Region 3 News Release: 10-1127-PHI (osha 10-184)
Aug. 23, 2010
Contact: Joanna Hawkins
Phone: 215-861-5101

US Labor Department's OSHA fines Point Pleasant, W.Va., manufacturer nearly
$70,000 for worker exposure to noise, other workplace hazards

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Quality Engineered Steels LLC, doing business as West Virginia Cold Drawn, for a multitude of workplace safety and health violations including noise and respiratory hazards at its Point Pleasant, W.Va., facility. Proposed penalties total $69,250.

OSHA initiated an inspection on Feb. 23 as part of a national emphasis program on amputations. As a result, the steel bar manufacturer was cited for 35 serious violations with a penalty of $67,250, and four other-than-serious violations with a penalty of $2,000.

"Inspectors identified a long list of hazards compromising the company's ability to provide a safe and healthy work environment for its employees, and those issues should be corrected immediately," said Prentice Cline, director of OSHA's Charleston Area Office in West Virginia.

The serious violations address hazards associated with personal protective equipment, powered industrial trucks, cranes and slings, machine guarding, compressed gas cylinders, improper guarding of open-sided floors and stairways, an inadequate respiratory protection program, inadequate control of potentially hazardous energy sources and failure to develop or implement a hazard communication program. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists. Other-than-serious citations were issued for recordkeeping deficiencies.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director in Charleston, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The investigation was conducted by OSHA's Charleston Area Office; telephone 304-347-5937. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (321-6742).

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 assure 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.

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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit http://www.dol.gov/compliance.