Ecmweb 6985 Electhazard
Ecmweb 6985 Electhazard
Ecmweb 6985 Electhazard
Ecmweb 6985 Electhazard
Ecmweb 6985 Electhazard

Exposing Workers to Electrical Shock Yields Fines of $66,400 for Texas Manufacturer

Jan. 9, 2015
During the 2013 inspection, C & H Die Casting was cited for violating 30 serious safety and health OSHA standards.

Twice in 18 months, C & H Die Casting, Inc. has exposed workers to safety hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found, leading the agency to cite the Troy, Texas-based company for 15 serious safety and health standards violations with proposed penalties of $66,400.

“Once again, C & H has failed to provide a workplace free from hazards that could seriously harm workers,” said Casey Perkins, OSHA’s area director in Austin. “Waiting until a worker has been injured or killed to find and fix these hazards is unacceptable.”

During the 2013 inspection, C & H Die Casting was cited for violating 30 serious safety and health OSHA standards, including using spliced electrical cords. The citations carried $112,500 in proposed fines. In September 2014, inspectors discovered workers still being exposed to electrical shock hazards. This repeated violation carried a $22,000 penalty. A repeated violation exists when an employer has been cited previously for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

Also cited were 14 serious safety violations with a $44,400 penalty. OSHA cited the serious violations for failure to repair damaged and uneven concrete floors; failure to guard belts, pulleys and shafts; and numerous electrical violations, including spliced welding cables, uncovered welding terminals, missing grounding prongs on electrical cords and unlabeled circuit breaker panels.

C & H employs approximately 315 workers and has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Austin area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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