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. 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:
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Bath Iron Works, $442,500 for 59 repeat, willful and serious violations of safety and health standards at its Bath, Maine, shipyard. Citations issued after a June 2007 inspection encompass mechanical, electrical, chemical, fire, fall and exit hazards, several of which had been cited on previous OSHA inspections.
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Abbyland Foods Inc., $248,000 for multiple willful and serious violations of federal workplace safety standards at the company's meat-processing plant in Abbotsford, Wis. Willful citations included failure to provide proper audiograms and training to all employees exposed to hazardous noise, or to properly enforce hearing protection requirements.
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Colt Defense LLC and Colt's Manufacturing LLC, $223,000 for violations of safety and health standards at their West Hartford, Conn., military and commercial firearms manufacturing facility; citations included inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE).
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Tires Into Recycled Energy & Supplies, Inc., Jackson, Ga., $219,800 for willful, serious and other violations that included dust hazards and lack of fall protection.
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Cintas Corp., $196,000 for 15 violations found during an inspection at the company's Mobile, Ala., facility. One willful violation was proposed for a potential fall hazard to employees who periodically unjammed a conveyor.
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International Thermal Systems LLC, a Milwaukee oven manufacturer, $187,150 for multiple willful and serious violations, including failure to provide adequate fall protection and insufficient respiratory protection.
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R&R Metalcraft Inc., $170,500 for multiple violations at its Huntley, Ill., facility, including citations addressing the company's failure to provide proper fall protection.
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Signature Aluminum Inc., $155,585 for safety and health violations at the company's Greenville, Pa., aluminum manufacturing facility, including lack of PPE.
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Midwest Farm Service Inc., Gering, Neb., $155,000 for seven violations identified following a fatal trench cave-in at Scottsbluff, Neb., worksite.
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Fru-Con Construction Corp., Baldwin, Mo., $150,000 following the company's most recent violations of federal safety regulations, which resulted in a fatal fall for one employee at a Maumee (Ohio) River Bridge project.
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Mid-South Steel Inc., Cape Girardeau, Mo., $148,500 for violations following an inspection at the facility; violations included fall hazards and respiratory protection deficiencies.
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Gary's Grading & Pipeline Co., Monroe, Ga., $136,200 for eight violations - mainly involving trenching practices - found during an inspection at a McDonough, Ga., worksite.
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Wally Cilulko, doing business as AJC Restoration Inc., Chicago, $134,000 for multiple violations, several involving failure to provide employees with adequate fall protection.
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John Romines, doing business as S.A.M. Grading & Pipeline Inc., $129,500 for several safety violations found after a building inspector notified the agency about hazards at a Rome, Ga., trenching site and the company owner ignored requests to correct them.
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Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, doing business as Frontline Communications, $128,000 for 13 safety and health violations at the company's Clearwater, Fla., plant, which makes customized vehicles.
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Sabina Manufacturing, $127,200 for safety and health violations at its metal fabricating shop in Lawrence, Pa.
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Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc., $126,500 for safety and health violations at the company's steel foundry in Bridgeville, Pa.; violations included lack of PPE.
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Calumet Shreveport Lubricants & Waxes LLC, $122,400 for nine violations - many involving operating procedures - at its Shreveport, La., refinery.
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Vira Manufacturing Inc., $121,600 for multiple violations (including lack of eye protection) at its facility in Perth Amboy, N.J., where the company makes retail store fixtures and displays.
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Six Flags Great America Theme Parks Inc., Gurnee, Ill., $117,700 for 38 violations, including an inoperable eyewash station.
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John Rocchio Corp., Smithfield, R.I., $116,000 for failure to provide cave-in protection for employees at Rhode Island jobsites.
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Ruzic Construction Co. Inc., Neillsville, Wis., $115,200 for violations that primarily involved employee overexposure to lead, including inadequate respiratory protection, during a Baraboo River bridge repair operation.
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Elliot Construction Co. Inc., Glen Ellyn, Ill., $112,000 for violations that led to the hospitalization of four employees who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning at a Chicago worksite.
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C&A Metal Finishing Co., $108,150 for violations following a fatal accident at the company's facility in Sunset Hills, Mo.