Plastics Company Cited Following Amputation Injury

Feb. 14, 2001
OSHA cited Falcon Plastics, Washington, Pa., for alleged safety\r\nand health violations and proposed $161,000 in penalties.

OSHA cited Falcon Plastics, Washington, Pa., for alleged safety and health violations and proposed $161,000 in penalties.

The agency initiated an inspection on Aug. 17, in response to a complaint filed after an employee suffered amputation of several fingers.

This was the second accident involving amputation suffered by a Falcon employee within a five-month period, according to OSHA.

Falcon Plastics is a plastics products manufacturer employing 220 people.

According to Robert Szymanski, area director of the OSHA Pittsburgh office, the company was issued two willful violations, carrying a penalty of $112,000; 15 serious violations, carrying a penalty of $49,000; and seven other-than-serious violations, which carry no penalty.

"These two unfortunate incidents occurred because Falcon Plastics allowed its employees to work on unguarded machinery, without use of the hand tools," said Szymanski. "Proper guarding must be employed immediately to prevent future tragedies from occurring."

The willful violations were issued because of the company''s failure to guard machinery and failure to provide special hand tools designed to protect machine operators from inadvertently making contact with the machine.

Serious violations included:

  • lack of personal protective equipment;
  • lack of machine guarding;
  • exposed electrical parts;
  • improper use of powered industrial trucks;
  • deficient lockout/tagout program; and,
  • improper storage of compressed gas cylinders.

Other-than-serious violations were due to the company''s deficient recordkeeping, poor housekeeping and failure to provide hazard communication training.

The company has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to either decide to comply or contest them.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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