OSHA $100,000 Club of Safety Citations

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed penalties of $100,000 or more for the following recent alleged failures to protect workers from potential hazards, including many that could have been avoided or mitigated by personal protective equipment (PPE). Companies have 15 business days from receipt of citations and fines to request and participate in informal conferences with OSHA or to contest the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission:

• Imperial Sugar Co. and two affiliates, $8,777,500 for violations at their plants in Port Wentworth, Ga., and Gramercy, La., for violations uncovered following an explosion and fire on Feb. 7, 2008, at the Port Wentworth refinery that claimed the lives of 13 employees and hospitalized 40 others. The proposed penalties represent the third largest fine in OSHA history. Citations include 108 instances of willful violations related to combustible dust hazard.

• Broadway Concrete, New York, $877,000 for violations found during an inspection at a 50-story condominium tower in Jersey City, N.J., including failure to provide employees with adequate fall protection.

• Cortec Corp., Spooner, $424,000 for violations (including lack of PPE) at its aerosol and liquid container filling plant in Spooner, Wis.

• Hunt Refining Co., $357,000, for 61 violations at facilities in Sandersville, Miss., and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

• Rapetti Rigging Services Inc., Reliance Construction Group, and Joy Contractors Inc., a total of $313,500 for violations found after the catastrophic March 15, 2008, collapse of a tower crane killed seven people in New York.

• Sunoco Inc., Philadelphia, $305,000 for violations uncovered during an inspection at the company's Westville, N.J., oil refinery.

• John Rocchio Corp., Smithfield, R.I., $216,000 for violations of excavation safety standards following an inspection at a North Kingstown, R.I., worksite.

• Homeland Builders Inc., Fall River, Mass., $214,800 for violations chiefly related to fall hazards at a Milford, Conn., construction site.

• Ansonia Copper and Brass Inc., $212,000 for 70 violations at its Waterbury, Conn., tube mill.

• Pepsi-Cola and National Brand Beverage Ltd., $195,000 for violations at its Pennsauken, N.J., operation.

• Howard Industries, $193,000 for 54 violations at the company's two electrical power products manufacturing locations in Laurel, Miss.

• Southern Pan Services (SPS) and Choate Construction, a total of $189,200 for violations found after an employee was crushed fatally when a parking garage under construction in Jacksonville, Fla., collapsed.

• Sloss Industries Fiber Division, $182,500 for violations found at its Birmingham, Ala., slag wool manufacturing plant.

• Orlowski Co. Inc., a Chicago-based masonry company, $176,500 for multiple violations found during a February 2008 inspection.

• Sante Bararducci Inc., Allison Park, Pa., $174,000 for violations found at a Coraopolis, Pa., trenching operation.

• Wendt Corp., $169,500 for failing to fully correct hazards cited during a prior inspection at its automobile recycling equipment manufacturing operation in Tonawanda, N.Y.

• M&B Metal Products co. and a subcontractor, Oak Mountain Construction Co., $166,950 for 46 violations found after a roof collapse at the M&B hanger manufacturing plant in Leeds, Ala.

• Family Video Movie Club Inc., Springfield, Ill., $161,500 for violations found after the company failed to respond to an inquiry about safety conditions at its Springfield woodshop.

• International Truck and Engine Corp., Melrose Park, Ill., $159,500 for violations founds during a February 2008 inspection.

• MJ Associates, $159,000 for violations found during an inspection at its rebar manufacturing facility in Philadelphia.

• Shelby Stephens Construction Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, $157,600 for failing to protect employees from falls and falling objects at two worksites in Garland, Texas.

• Waukegan Steel Sales Inc., $152,500 for violations at its Waukegan steel support manufacturing facility.

• Maine Contract Farming LLC, the successor to DeCoster Egg Farms, $150,000 for requiring employees of the Turner, Maine, egg farm to work in and atop a building after its roof collapsed.

• Texas Linen Co. Ltd., $149,100 for 43 violations at the company's worksite in Austin.

• Painting and Decorating Inc., Ronkonkoma, N.Y., $147,200 for 20 violations, mainly failing to protect employees against falls and other construction hazards at a King's Point, N.Y., jobsite.

• New Process Gear, a division of Magna Powertrain, $143,350 for violations following an inspection conducted at the Syracuse, N.Y., auto parts manufacturer under a program that targets workplaces with higher-than-average injury and illness rates.

• Sand Cut Properties LLC, Danbury, Conn., $144,800 for violations found after an employee was directed to work in a collapsing excavation at a Brookfield, Conn., worksite.

• BMA General Contractors LLC, New Britain, Conn., $140,000 for 15 violations following inspections at worksites in Danielson and Newington, Conn.

• AAR Summa Technology, $138,500 for 26 violations found during an inspection at the company's Cullman, Ala., metal fabricating operation.

• Overhead Doors Corp., $137,000 for 32 violations uncovered during an inspection of the company's Athens, Ga., manufacturing facility.