Region 7 News Release: 13-1902-MON (SF-176)
Sept. 30, 2013
Contact: Deanne Amaden Jose A. Carnevali
Phone: 415-625-2630 415-625-2631
Email: amaden.deanne@dol.gov carnevali.jose@dol.gov

USA Brass Company Inc. of Bozeman, Mont., cited by the US Department of
Labor's OSHA for overexposing workers to lead

BILLINGS, Mont. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited USA Brass Company Inc. in Bozeman for 10 serious violations, with $45,500 in proposed penalties, after a May inspection conducted under the agency's national emphasis program for lead found workers overexposed to the metal. The company buys and provides brass for individual reloaders and commercial ammunition manufacturers.

Staff from OSHA's Billings Area Office found serious violations, including failure to conduct initial determinations of worker overexposure to lead; implement engineering and work practice controls to reduce lead exposure; provide workers with adequate respiratory protection and personal protective clothing; prohibit food and beverages from areas with excessive accumulations of lead; and train workers on lead hazards.

"The toxic effects of occupational exposure to lead have been well-known for a long time, but this employer did not have basic safeguards to protect workers against this hazard," said Jeff Funke, the agency's area director in Billings. "Employees exposed to lead must be evaluated to assess exposure levels accurately and, if necessary, implement engineering controls to train and ensure the use of personal protective clothing and equipment, including respirators."

Other serious violations include failing to implement respiratory protection, hearing conservation and hazard communication programs; have adequate housekeeping procedures; perform required medical examinations; and post required signs in hazardous areas. A serious violation occurs 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.

USA Brass was also cited for one other-than-serious violation for not certifying forklift operators' training and evaluations. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed 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.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-6742 or the agency's Billings Area Office at 406-247-7494.

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 or CD from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.