New Jersey steel can manufacturer exposes workers to noise hazards, potentially permanent hearing loss at Parsippany facility

Employer name: Allstate Can Corp.
One Wood Hollow Road
Parsippany, New Jersey

Inspection site: One Wood Hollow Road
Parsippany, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Sept. 16, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company citations for one willful violation and four serious violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA’s inspection began on March 24, 2016, after investigators noted noise hazards during an inspection. They found that the company failed to institute a hearing conservation program, and failed to provide annual hearing tests for all employees exposed to excessive noise. Allstate Can neglected to retrain workers who suffered hearing loss, and did not refit them with hearing protection or refer workers for a medical examination. The agency also found the company exposed employees to high noise levels in the production area.

Quote: “Twenty-two million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise at work each year. Exposure to sustained loud noise kills the inner ear’s nerve endings, and leads to permanent hearing loss that neither surgery nor medicine can correct,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “Despite knowing the requirement for annual hearing tests, Allstate Can failed to take the proper steps to protect workers from hearing loss, which is unacceptable.”

Proposed penalties: $104,220

The citation can be viewed at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/AllstateCanCorporation_1134959.pdf.

The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 

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 Parsippany Area Office at 973-263-1003.

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.