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Region 1 News Release: 12-1970-BOS 2012-182
Oct. 5, 2012
Contact: Andre J. Bowser     Ted Fitzgerald
Phone: 617-565-2074     617-565-2075
Email: bowser.andre.j@dol.gov     fitzgerald.edmund@dol.gov

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Nashua, NH, contractor for repeat,
serious trenching violations at Middlesex County, Mass., work site

ANDOVER, Mass. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Nashua, N.H., contractor for alleged repeat and serious safety violations at a Middlesex County, Mass., utility installation work site. Newport Construction faces a total of $30,310 in proposed fines chiefly for trenching hazards at the site, which is located at the corner of Route 62 and Network Drive on the Bedford/Burlington border.

Inspectors from OSHA's Andover Area Office were driving by the intersection en route to another work site when they observed employees working in what appeared to be an unprotected excavation. An inspection was opened on the spot and the trench, which was deeper than 5 feet, was found to lack both cave-in protection and a means for workers to swiftly and safely exit the trench in the event of a collapse or other emergency.

As a result, OSHA issued Newport Construction citations carrying $28,000 in fines for two repeat violations. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited in October 2008 at an Andover work site.

"An unguarded trench is an imminent danger situation. It can collapse and bury workers beneath tons of soil and debris before they have a chance to react or escape," said Jeffrey A. Erskine, OSHA's area director for Middlesex and Essex counties in Massachusetts. "Given this employer's prior violations, it is vital for the safety and well-being of its workers that it take prompt, effective and ongoing action."

A citation with a $2,310 fine has been issued for one serious violation that involves not marking lifting slings with the maximum weight they can safely lift. When the weight limit is unknown, workers are exposed to crushing hazards if the slings are overloaded and fail while lifting a load. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

OSHA standards require that trenches or excavations 5 feet or deeper be protected against collapse. Information on trenching and excavation hazards is available at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/trenchingexcavation/index.html.

Newport Construction has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet informally with the OSHA area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Andover office at 978-837-4460.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille or CD from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.