Global meat-casing manufacturer continues to expose workers to unsafe conditions at Illinois plant, OSHA says

Employer name: Viscofan USA Inc.
Danville, Illinois

Citations issued: Sept. 21, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Peoria Area Office has cited Viscofan USA for one repeated and one serious safety violations.

Investigating reports of unsafe working conditions, the agency’s May 2016 investigation found Viscofan:

• Exposed workers to slip, trip and fall hazards as they walked in aisles and on top of equipment due to the accumulation of water. OSHA cited the company for this hazard in both September of 2015 and November of 2014 at the same facility.
• Did not mount, locate and identify portable fire extinguishers – leaving them not readily available in an emergency – potentially exposing workers to smoke inhalation, burns and other injuries.

Quote: “Viscofan USA is well aware of OSHA’s safety standards and the need to control, slip, trip and fall hazards that put workers at risk for serious injury,” said Thomas Bielema, OSHA’s area director in Peoria. “The company needs to make permanent changes to its safety program and ensure hazards are identified quickly and prompt correction of unsafe working conditions.”

Proposed Penalties: $86,225

Background: Viscofan USA in based in Lisle. Viscofan is the world’s leading producer and distributor of artificial casings for the meat industry. The company also operates casing manufacturing sites in Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Serbia and Spain.

View Citations here.

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 Peoria Area Office at (309) 589-7033.