Employer Cited for Repeat and Failure to Abate for Exposing Workers to Airborne Silica
OSHA issued citations for one repeat and two failure-to-abate violations to County Concrete Corp., after an inspection on July 19, 2016 determined that the company failed to abate hazards found in a 2013 inspection. At that time, OSHA cited the company for 18 safety and health violations, and assessed $153,900 in penalties.
“Our follow-up inspection found that two County Concrete employees were exposed to silica above the permissible limit as they cleaned concrete mixers. In 2013, OSHA cited this company for these same hazards,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “Employers must bear the responsibility of fully complying with respiratory protection requirements to protect the safety and health of their workers.”
The agency issued the repeated violation because the company again failed to conduct annual tests to ensure that respirators fit employees properly while they were cleaning concrete mixers. Silica exposure can cause serious illnesses and damage to the respiratory system. The failure-to-abate violations involved the company’s failure to:
Develop and implement a written respiratory protection program for employees required to wear respirators during concrete mixer cleaning operations.
Provide medical evaluations for employees required to wear respirators to determine their ability to use them without their health being compromised.
These violations also were previously cited on Sept. 30, 2013.
County Concrete Co. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with Hoffman or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
