Indiana Company Fined $396K for Safety Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Indiana-based U.S. Minerals LLC for willfully exposing its workers to safety hazards at its facility in Coffeen, Ill. OSHA says the company exposed workers to dangerously high levels of hazardous dust, and not provide adequate breathing protection and training for employees.

The company, headquartered in Dyer, Ind., has been issued a total of 28 health and safety citations with proposed penalties of $396,000.

Inhalation of the hazardous dust material produced at the facility can cause debilitating lung disease such as pneumoconiosis, which is characterized by symptoms including chronic cough, difficulty breathing and shortness of breath.

OSHA has issued the U.S. Minerals Coffeen facility six willful citations with proposed fines of $336,000 for exposing workers to levels of hazardous dust at concentrations higher than the permissible exposure limit; failure to implement a written respiratory protection program or to mandate employees wear respirators; failure to implement engineering controls to reduce harmful dust exposures; and failure to develop and utilize energy control procedures.

The company has received seven repeat citations with fines of $34,200 for violating permit-required confined space entry rules, failure to provide fall protection, failure to provide required training on energy procedures and failure to provide guards on mechanical powered equipment.

The company also has been issued 10 serious citations with proposed penalties of $24,000. Violations include failure to assess the need for adequate personal protective equipment; inadequate eye protection; failure to develop procedures and practices for permit-required confined space entry; lack of a written hazard communication program; inadequate information and training on dust containing silica; and failure to cover floor holes and enclose electrical boxes.

The company also has received five other-than-serious citations with $1,800 in penalties for lack of proper injury and illness recordkeeping.

The company manufactures abrasive blasting and roofing materials from slag produced at coal-fired power plants. In September, OSHA issued a $466,400 penalty to the company’s facility in Baldwin, Ill., citing 35 health and safety violations for willfully exposing workers to dangerously high levels of hazardous dust and failing to provide adequate breathing protection.

As a result of the egregious conditions found at that worksite, OSHA initiated inspections of the company’s other facilities, including the Coffeen location. The company’s Harvey, La., operation was cited last month with 30 violations and proposed penalties of $110,400. The Galveston, Texas, facility was fined $273,000 last week, and cited with 38 violations for exposing workers to fall and machine guarding hazards.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA