The Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., Kansas City, Kan., was cited for 20 alleged serious safety violations which carried a $111,500 proposed penalty, according to OSHA.
The firm is in the business of wholesale food products marketing and overseeing of contract warehousing, receiving and distribution operations.
OSHA Regional Administrator Charles Adkins, CIH said that Associated Wholesale Grocers has a history of OSHA activity including complaints, referrals and other inspection activity dating back to 1973.
The Serious citations mainly related to OSHA''s Process Safety Management (PSM) standards.
The PSM standards are intended to assure that processes involving highly hazardous chemicals, such as ammonia, are maintained and operated in a safe manner.
The standard is also intended to prevent accidental employee exposure to ammonia and explosion hazards, should a system failure occur.
The remainder of the citations are related to lockout/tagout, emergency response, machine guarding and powered industrial truck deficiencies.
The firm has 15 working days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to either 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 IndustryWeek, EHS Today, Material Handling & Logistics, Logistics 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.