Region 7 News Release: 11-1554-KAN
Oct. 26, 2011
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976 312-353-6976
Email: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov

US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Formation Plastics in Quinter,
Kan., for willful and serious violations after workplace fatality

WICHITA, Kan. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Formation Plastics Inc. in Quinter, Kan., with one serious and three willful safety and health violations. OSHA initiated an inspection after a worker was fatally crushed between a press mold and the machine's outer structure in May.

"It is unthinkable that an employer would allow employees to work in and around dangerous equipment that lacked machine guarding as well as appropriate lockout/tagout procedures to control the energy source," said Charles E. Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "All employers must take the necessary steps to eliminate hazards from the workplace."

The willful violations, carrying $210,000 in proposed fines, address hazards associated with failing to develop and utilize energy control procedures, failing to train workers in energy control and exposing workers to moving equipment parts. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

The serious violation, with a $7,000 fine, was cited for failing to provide point-of-operation guarding on a punch press. 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.

The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/FormationPlastics_315087502_1024_11.pdf*. Proposed penalties total $217,000.

Formation Plastics, a custom plastic parts manufacturer, has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Wichita, 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-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Wichita Area Office at 316-269-6644.

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.

* Accessibility Assistance: Contact OSHA's Office of Communications at 202-693-1999 for assistance accessing PDF materials.