OSHA fines Louisiana chemical manufacturer more than $92K after inspection finds 9 serious violations at Westlake facility

Employer Name: PPG Industries
3150 Pete Manena Road
Westlake, Louisiana

Citations Issued: Oct. 11, 2016

Investigation Findings: Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Baton Rouge Area Office issued citations for nine serious and two other violations to PPG Industries’ Westlake facility, after an employee complaint began an agency investigation on April 11, 2016.  Inspectors found employees of the global chemical manufacturer exposed to hazards such as corrosive materials and a leaking, 30,000-gallon hot water tank. OSHA also cited the company for:

• Failing to inspect lock out/tag out procedures.
• Not inspecting safety relief valves.
• Allowing the use of deteriorated stair rails.
• Lacking a hazard assessment for confined space entry.

The agency also identified two other violations issued for not illuminating exit signs and not having a protective cover on a junction box to prevent electric shock.

Proposed penalties: $92,642.

Quote: “The violations found at PPG Industries’ Westlake facility are disturbing. Not inspecting safety relief valves endangers workers and could have catastrophic consequences,” said Dorinda Folse, OSHA’s Area Director in Baton Rouge. “This employer must take all necessary steps to correct these issues and take the safety of its workers seriously.”

Link to citations: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/PPGIndustries_1141031.pdf

Information: PPG Industries is a global manufacturer of paint and coating products. Based in Pittsburgh, it has approximately 47,000 employees worldwide of which 18,500 work in North America. The company 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 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 Baton Rouge Area Office at 225-298-5458.