Region 5 News Release:   V-385
May 3, 2001
Contact: Kimberly A. Stille
Phone: 608-441-5388

Proposed Penalties: $104,000
OSHA ISSUES CITATIONS TO FUTURE FOAM INC. IN MIDDLETON, WIS.

CHICAGO-The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued citations alleging six serious violations and two repeat violations to Future Foam Inc. in Middleton, Wis., with proposed penalties of $104,000.

A safety and health inspection was initiated at the worksite on November 15, 2000, after workers were reportedly exposed to methylene chloride and TDI (toluene-2,4-diisocyanate) in excess of OSHA's permissible exposure limits.

The alleged repeat violations identified one employee overexposure to methylene chloride. The company was cited for employee overexposure to methylene chloride following an OSHA inspection in July 1999.

The alleged serious violations addressed employee overexposures to TDI, fall hazards, lack of specific worksite procedures for respiratory protection, insufficient engineering controls and lack of periodic monitoring of methylene chloride.

The worksite has had seven previous OSHA inspections with a total of 17 serious violations. Additionally, Future Foam Inc., has been inspected 27 times since 1974 at worksites in Mississippi, Kansas, Utah, Iowa, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Missouri.

OSHA defines a serious violation as a hazardous condition 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. The maximum penalty for a serious violation is $7,000.

OSHA defines a repeat violation as one in which the employer has been cited for a substantially similar condition and the citation has become a final order. The maximum penalty for a repeat violation is $70,000.

Future Foam Inc. has 72 employees in Middleton where they manufacture polyurethane foam. There are 600 employees company-wide.

Future Foam, Inc. has 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.