Putting workers at risk is something that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not take lightly.
As a result, the agency recently cited Ecorec Rio Grande Valley Inc. (ERGV) with 17 serious violations for exposing workers to amputation hazards and other safety violations at its facility in Edinburg, Texas. Proposed penalties total $74,900.
According to Michael Rivera, the agency’s area director in Corpus Christi, “This company has jeopardized the safety of its workers by failing to provide a safe and healthful working environment.”
Lack of Protection Complaint Began Investigation
OSHA’s Corpus Christi Area Office started looking into the company’s activities on Oct. 16, 2012, this at ERGV’s Monte Cristo Road work site, this after a complaint came in that workers were engaged in recycling scrap, including automotive bodies, tires and appliances, without adequate protection from energy, falls, electrical and chemical hazards.
Serious violations include failing to provide machine guarding to prevent amputations while working with a baling machine, which had inoperable emergency stop buttons; provide control of hazardous energy to prevent being crushed when working inside a baling machine; provide fire protection in the event combustibles should spark; and ensure electrical circuits have a path-to-ground. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
The company, which has approximately 30 workers at its Edinburg location and operates other recycling facilities nationwide, was given 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Corpus Christi office or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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