A cluster of safety and health hazards that could expose workers to amputations, fires, electrocution, crushing injuries, falls, hearing loss and hazardous chemicals and substances has prompted $140,000 in fines against a Berlin, Conn., door lock manufacturer.
OSHA cited Corbin Russwin Inc. for 57 alleged violations following inspections conducted between February and August.
The inspections were carried out under OSHA''s Site Specific targeting program, which schedules inspections for workplaces with a higher than average number of lost work days due to injuries and illnesses.
"The sizable fines proposed in this case reflect the breadth and number of hazardous conditions identified and cited in these inspections," said Thomas Guilmartin, OSHA area director in Hartford. "Chief among them are 47 instances of inadequate machine guarding or point of operation guarding on mechanical power presses and other machinery, including one machine on which an employee suffered a partial finger amputation in 2000."
Other citations address deficiencies involving failure to supply workers with personal protective equipment, electrical safety hazards, wet floors, failure to provide wash basins for employees working with acids and caustics, unlabeled containers of hazardous chemicals and excessive noise levels.
Corbin Russwin, which employs 387 workers at the Berlin plant, has 15 working days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to either elect to comply or contest them.
by Virginia Foran