Region 2 News Release:   NY 218
December 5, 2001
Contact: Randy Wilson
Phone: (212) 337-2319

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Fulton, N.Y., candy company's failure to provide adequate machine guarding is among 32 alleged violations cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the agency's inspection of a June 12 accident in which a worker's arm was amputated in a machine.

OSHA cited Nestle Confections and Snacks and proposed penalties of $62,450 for 27 alleged serious violations, two alleged repeat violations and three alleged other-than-serious violations of standards.

Among the alleged serious violations for which the employer was cited was failure to provide adequate machine guarding for a variety of equipment, including rotating horizontal shafts, belts and pulleys. The serious violations carry a total proposed penalty of $44,950, according to OSHA area director Diane Brayden.

The plant was also cited for failing to label chemical containers with the identity of their contents and failing to post warning notices on hazardous confined spaces. Both were alleged repeat violations with a total proposed penalty of $17,500. The employer was previously cited for similar conditions at the plant in March, 2000.

OSHA also issued citations for failing to determine safe floor loads on an upper floor, failing to maintain fire alarms, and unsafe stacking of pallets and other materials. The three alleged violations were classified as other-than-serious.

A serious violation is defined as a condition which exists where there is a substantial possibility that death or serious physical harm can result. An other-than-serious violation is a hazardous condition that would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have a direct and immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees.

The investigation was conducted by OSHA's Syracuse area office, located at 3300 Vickery Road, North Syracuse, N.Y., telephone (315) 451-0808. Nestle Confections and Snacks, of 555 South Forth St., Fulton, has until Dec. 18 to contest the citations.