Willful Disregard of OSHA Standards Costs Lives and Money

 

An inspector checks off worker safety protocols Risking Worker Safety is Never Worth Saving Money

Some companies simply refuse to comply with OSHA standards, whether to save money or make a statement. Unfortunately, this illegal activity often causes serious risks for workers, and worker safety is OSHA’s #1 priority. U.S. Minerals, LLC, a company that produces roofing granules, abrasive materials, and coal slag, has been cited with no less than 11 separate health and safety violations following an OSHA inspection in September of 2013.

This marks only the most recent set of citations, with worker safety in jeopardy at nearly every U.S. Minerals location. These recent citations stemmed from inspection of the company’s Harvey, La. facility, whereas in June 2010 a previous inspection warranted 18 citations, with 10 repeat hazards and resulted in fines of $118,000. Among the citations were high noise levels with no hearing protection for worker safety (we’re working on a hearing protection class by the way, keep an eye on our blog for more information soon)  – and no training provided in line with this hazard; as well as confined space hazards citing a lack of any adequate retrieval system, proper training, or evaluation of a worker’s competency. Other serious citations covered multiple OSHA regulations ignored or violated.

OSHA’s area director for Baton Rouge, Louisiana stated “U.S. Minerals continues to jeopardize the safety and health of its workers by failing to fix these problems.” The company at fault employs more than 60 workers, and operates four total plants- one in Harvey La, one in Baldwin, Illinois, one in Coffeen, Illinois, and one in Galveston, Texas. With so many worker safety risks and a history of violations, U.S. Minerals, LLC needs to step up their OSHA-required training for all of their employees, and comply by the standards set.

OSHA-Pros offers a wide range of on-site and online safety classes and services, including an 8-hour Confined Space Entry Training course online. Worker safety is a top priority for OSHA.  OSHA Pros is helping companies to make it a top priority as well.