SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Brownville Specialty Paper Products Inc. for 35 alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards following the death of an employee at its 1 Bridge St. plant in Brownville, N.Y.

The employee was fatally crushed on Dec. 5, 2007, by two large rolls of paper, weighing approximately 2,500 pounds, that rolled out of a rewinding machine. OSHA's inspection found that the machine's barrier guard was not interlocked with its drive mechanism to prevent the rolls from being ejected during rewinding operations, and the company knew of the hazard but did not correct it.

"This accident could have been prevented had this machine been properly guarded against this hazard," said Christopher Adams, OSHA's area director in Syracuse. "This case illustrates in the starkest possible terms why effective safeguards are necessary to prevent death and injury on the job."

OSHA has issued Brownville Specialty Paper Products one willful citation, carrying a $49,000 proposed fine, for the unguarded rewinding machine. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

OSHA's inspection also identified hazards involving blocked and obstructed emergency exit routes; fall hazards from unguarded stairways and work platforms, ladder deficiencies, lack of safety belts and lifelines, and an emergency exit opening onto an unguarded 30-foot-high landing; various unguarded moving machine parts; improper compressed gas storage; uninspected lifting equipment; several electrical hazards; respirator safety deficiencies; inadequate hearing protection; no emergency response plan and training for liquid chlorine spills; lack of training for employees entering confined spaces; unlabeled steam pipes and chlorine lines; and incomplete energy control procedures to prevent the unintended startup of machinery.

These conditions resulted in OSHA issuing the company 34 serious citations, with an additional $67,250 in proposed fines. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. In all, the company faces a total of $116,250 in fines for the willful and serious citations.

Brownville Specialty Paper Products Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA's Syracuse Area Office; telephone 315-451-0808.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

LINDEN, N.J. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited North East Linen for multiple alleged safety and health violations after a double fatality at the company's Linden facility.

OSHA initiated its investigation on Dec. 1, 2007, following the fatal accident. Two employees, who were cleaning a waste water tank, were discovered at the bottom of the tank, which was oxygen-deficient and contained hazardous chemicals. The investigation resulted in one willful, 12 serious and two other-than-serious violations.

"North East Linen did not take the appropriate steps to train its employees about potential hazards and to ensure its employees did not enter the waste water tank, which led to this tragedy," says Robert D. Kulick, director of OSHA's Avenel, N.J., area office.

The company was cited for a willful violation for failing to provide hazard communication training. The serious citations include North East Linen's failure to provide adequate means of egress; to take effective measures to prevent employees from entering the waste water tank; to lock out, or prevent accidental start-up of, equipment; to determine the presence and quantity of asbestos-containing material and not labeling the material; to close unused openings on an electrical panel; and to provide other necessary training.

"This horrible tragedy underscores the need for all employers to implement effective safety and health management systems," said Louis Ricca Jr., acting administrator for OSHA's New York region. "It also reinforces the need for employers to provide their employees with appropriate training, direction, personal protective equipment and engineering controls, particularly when working in and around confined spaces."

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

OSHA is proposing a total of $79,250 in fines for the combined violations.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Avenel Area Office; telephone 732-750-3270.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited contractors for nine safety violations after an employee was fatally crushed when the Berkman Plaza II parking garage under construction in Jacksonville collapsed.

The citations carry a proposed $192,800 in penalties. These include a willful violation carrying a $49,500 penalty against Choate Construction, the general contractor, and two willful violations with penalties totaling $125,000 against Southern Pan Services (SPS), the concrete formwork contractor. Choate and SPS are each receiving a willful violation for failing to have a qualified person determine if the structure could support the additional three-quarters of an inch of wet concrete weight that was added to the 20-inch floor slab.

In addition, one willful violation is being proposed against SPS for failing to obtain a reshoring drawing, including all revisions, for the reshoring design method used at the site.

Choate Construction is also being cited for one serious violation with a proposed $6,300 penalty and one other-than-serious violation with a $900 penalty. SPS is receiving two serious violations resulting in $7,500 in proposed penalties.

A.A. Pittman, a concrete finishing contractor, is being cited for two other-than-serious violations and $3,600 in penalties for recordkeeping violations discovered during the inspection.

"These employers are experienced in this type of construction and know all too well that disaster can occur when engineering drawings are not adhered to, or are modified, as occurred in this tragic collapse, without the approval of a professional engineer," said James Borders, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville.

The companies have 15 business days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by staff from OSHA's Jacksonville Area Office, 1851 Executive Center Drive, Suite 227, telephone 904-232-2895.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

TORONTO, May 6 /CNW/ - The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) today pleaded guilty in connection with the death of a subway tunnel worker in 2007 and was fined $200,000 in the Ontario Court of Justice.

Justice Robert Bigelow, presiding in court at Toronto's Old City Hall, heard that a subway tunnel asbestos removal crew set up a work zone on the Yonge line between Eglinton and Lawrence stations at approximately 2:30 a.m.,
April 23, 2007. The crew used a system of work platforms on a flatbed work car. The platforms could be extended on both sides of the flatbed from their stowed positions.

Work was completed at approximately 4:35 a.m. and the crew was to fully retract the work platforms prior to departing down the line on the train. However, one unit remained extended about 59 centimetres to the side. As the train rolled down the track, the extended platform first caught on a bundle of cables on the wall and then hit the block wall of an electrical room enclosure at the Lytton Boulevard emergency exit. On impact, the module rose out of its mounting holes. It then struck the steel liner of the subway tunnel and was forced backwards, flipping into the front of a second car where the work train operator was stationed. The operator suffered fatal injuries. Two other
workers were injured.

The TTC pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker at a workplace, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, specifically failing to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that the work platforms on the modules were fully retracted and secured prior to leaving the work location.

In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.