The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says the failure of Multiple Concrete Enterprises Inc. of Ogden, Utah, to protect workers from a variety of hazards, including safety-related errors at a Malad, Idaho, job site, contributed to the deaths of two workers.
OSHA issued citations to the company for alleged willful, serious and other-than-serious safety and health violations after the fatalities occurred last August. The company was issued $100,100 in proposed penalties for the alleged safety and health violations.
The fatal accident occurred when a Multiple Concrete Enterprises employee, driving a company-owned truck with a trailer attached, drove on the freeway alongside the lane where employees were working and the trailer detached from the truck, running over or hitting several employees.
"Workers were exposed to a variety of serious hazards at the job site, ranging from working within two feet of high speed traffic to exposure to high levels of dust containing crystalline silica," notes Ryan Kuehmichel, area director for the agency's Boise office, which conducted the investigation.
The willful citation noted that respirators were worn under conditions that impaired the sealing surface of the facepiece and the valve function. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.
The serious citation also included several alleged violations regarding respirators and other safety and health violations that may have contributed to the double fatality at the Idaho job site. A serious violation is one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.
edited by Sandy Smith ([email protected])