Region 5 News Release: 11-812-CHI
June 13, 2011
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976 312-353-4807
Email: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov

US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Jones Dairy Farms in
Ft. Atkinson, Wis., for 15 safety and health violations; fines total $70,000

FORT ATKINSON, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Jones Dairy Farms in Fort Atkinson with 15 safety and health violations, including employee overexposure to respirable dust, failure to implement a respiratory protection program and failure to properly store hazardous chemicals. The company faces fines of $70,000.

"Employers have a responsibility to ensure all employees have safe working environments, which includes taking all necessary precautions to protect them from exposure to hazardous substances," said Kimberly Stille, OSHA's area director in Madison. "Employers are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their workplaces and ensuring that workers are not exposed to unnecessary risks."

OSHA conducted an inspection in January. Citations for eight serious safety violations, with proposed penalties of $42,000, were issued for: open sided platforms; damaged storage racks; a missing tongue guard on a grinder; having a compressed air gun registered over 30 pounds per square inch; storing oxygen and acetylene cylinders together; failing to having a working pressure gauge on the acetylene cylinder; missing a flash back arrestor on the acetylene cylinder and using electrical equipment that was not free from hazards.

Additionally, citations for six serious health violations, with proposed penalties of $28,000, were issued for: failing to establish and implement a respiratory protection program; failing to have written operating procedures for high stage compressors; failing to establish procedures to manage changes to process chemicals; storing incompatible hazardous chemicals together; using equipment that had not been approved for ignitable or combustible properties and failing to train employees on the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the work area. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Jones Dairy also was issued one other-than-serious health citation for not providing employees with basic advisory information on respirators. No penalty was assessed for this violation. An other-than-serious citation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious injury.

Jones Dairy has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards can call OSHA's Madison office at 608-441-5388.

To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (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 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.

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.