PITTSBURGH – Twice in about a month, United States Steel Corp. gave seven employees tasks that exposed them to asbestos, a widely recognized hazard associated with serious and fatal health risks including lung cancer, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

Employer name: Henry RAC Holding Corp.

Inspection site: 59 East 1st St., Bayonne, New Jersey        

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service
8182 State Road 56
West Baden Springs, Indiana

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

DENVER – After hailstorms in residential areas, roofing contractors may come knocking – offering to make repairs on damaged roofs. Homeowners anxious to protect their property and their wallets should be aware that some companies put profits before their employees’ safety and well-being, and could wind up costing their customers even more.

Employer name: Golden Dragon Copper Inc., doing business as GD Copper USA Inc.

Inspection site: 405 GD Copper Drive, Pine Hill, Alabama 36769

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to GD Copper for two willful, one repeat, nine serious and two other-than-serious safety violations. 

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – A 57-year-old maintenance worker was crushed fatally by a 4,000 pound machine part while performing maintenance inside of a sand core machine at a Warrensburg aluminum foundry.

Employer name: Waupaca Foundry Inc., 
1955 Brunner Drive, 
Waupaca, Wisconsin

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued two repeat and two serious safety violations to Waupaca Foundry Inc.

Employer name: Solvay Specialty Polymers USA LLC

Inspection site: 10 Leonard Lane, West Deptford, New Jersey          

Employer name: Prairie State Generating Company
Marissa, Illinois

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

ALBANY, N.Y. – A Schenectady hazardous materials remediation contractor exposed its employees to mercury poisoning and did not provide proper safeguards to workers doing mercury removal work at the General Electric Co. Power and Water Main Plant State Superfund site at 1 River Road in Schenectady, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service, 104 S. Fillmore St., Osceola, Iowa

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Splashing acid and other serious hazards are putting employees at a Sylvania metal coating company in danger of serious and debilitating injuries because their employer is failing again to provide appropriate protective clothing and other safety equipment, federal safety and health inspectors have found.

WATERTOWN, S.D. ‒ Federal investigators found a 24-year-old roofing worker, who fell more than 33 feet to his death lacked an adequate fall protection system and his employer failed to train him to work safely at heights.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the man, who was installing roofing materials, was outside of a warning line placed on the roof when he fell off the roof of the Watertown Community Center.

Employer name: Rohm-Haas Electronics Material, LLC, doing business as Dow Chemical Co.
60 Willow St., North Andover, Massachusetts a manufacturer of specialty chemicals.

What prompted OSHA’s inspection: On Jan. 7, 2016, an explosion occurred as plant employees were engaged in the trimethyl aluminum cylinder reclamation process. The process involves purging the cylinders of residual amounts of trimethyl aluminum, a substance that can ignite spontaneously in air. Four employees were injured as a result of the explosion.

WICHITA, Kan. – Federal safety inspectors have again found blocked exits and other hazards at stores operated by national discount retailer, Dollar General – this time in Wichita and Clay Center.

MARTHASVILLE, Mo. – Federal investigators found the electrocution death of a 43-year-old welder could have been prevented if his employer had de-energized conductors and followed electrical safe work practices at its Missouri machine shop.

ELKHORN, Neb. ‒ Rich Tiller might have changed his company’s name, but the Nebraska construction company owner has not changed his callous attitude toward his employees’ safety and well-being.

Employer name: The Turner Company LLP

Inspection site: 11049 South U.S. Hwy 287, Rhome, Texas 76078

Citations issued: July 29, 2016

Employer name: Meyer Steel Drum Inc.
2000 S. Kilbourn Ave.
Chicago, Illinois

Citations issued: July 27, 2016

FREDONIA, N.D. – An investigation into a 36-year-old worker’s injuries at a North Dakota grain facility found multiple violations of federal safety standards for grain handling and confined space entry, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.