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OSHA News Release
2008 - 03/24/2008 - Haverhill, Mass., contractor faces more than $43,000 in U.S. Department of Labor OSHA fines for trenching and ladder hazards at Billerica, Mass., jobsite |
OSHA News Release - Table of Contents |
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Region 1 News Release: 08-296-BOS/BOS 2008-081 Mon., March 24, 2008 Contact: Ted Fitzgerald Phone: 617-565-2074 Haverhill, Mass., contractor faces more than $43,000 in U.S. Department of Labor OSHA fines for trenching and ladder hazards at Billerica, Mass., jobsite
METHUEN, Mass. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a Haverhill, Mass., contractor for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards at a Billerica, Mass., worksite. Cape Ann Equipment Inc. faces a total of $43,200 in proposed fines. The citations and fines resulted from an OSHA inspection opened Sept. 17, 2007, when agency inspectors driving by a water main repair site at Boston Road and Cook Street observed a Cape Ann Equipment employee working in a 7-foot-deep trench that lacked any cave-in protection. OSHA standards require that all trenches 5 feet or deeper be guarded against a collapse of their sidewalls. "The potential for death or serious injury in this or any unguarded trench is real and imminent," said Rose Ohar, OSHA's acting area director in Methuen. "Cave-ins occur suddenly and without warning, crushing employees beneath tons of soil or debris before they can react or escape. That's why collapse protection must always be in place before employees enter a trench." OSHA has issued Cape Ann Equipment one willful citation, with a proposed fine of $42,000, for the lack of cave-in protection. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. One serious citation, with a $1,200 fine, has been issued for ladder safety deficiencies, including ladder misuse and an exit ladder of insufficient height. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. Trenching safety is an OSHA priority. Under OSHA's National Emphasis Program, agency inspectors will stop and open an inspection on the spot when they observe employees working in unprotected trenches, as happened in this case. Detailed information on trenching and excavation safety, including an interactive e-Tool, is also available on OSHA's Web site at www.osha.gov/SLTC/constructiontrenching/index.html. "Employers who are tempted to send their employees into an unprotected trench should reconsider, and not just because an OSHA inspector may spot them," said Ohar. "They should think long and hard about the human, as well as the legal and financial, consequences if that trench collapses and buries employees." Cape Ann Equipment has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to request and participate in an informal conference with OSHA or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Methuen Area Office (telephone 617-565-8110). Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov. ### U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance. |
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