Missouri manufacturer exposes workers to amputation hazards

Employer name: Clemco Industries Inc.

Investigation site: One Cable Car Drive, Washington, Missouri

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's St. Louis Area Office issued 10 serious and one other-than-serious safety and health violations to the Clemco Industries on July 24. The company manufactures abrasive blasting equipment such as hoods, valves and hoppers and employs about 150 workers.

The serious violations include:

• Failing to comply with machine safety procedures such as the use of locking devices, emergency stop switches and guards
• Not training employees about machine safety procedures and hazards
• Failing to inspect ropes and chains monthly.

OSHA issued one other-than-serious violation for failing to label containers of bio-hazardous materials.

Quote: "Thousands of workers suffer lacerations, amputations and fractures each year because they come in contact with operating parts of machinery," said Bill McDonald, OSHA's area director in St. Louis. "The use of manufacturer installed and common-sense safety procedures can prevent these injuries. Clemco Industries needs to review its programs to keep its workers safe."

Proposed Penalties: $46,800

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, 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 St. Louis Area Office at 314-425-4261.