The Amerifilm Corp. of Kerny, N.J., faces nearly $200,000 in proposed penalties for safety and health violations following the serious injury of an employee, according to OSHA.
The citations result from an inspection conducted from Oct. 17, 2000, to April 10, following notification from the local police department that an accident had occurred at the facility.
On Oct. 11, an employee sustained a serious injury when his hand was caught and crushed in the gears of an unguarded printing press, according David Ippolito, OSHA area director in Parsippany, N.J.
OSHA cited the company for the following alleged willful violations:
- failure to properly guard the nip points of machinery.
- failure to provide appropriate foot protection for employees.
- failure to provide authorized personnel with individual de-energizing machinery locks.
- failure to provide fire extinguisher training to employees.
The alleged willful violations carry a total proposed penalty of $174,000.
"This employer made no attempt to install machine guarding on his equipment, even after the serious injury to one of his employees," said Ippolito. "The willful disregard shown by this employer with respect to employee safety meant that another machine operator, who was not even briefed about the previous accident, could be exposed to the same hazard."
Among the alleged serious violations for which OSHA cited Amerifilm Corp. are:
- failure to establish specific lockout/tagout procedures.
- failure to properly guard the points of operation of machinery.
- failure to keep exits unobstructed.
- failure to provide a hearing conservation program for employees.
- failure to properly store flammable liquids.
- failure to establish a bloodborne pathogen training program.
These violations carry a total proposed penalty of $21,250.
The company was also cited for several other-than-serious violations carrying a penalty of $2,000.
Amerifilm has until May 1 to contest the citations.
by Virginia Sutcliffe