Chicken processor racks up more than $1.4M in OSHA penalties in 2015

CANTON, Ohio – A leading supplier of fast food and supermarket chicken is facing more than $1.4 million in fines this year for worker safety and health violations, including several that led a teenaged worker to suffer the amputation of his lower leg.

HOMERVILLE, Ga. — A 33-year-old woman had two fingers amputated as she used a mechanical power press for the first time without proper training or safety guards at the Homerville facility, federal inspectors have determined.

FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A cubic foot of soil can weigh more than 100 pounds, and workers caught beneath a few feet of soil can be seriously — or fatally — injured. A 19-year-old pipe layer in a Van Dyne farm field was exposed to dangerous cave-in hazards while installing a drain tile in an unprotected trench more than 5 feet deep.

Employer name: Kremer's Guns LLC, Celina, Ohio

Citations received: Sept. 26, 2015

PLAINFIELD, Ill. — Workers separating circuit boards at a Plainfield electronics recycling facility were found to be overexposed to high airborne concentrations of lead and cadmium, putting them at high risk for long-term damage to the central nervous, urinary, blood and reproductive systems.

WOOD RIVER, Ill. — A 55-year-old carman fell more than 12 feet to the ground after his aerial lift collapsed. The worker had been standing on an elevated platform to install a canopy on a railcar, but the platform could not support his weight.

Employer name: Corn Island Shipyard Inc., Grandview, Indiana

Citations issued: Sept. 28, 2015

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Indianapolis Area Office cited the company for five repeated, 14 serious and three other-than-serious safety and health violations, as a result of a March 2015 follow-up inspection.

Employer name: K&N Contracting Inc., 2976 Wills Creek, Elkview, West Virginia. The inspection site was the Elkview Baptist Church, where workers were installing new roof shingles.

Citations issued: On September 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one willful and four serious safety citations.

Employer name: Dollar General Corp., headquartered at 100 Mission Ridge, Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The two inspected stores are located at 421 Main Street in Madison, West Virginia, and 790 Main Street in West Milford, West Virginia.

Citations issued: On September 21, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued both stores citations for two repeat violations.

Employer name: Sterling Technologies Inc., 10047 Keystone Drive, Lake City, PA

Citations issued: On September 22, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued Sterling Technologies one general duty clause citation for exposing employees to heat stress conditions and one additional serious safety citation.

OSHA's investigation found 44 safety violations, including one willful

Employer name: Aluminum Shapes LLC, 9000 River Road, Delair, New Jersey.

Employer name: Juniper Elbow Co. Inc., doing business as Juniper Industries Inc., a metal products manufacturer located at 72-15 Metropolitan Ave. in the Middle Village section of Queens, New York.

Citations issued: On Sept. 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company for 4 repeat and 11 serious violations of workplace safety standards.

MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — In less than 60 days, three employee injuries — including one worker who suffered the amputation of three fingers — brought federal inspectors to West Virginia poultry processing facilities operated by Pilgrim's Pride Corp., one of the world's largest chicken producers.

Owner refused inspection until judge issued contempt order

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a judge issued a contempt order forcing a Kansas City foundry owner to allow an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection, the agency has cited Martin Foundry Co. for exposing workers to lead hazards.

Employer name: Hearthside Food Solutions LLC, McComb, Ohio

Citations issued: Sept. 21, 2015

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Toledo Area Office cited the McComb facility, which produces cookies and crackers for national brands for one repeated and two serious safety violations.

SAULT SAINTE MARIE, Mich. — As crane operators at Michigan's historic Soo Locks operated a lattice boom crawler and a barge-mounted crane in disrepair, they faced dangers from multi-ton loads because their employer ignored a September 2014 report from a crane inspection contractor that demanded immediate equipment repairs.

Employer's name: Pier 1 Imports Inc., Heritage Parkway in Mansfield, Texas, and Trinity Blvd. in Fort Worth

Citations issued: Sept. 18, 2015

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service, 204 Fairforest Way, Greenville, South Carolina 29607

Citations issued: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful and two serious safety citations to the Postal Service on Sept. 14.

Employer name: JV Industrial Cos. Ltd., headquartered in Pasadena, Texas, was contracted by Valero St. Charles Refinery in Norco, Louisiana, to demolish piping in its sulfuric acid alkylation unit.

Citations issued: Sept. 16, 2015

WASHINGTON — Preliminary results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released today show the rate of fatal work injuries in 2014 was 3.3 per 100,000 full-time workers, the same as the final rate for 2013. While the preliminary total of 4,679 fatal work injuries was an increase of 2 percent over the revised count of 4,585 in 2013, there was also an increase in hours worked in 2014. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement: