October 5, 2021US Department of Labor proposes $136K in fines after workerat Tootsie Roll manufacturing plant suffers amputation injuryCompany cited for one willful safety violation for failing to ensure proper machine guards

CHICAGO – A 48-year-old worker for Tootsie Roll Industries LLC suffered a partial finger amputation after their employer allowed bypassed safety locks on a machine’s access doors that enabled a bag sealer to close on an employee’s finger.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection of the April 19, 2021, incident found that the worker reached into an unguarded machine to remove stuck paper debris when the bag seal’s jaws closed.

OSHA issued one willful violation for inadequate machine guarding and proposed $136,532 in penalties.

“Hundreds of workers are injured needlessly each year because employers ignore safety guards, often to speed up production, and that’s exactly what happened in this case,” said OSHA Chicago South Area Director James Martineck in Tinley Park. “Employers must never put profits before people. When they do and fail to meet their obligations to keep workers safe, we will take action to hold them accountable.”

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Scott Allen, 312-353-4727, allen.scott@dol.gov
Rhonda Burke, 312-353-4807, burke.rhonda@dol.gov

Release Number: 21-1752-CHI

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

October 5, 2021US Department of Labor cites Valmont Coatings for exposing workersto crushing, other safety hazards after investigation into employee’s deathOSHA finds one willful and five serious violations; proposes $202K in penalties

CLAREMORE, OK – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the death of a 19-year-old worker at a Valmont Coatings’ facility in Claremore found the company failed to use proper rigging equipment and perform inspections and maintenance on cranes. The worker was attaching multiple small steel I-beams to a large lifting fixture when the entire assembly fell on him.

OSHA also determined the company – doing business locally as Oklahoma Galvanizing – exposed workers to slip and trip hazards near hot-dip tanks and failed to provide required emergency showers and eyewash stations.

OSHA cited Valmont for one willful and five serious violations and proposed $202,000 in penalties.

“Equipment used to lift or move heavy parts must be inspected regularly and kept in good condition or removed from service to avoid worker injuries or fatalities,” said OSHA Area Director Steven Kirby in Oklahoma City. “This employer’s failure to do so cost a young worker his life.”

Based in Omaha, Nebraska, Valmont Coatings is a leading provider of hot-dip galvanizing and applied coating services with 35 facilities in seven countries. It is a subsidiary of Valmont Industries Inc., which does business in more than 23 countries and operates 80 manufacturing facilities to produce engineered support structures, coatings, irrigation and utility support structures.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Chauntra Rideaux, 972-850-4710, rideaux.chauntra.d@dol.gov
Juan J. Rodríguez, 972-850-4709, rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Release Number:  21-1798-DAL

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

September 30, 2021US Department of Labor finds Tampa smelter willfully exposedworkers to unsafe levels of airborne lead, despite experts’ warningOSHA proposes $319K in penalties to address violations

TAMPA, FL – Despite warnings since March 2020 of unsafe measures of lead exposure, a Tampa battery recycling facility and smelter failed to make changes that resulted in worker exposure to lead inhalation hazards, a federal workplace safety investigation found.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Envirofocus Technologies LLC – operating as Gopher Resource LLC – with a willful violation for exposing workers to inhalation hazards. The company also failed to provide employees with adequate respirators that could have kept worker exposure to hazardous substances at or below the allowable level.

OSHA also cited Gopher Resource for:

Allowing cadmium, lead and inorganic arsenic exposure levels above the permissible exposure limit.
Not implementing adequate engineering and work practice controls to prevent lead and inorganic arsenic exposure levels above the permissible exposure limit.
Failing to provide an annual update of the written compliance program for cadmium, inorganic lead and arsenic.
Allowing workers to share aluminized jackets that were damaged and stored in the open, and exposed to lead.
Requiring workers to wear respirators that were not fit-tested annually.
Using shoveling, sweeping or brushing methods to remove lead accumulations.
Not identifying all hazards on entry permits.

Proposed penalties total $319,876.

“This employer put their bottom line above the safety and well-being of their workers,” said OSHA Area Director Danelle Jindra in Tampa. “Every worker has the right to a safe workplace, and they should never have to decide between their own health and earning a living. Continuing to put workers in harm’s way is unacceptable, and OSHA will continue to hold employers like Gopher Resource responsible.”

OSHA also cited A & B Maintenance & Construction Inc., a Tampa-based company that provides supplemental maintenance at the Gopher facility, for exposing workers to health hazards by failing to maintain a written respiratory protection program and allowing lead exposure in excess of the permissible exposure limit. The company faces $16,384 in penalties.

Gopher Resource is a secondary lead smelter. It recycles automotive batteries by separating the battery components to capture lead, acid and plastic, then processes those materials.

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about controlling exposure to chemical hazards and toxic substances.

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 workers by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Eric R. Lucero, 678-237-0630, lucero.eric.r@dol.govErika B. Ruthman, 678-237-0630, ruthman.erika.b@dol.gov

Release Number: 21-1718-ATL

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

September 29, 2021US Department of Labor cites Colorado dairy farm operator for violationsafter vacuum truck driver suffers fatal injuries in unguarded manure pitShelton Land and Cattle exposed workers to drowning hazards

LASALLE, CO – A federal workplace safety investigation into the death of a 44-year-old worker, who drowned when the vacuum truck he was driving entered an unguarded manure holding pit, concluded that a LaSalle dairy farm failed to protect its workers from drowning and chemical hazards.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Shelton Land and Cattle Ltd. – doing business as Shelton Dairy Corp. – following its investigation of the March 30, 2021, incident. OSHA determined that the employer failed to implement measures to protect employees from drowning or crushing hazards, did not have a hazard communication program, and failed to train workers on hazardous chemicals in the workplace. The company faces $24,575 in proposed penalties.

Inspectors learned that the driver was offloading manure when the truck drove into the 12-foot deep pit, trapping the worker inside the submerged cab. The worker died the following day in a nearby hospital.

“Manure pits are known hazards in dairy farming operations,” said OSHA Area Director Amanda Kupper in Denver. “If required guarding had been installed, this worker’s life could have been spared.”

Shelton Land and Cattle operates a dairy farm with about 2,800 heads of cattle and 65 employees.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA requirement for agricultural operations.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Chauntra Rideaux, 972-850-4710, rideaux.chauntra.d@dol.govJuan J. Rodríguez, 972-850-4709, rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Release Number: 21-1751-DAL

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

September 28, 2021US Department of Labor awards more than $11.6M in grantsto educate workers, employers on workplace safety, healthHarwood Grants focus on targeted training, awareness, creation of safety programs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced the award of more than $11.6 million in grants to 93 nonprofit organizations nationwide to fund education and training on hazard recognition and prevention, and on rights of workers to safe workplaces and the responsibilities of employers to provide them.

Derived from the Susan Harwood Workplace Safety and Health Training program, the grants awarded by OSHA in fiscal year 2021 are in the Targeted Topic Training, Training and Educational Materials Development, and Capacity Building categories. The grants are a critical part of OSHA’s effort to educate workers and assist employers.

OSHA awards these grants to nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor-management associations, colleges and universities. Target trainees include small-business employers and underserved vulnerable workers in high-hazard industries.

The grants honor the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. In a 17-year career with the agency, she helped develop federal standards to protect workers from bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

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 help ensure these conditions for America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, education, and assistance. Learn more about OSHA.

Learn more about the 2021 Susan Harwood Training Grant Program recipients.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Denisha Braxton, 202-693-5061, braxton.denisha.l@dol.govAmanda McClure, 202-693-4675, mcclure.amanda.c@dol.gov

Release Number: 21-1757-NAT

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).

September 28, 2021US Department of Labor cites JBS Foods Inc. for repeated safety failuresafter worker’s death at Swift Beef’s Colorado facilityLatest incident follows amputation injury month prior at same facility

GREELEY, CO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited JBS Foods Inc. – one of the nation’s largest meat and pork suppliers – again, for exposing employees to safety hazards at its Greeley facilities, this time following the death of a worker who was installing a paddlewheel.

OSHA investigators responded to the March 27 incident and determined that JBS failed to adequately secure a paddlewheel being installed to churn chemicals used in processing animal hides. The paddlewheel along with the trolley and hoist used to lift it fell. An employee fell into an oval vat which contained the chemicals.

OSHA cited JBS Foods Inc. – operating as Swift Beef Co. – for eight serious violations related to the unsafe lifting process, for hazardous chemical and training violations. JBS faces $58,709 in proposed penalties following this investigation.

The fatality occurred after several other incidents at the same facility, including a JBS worker who suffered an arm amputation after being pulled into a conveyor belt; another worker who suffered laceration injuries while removing a hide; and a third worker who was exposed to a thermal burn hazard. As a result, OSHA cited the company for 11 serious violations, including failing to ensure proper machine guarding and not implementing safe process procedures.

“Injuries are all too common for workers in the meat processing industry, but most are preventable when required safety and health regulations are followed,” said OSHA Area Director Amanda Kupper in Denver. “At the height of the pandemic, food processing industry workers helped feed our nation and keep our economy moving. The employees at this facility deserve better than to fear for their lives and their safety when they come to work.”

Headquartered in Greeley, JBS Foods is a world leader in beef, poultry and pork production, with operations in the U.S., Australia and Canada. Its products are sold under more than 40 brand names in the U.S. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A. based in Brazil, the world’s largest processor of fresh beef and pork, with more than $50 billion in annual sales.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Learn more about OSHA.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Chauntra Rideaux, 972-850-4710, rideaux.chauntra.d@dol.govJuan J. Rodríguez, 972-850-4709, rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Release Number21-1742-DEN

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department’s Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).