Exposing workers to electrical shock and other hazards yields fines of $66,400 for Troy, Texas, manufacturer

TROY, Texas — Twice in 18 months, C & H Die Casting Inc. has exposed workers to safety hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found, leading the agency to cite the Troy-based company for 15 serious safety and health standards violations with proposed penalties of $66,400.

"Once again, C & H has failed to provide a workplace free from hazards that could seriously harm workers," said Casey Perkins, OSHA's area director in Austin. "Waiting until a worker has been injured or killed to find and fix these hazards is unacceptable."

During the 2013 inspection, C & H Die Casting was cited for violating 30 serious safety and health OSHA standards, including using spliced electrical cords. The citations carried $112,500 in proposed fines. In September 2014, inspectors discovered workers still being exposed to electrical shock hazards. This repeated violation carried a $22,000 penalty. A repeated violation exists when an employer has been cited previously for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

Also cited were 14 serious safety violations with a $44,400 penalty. OSHA cited the serious violations for failure to repair damaged and uneven concrete floors; failure to guard belts, pulleys and shafts; and numerous electrical violations, including spliced welding cables, uncovered welding terminals, missing grounding prongs on electrical cords and unlabeled circuit breaker panels.

OSHA investigators also witnessed an employee in the furnace area pouring hot metal into dies without proper personal protective equipment, which exposed him to burn hazards. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

C & H employs approximately 315 workers and has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's Austin area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Austin Area Office at 512-374-0271.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.