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OSHA Concludes Death Investigation at Ohio Steel Mill

July 25th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

A recent case illustrate OSHA’s commitment to improving worker safety – and to imposing hefty fines on companies that violate the federal safety regulations.

The tragic death of a steel mill employee in January of 2007 sparked an investigation resulting in Republic Engineered Products, Inc. of Ohio being cited this week by OSHA. The investigation took more than 6 months, due to the number of violations.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA proposed $163,000 in penalties for a number of violations of health and safety regulations by the Lorain, Ohio plant. The company melts scrap metal and metal pellets into molten steel, which is used to manufacture rolled steel. Sources at OHSA characterized the company’s actions as “willful, serious and repeat” violations, justifying higher fines than normal.

The initial accident investigation grew to encompass the entire facility when OSHA found multiple violations. One citation carrying a proposed penalty of $70,000 is for the “willful” failure to provide guard-rails or barriers to prevent workers on open-sided floors or work platforms from falling to their deaths. This is a serious concern because falls are the second leading cause of workplace fatalities. Only automobile accidents result in more employee deaths each year than falls.

During multiple inspections, OSHA found repeated violations of the same safety issues, even though the company had already been warned that they could potentially be fatal.

OSHA issued an additional 16 citations to the steel mill for serious violations with penalties of $43,000. These additional violations cover a number of issues at the plant, including hazardous machinery being operated without the required safety guards. There were also a number of energy lockout hazards identified. In what one OSHA source called a pattern of violations, investigators also uncovered training and health deficiencies.

Even worse, inspectors found that the company had never corrected two violations that were identified during a routine safety check in 2006. These included lockouts for both hydraulic and electrical power when required. Lockout systems are vital to ensure that an employee who is making electrical repairs to a piece of equipment isn’t electrocuted when a coworker absentmindedly flips on the power switch. For these two penalties alone, OSHA has levied a $50,000 fine.

“Steel mills are potentially dangerous workplaces,” said Jule Hovi, director of OSHA’s area office in Toledo, Ohio. “Employers must remain dedicated to keeping the workplace safe and healthful, or face close scrutiny by this agency.”

This is just the most recent in a number of large fines to companies that OSHA has levied. In 2006, the agency conducted more than 38,000 inspections in 28 states resulting in nearly 84,000 violations. OSHA’s mission is to “assure the safety and health of America’s working men and women by preventing injuries, illnesses and fatalities.”

This is one in a series of investigations of worker safety violations by OSHA. In a similar case recently, OSHA found that Quincy Castings, Inc. of Quincy, Ohio committed 24 serious violations and 4 repeat violations. In that case, OSHA’s extracted fines of $220,620. Quincy Castings, Inc. is an iron foundry that employs 80 people. That company, classified as one of the nation’s most hazardous workplaces by OSHA, has been inspected 13 times since 1979, resulting in more than 80 previous fines.

At that location, OSHA found a laundry list of violations including a fire exit sign that’s been defective since the last OSHA inspection, in 2006. The company also found that multiple fire exits were blocked, making the plant a death trap for employees in any emergency. Employees who were actively pouring molten steel were found to be wearing no protective gear. In fact, their street clothing wasn’t even flame retardant, creating a major fire hazard.