Contractor exposes workers repeatedly to potential deadly or disabling fall hazards at Middletown roofing job
M&M Roofing faces almost $185K in OSHA penalties for willful, repeat violations
PROVIDENCE, R. I. – A Wolcott, Connecticut, contractor repeatedly exposed its employees to falls of 18 feet while performing roofing work in Middletown, an inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.
OSHA inspectors observed M&M Roofing employees working with inadequate fall protection atop a roof at 55 Rodgers Lane while driving by the address on May 4, 2016. Specifically, the employees were wearing safety harnesses but the harnesses were not connected to any anchor to prevent the workers from slipping or falling off the roof. The inspectors immediately opened an inspection and instructed the foreman to have the employees anchor their harnesses, which they did. When inspectors returned to the worksite on May 6, 2016, and May 12, 2016, they again found workers’ safety harnesses unattached to anchors to prevent them from falling.
“This employer exposed its employees deliberately to potentially deadly or disabling falls on multiple occasions, and has a history of fall-related violations at job sites in Connecticut. This is unacceptable,” said Patrick Griffin, OSHA’s Rhode Island area director. “Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work. That won’t change unless employers take seriously their responsibility to provide safe working conditions for their employees.”
Specifically, OSHA cited M&M Roofing for:
- One willful violation for inadequate fall protection.
- Three repeat violations for not training employees about fall hazards; ladders that did not extend at least 3 feet above the next level for required stability; and unguarded open holes in the roof. OSHA cited M&M Roofing in 2013 and 2014 for similar violations at work sites in Manchester and Watertown.
- Two serious violations for inadequate ladder safety training for employees and lack of eye or face protection for employees working with pneumatic nail guns and a leaf blower used for cleaning debris.
The proposed fines for these violations total $185,194. The citations can be viewed here.
In 2014, there were 345 fatal falls to a lower level out of 899 total fatalities in construction nationally. These deaths are preventable. OSHA has an ongoing fall prevention campaign to educate and encourage employers to prevent falls by training workers to use safety equipment.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, 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 Providence office at 401-528-4669.
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.
OSHA News Release:
11/16/2016
OSHA cites South Florida painting company after worker injured
Flacks Painting & Waterproofing faces nearly $90K in penalties
Employer name: Flacks Painting & Waterproofing Inc.
Inspection site: 1461 S. Ocean Blvd.
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida 33062
Citations issued:Citations were issued to the employer on Nov. 15, 2016.
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation after learning an employee suffered neck and back injuries due to a fall. The 48-year-old worker was replacing existing balconies at the North Leisure Gardens community on Ocean Boulevard.
The employee was working from a balcony when it collapsed, causing the worker to fall approximately 18 feet to the ground. After conducting two separate inspections, OSHA cited Flacks Painting & Waterproofing for one willful, four serious and two other-than-serious safety and health violations.
The willful citation was issued to the employer for not ensuring the walking and working surface where employees were working was strong enough to support the workers.
OSHA issued serious citations to the employer for:
- Failing to ensure the scaffold was fully planked.
- Failing to ensure adequate support of the scaffold’s poles, legs, post and frames.
- Failing to provide three-tier scaffolds with a complete guardrail system.
- Failing to ensure a fall protection system was in place for employees.
Two other violations were also cited for failure to develop and implement a respiratory protection program for employees wearing respirators and not developing, implementing or maintaining a written hazard communication program for workers using dangerous chemicals.
Proposed penalties: $89,793
Quote: “This incident was preventable. Had Flacks Painting & Waterproofing provided adequate shoring for the balcony, the worker would not have fallen and suffered serious injuries,” said Condell Eastmond, OSHA’s area director in Fort Lauderdale. “Employers must ensure workers are protected at all times and when safety issues are bought to management’s attention, swift and corrective action must be taken.”
The citations can be viewed at:
Based in Pompano Beach, 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 amputations, eye loss, 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 Fort Lauderdale Area Office at 954-424-0242.
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.
OSHA News Brief:
11/16/2016
EPA Secures $5.6 Million Worth of Cleanup for Shieldalloy Superfund Site in Newfield and Vineland, N.J.
11/16/2016
Contact Information:
Elias Rodriguez (rodriguez.elias@epa.gov)
212-637-3664
(New York, N.Y. – Nov. 16, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a $5.6 million legal agreement with Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation to perform a cleanup of the contaminated soil, sediment, surface water and a modified cleanup measure for the groundwater at the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corp. Superfund site in Newfield and Vineland, N.J. Exposure to contaminants at the site, such as hexavalent chromium and volatile organic compounds, can have serious health impacts, including nervous system damage and cancer. The EPA will oversee the cleanup work. Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation will also pay for the EPA’s oversight costs.
“Unfortunately this property is contaminated with toxic chemicals that can damage people’s health and the environment. This agreement is an important step in getting this site cleaned up. It is an example of how Superfund is designed to work – those responsible for the contamination pay for the work, not the taxpayers,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator.
The EPA is requiring a combination of cleanup measures at portions of the site including capping of the soil, excavating and removing contaminated sediment and prohibiting future residential use of the facility. To address groundwater, the EPA cleanup plan also requires the use of non-hazardous additives to treat the groundwater and break down the contaminants, which will allow the contaminants to naturally decline. Groundwater will be monitored throughout this process.
To address contaminated soil, the EPA is requiring that a one to two-foot cap be placed over the soil in a 1.3-acre area of the facility to reduce potential exposure to soil contaminated with vanadium. The EPA is restricting future construction on the site to commercial use. The EPA’s plan requires the company to sample a local stream, the Hudson Branch and remove 9,800 cubic yards of sediment that is contaminated with heavy metals from the stream bottom. Additional sampling of the contamination in the Hudson Branch will be conducted. The EPA’s plan requires that the Hudson Branch be restored after the excavation and that the water be monitored until water quality standards are met. The EPA will conduct a review every five years to ensure the effectiveness of the cleanup.
Groundwater at the site is contaminated with hexavalent chromium and volatile organic compounds from ore and metal processing that took place at the site from 1955 to 2006. The groundwater at this site doesn't present a direct threat because wells in the area are not used for drinking water since residents have been connected to a clean municipal water source.
The groundwater portion of the cleanup plan at the site builds on a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 1996 cleanup plan, which included a system of pumps to bring the polluted groundwater to the surface where it could be treated. After years of successful operation of the pump and treat system, concentrations of contaminants began to level off rather than continue to decrease at an acceptable rate. In an effort to help the groundwater concentrations continue to decrease at an acceptable rate, the EPA oversaw a study, conducted from 2010 to 2014, using additives to reduce contamination levels. Data collected indicate that contaminants would be effectively reduced through a combination of natural processes and adding non-hazardous additives to the groundwater. Therefore, the EPA concluded that the pump and treat system is no longer necessary.
The EPA’s cleanup addresses portions of the Shieldalloy site that are distinct from radioactive contamination and perchlorate contamination at the site. The slag piles and radioactive waste generated by the facility at the site are not part of the federal Superfund cleanup plan and were being addressed by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. However, in accordance with a federal court ruling in 2014, SMC is now being regulated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Environmental Radiation. A draft decommissioning plan was submitted by Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation in 2015.
The site is also contaminated with perchlorate. Perchlorate was used to produce rocket fuel, fireworks, flares and explosives. Under a legal agreement between EPA and Shieldalloy perchlorate contamination will be addressed in a separate phase of the cleanup. A study of the nature and extent of the perchlorate is ongoing.
The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. The EPA searches for parties legally responsible for the contamination at sites and it holds those parties accountable for the costs of cleanups. The cleanup of the Shieldalloy site is being conducted and paid for by the owner of the site, Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corporation, with oversight by the EPA.
The EPA held public meetings in Newfield, N.J. on July 9, 2014 and August 12, 2015 and received comment before finalizing the groundwater cleanup plan and the soil, sediment and surface water cleanup plan.
The public is encouraged to submit written comments on this proposed settlement within 30 days of publication of a notice in the Federal Register. Once it is published, a copy of the Federal Register notice with instructions about how to comment can be found at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. The settlement requires approval by the United States District Court before becoming final.
To view the EPA's web site for the Shieldalloy Metallurgical Corp. site, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/shieldalloy
November 15, 2016
OSHA finds Boulder sporting goods manufacturer retaliated against worker
who reported concerns about climbing, zip-line equipment safety
Head Rush Technologies to pay $125K in back wages, damages to former employee
DENVER, CO - An U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found a Denver company violated federal law when it terminated an employee for insubordination after the worker reported safety concerns about a product being manufactured by the company.
OSHA has ordered TruBlue, LLC - doing business as Head Rush Technologies - to pay the former employee more than $125,000 in back wages and damages, and take other corrective actions. The Boulder-based company retaliated against the employee in violation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act after the worker suggested to the company's chief executive officer that more safety research be conducted on zip-line equipment. Head Rush develops and manufactures products used for climbing, zip-line, free-fall and other recreational activities.
"An employee should feel and be free to exercise their rights under the law - especially when it comes to safety -without fear of retaliation by their employer," said Gregory Baxter, regional OSHA administrator in Denver. "Our investigation and action on behalf of this worker underscores the agency's commitment to take vigorous action to protect workers' rights at Head Rush and elsewhere."
The company and the former employee may file objections or request a hearing, within 30 days of receipt of the agency's order, before the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the CPSIA and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime and securities laws.
Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor. More information is available online at http://www.whistleblowers.gov/index.html.
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