Region 5 News Release:   V-310
January 2, 2001
Contact: Deborah Zubaty
Phone: (614)469-5582

OSHA ISSUES CITATIONS TO HARLAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, DETROIT, FOR ALLEGED WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH VIOLATIONS FOLLOWING DEATH OF CONSTRUCTION WORKER IN OHIO

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued citations alleging two willful safety violations to Harlan Electric Company, Detroit, Mich., with proposed penalties totaling $140,000.

According to Deborah Zubaty, OSHA's area director in Columbus, Ohio, a safety inspection was initiated at a Harlan Electric Company job site in Columbus on June 29, 2000, after an accident. An employee died from injuries which resulted from an electrical arc blast during the installation of a ground wire on a pole. The conductor was energized with 7,620 volts phase to ground, 13,200 volts phase to phase.

The alleged willful violations include failure to train employees on procedures and hazards related to working within two feet of energized power lines, failure to maintain safe approach distances to energized lines, and failure to insulate or guard energized parts.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.

Zubaty said that Harlan Electric Company has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to contest the citations and proposed penalties with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The company may also request an informal hearing with the OSHA area director.

NOTE TO EDITOR: The OSHA inspection history for Harlan Electric Company can be found on the Internet at www.osha.gov/oshstats/