe.
“The most important part just to stay out of that area right now,” he said. “We still have people curious who want to take a look, but I would stay out of there just until we’re sure.”
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Fire destroys Gerbers of Montana building
Traci Rosenbaum, trosenbaum@greatfallstribune.com 3:51 p.m. MDT August 15, 2016
(Photo: TRIBUNE PHOTO/TRACI ROSENBAUM)
A fire started at 4:11 p.m. and burned steadily most of the evening at Gerbers of Montana Machine and Fabrication in downtown Great Falls on Sunday.
The fire started when sparks from an employee’s grinder ignited the fuel line of the truck he was working on, fire officials said. The man tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, but when the blaze spread to the building, he immediately called 911.
"It's looking like it's going to have a substantial loss to it at this time," Battalion Chief Bob Shupe of Great Falls Fire/Rescue said.
The building’s roof burned through very quickly, making the fire too dangerous to fight from within the structure. Firefighters were also concerned about oxygen and acetylene tanks inside the building igniting and exploding, an event Shupe says he thinks they managed to prevent.
The fire was hot enough to twist metal supports inside the building, compromising its structure. Although the structure's exterior was brick and steel, the blaze continued as two-by-fours and insulation burned inside.
"That smoke is actually toxic,” Shupe said, “which is why we have police officers cordon people out of the area."
Crews battle fire in downtown Great Falls
Shawna Doney lives about a block away and was watching the fire from an alley.
"I didn't see it start," she said. "I was taking a nap, and my husband looked out the window."
From what they could see, they were concerned that someone in the neighborhood had a fire. Doney's was the only apartment in her complex hit by last week's flood, and now having this fire so close had her watchful.
"It's very unnerving," she said.
This was a three alarm fire, which Shupe said happens in Great Falls at most once a year. Rural fire crews were east of town fighting a fast-moving grass fire, but crews from the Montana Air National Guard assisted.
"We were grateful to MANG,” Shupe said. “They've had a significant impact since they've been here (at the fire), so we're glad to have our brothers from MANG."
(Photo: Tribune photo/Traci Rosenbaum)
The Salvation Army also had a food truck set up to feed the fire crews, and some community members brought down some pizza. There were seven trucks on scene fighting the fire, including the fire department's Tower Two truck dumping water on the building’s roof.
By 7:30, trucks had stopped their heaviest hoses and the fire was mostly under control, but Shupe says crews would probably be on scene through the night to put out hidden pockets of fire and douse hot spots.
Gerbers shop manager Barry Garber said the company had planned to use the building for its new fabrication shop, but it had not yet fully moved in. However, it did have a new half-million dollar piece of equipment inside, which was lost in the fire.
"They were coming from New York to hook it up tomorrow," Garber said.
The owner of Gerber’s is local, according to Garber, and he is on his way back to Great Falls from his honeymoon to assess the damage.
Because the building was not completely in use yet, Garber said the business will not close due to the fire.
"We still have our old facility,” he said, “so tomorrow will be business as usual."
