Pennsylvania plastic recycler faces $88K in fines for exposing workers to combustible dust hazards following US Department of Labor inspection

Employer name: PGA Inc.

Inspection site: 185 South Street, Freeland, Pennsylvania 18224

Date inspections initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated two inspections on Sept. 2, 2021, after receiving a referral from the Freeland Borough’s Office of Code Enforcement alleging employees at PGA Inc. were exposed to combustible dust and other workplace safety and health hazards.

Inspection findings: OSHA cited PGA Inc. for one willful, seven serious and one other-than-serious safety and health violations for both inspections. The agency found the workplace hazards included the company permitting dangerous amounts of combustible dust to build up on surfaces that possibly could ignite due to open electrical equipment in the area. OSHA previously cited the company for some of the same violations in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Total proposed penalties: $88,423

Quote: “Combustible dust can burn rapidly and explode with little warning, putting workers at risk for severe injury or death,” said OSHA Area Director Mary Reynolds in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. “PGA Inc.’s continued failure to implement effective controls to prevent the accumulation of combustible dust will not be tolerated.”

Link to citations: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/2022/03/OSHA2022324-1.pdf and https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/2022/03/OSHA2022324-2.pdf

Company description: PGA Inc. provides plastic recycling services in Northeast Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

For information on combustible dust safety, visit https://www.osha.gov/combustible-dust