Region 1 News Release: BOS 2002-058
March 25, 2002
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
PHONE: (617) 565-2074
Cross-Section of Safety Hazards Leads to Over $76,000 in Fines
against Clinton, Mass., Cable Manufacturer
Springfield, Mass. -- Failure to protect workers against a variety of hazards ranging from crushing and falls to burns and electrocution has resulted in $76,325 in proposed fines against a Clinton, Mass., cable manufacturer.
Rockbestos-Suprenant Cable Corp., has been cited by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for 27 alleged serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act at its 172 Sterling Street plant following an OSHA inspection prompted by an employee complaint.
According to Ronald E. Morin, OSHA area director for central and western Massachusetts, the alleged violations encompass such hazards as overloaded hoists; an unsecured personnel platform; unguarded or inadequately guarded work platforms; numerous electrical hazards; and numerous instances of unguarded or inadequately guarded moving machine parts.
Additional serious citations concern lack of personal protective equipment; defective fork lift trucks left in service; absent or inadequate eyewash stations where required; a defective ladder left in service; defective lifting slings; and slipping hazards from oil and water accumulating on work floors. The company was also cited for four alleged other-than-serious violations for unlabeled slings, an inoperative interlock and unsecured electrical outlets.
"These citations address a cross-section of basic safety concerns for a manufacturing environment," said Morin. "Left uncorrected, these cited conditions expose employees to such potential injuries as falls, crushing, electrocution, burns, lacerations and being caught by or in moving machinery."
OSHA defines a serious violation is one in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. An other-than-serious violation is a condition which would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have a direct and immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees.
Rockbestos-Suprenant Cable Corp. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to either elect to comply with them, to request and participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. An informal conference has been scheduled for March 26. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Springfield, Mass., area office. The telephone number is (413) 785-0123.
###
[Note: A breakdown of the citations is attached.]
OSHA Citations and Proposed Penalties
Rockbestos-Suprenant Cable Corp. -- Clinton, Mass.
Twenty-seven alleged serious violations, with $76,325 in proposed penalties, for: |
| • |
Employees exposed to being struck or crushed by material in the event of a key component failure of hoists due to lifting of material that exceeded the hoists' lifting capacity; |
| • |
Employees exposed to possible fractures/multiple injuries from falls from an unsecured personnel platform; |
| • |
Slipping hazards from water and oil leaks on work floors; |
| • |
Unguarded or inadequately guarded open-sided floors or platforms; |
| • |
Spiral stairway used where conventional stairway was practical; |
| • |
Defective ladder not removed from service; |
| • |
Lack of adequate personal protective equipment for workers exposed to burns from gas heaters and hot water; |
| • |
Absent or inadequate eyewash stations where employees were exposed to corrosive materials; |
| • |
Defective forklift trucks not removed from service for repair; missing or defaced load chart plates on fork trucks; |
| • |
Unapproved attachment used on steel lifting sling; |
| • |
Defective synthetic web slings not removed from service. |
| • |
Numerous instances of unguarded or inadequately guarded moving machine parts, including rotating parts, saw blade, ram, grinders, horizontal shafting, pulleys, horizontal and vertical belts, gears, sprockets; |
| • |
Acetylene and oxygen cylinders stored together; |
| • |
Working space around electric equipment used for storage; ungrounded electrical equipment and outlets; damaged insulation for electrical conductors, missing knockouts on electrical boxes; ; uncovered electrical boxes; damaged insulation on electrical cords from lack of proper strain relief. |
Four alleged other than serious violations for:
| • |
untagged steel chain slings; unlabeled synthetic web slings; unsecured electrical outlets; inoperative interlock for testing cage. |
| Total proposed penalties: |
$76,325.00 |
The information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (617) 565-2072. TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) Message Referral Phone: 800-347-8029.
|
OSHA News Release - Table of Contents
Back to Top