OSHA cites performing arts employer after 21-year-old worker was fatally injured from a pyrotechnics explosion at a musical venue in Canyon, Texas

Employer name: Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation Inc., Canyon, Texas

Location: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Canyon, Texas

Citations issued: Jan. 28, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection on July 31, 2015 following a fireworks explosion at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, Texas, after a 21-year-old worker was fatally injured while taking an inventory of the pyrotechnics for an outdoor musical production. Following the inspection, OSHA issued six serious citations for failing to train workers on the use of explosives, provide fire retardant clothing, perform a hazard assessment and develop a written hazard communication program. 

Proposed Penalties:  $42,000

Quote: “A 21-year-old worker, with three months of work experience under her belt, lost her life because Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation failed to provide appropriate training and protective equipment to workers handling pyrotechnics,” said Elizabeth Linda Routh, OSHA’s area director in Lubbock.

Link to the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/TexasPanhandleHeritageFoundation_1081897.pdf

Information: Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation, a performing arts employer, has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s 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 Lubbock District Office at 806-472-7681.