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Glister-Mary Lee Corp. in Illinois is looking at hefty fines at the hands of the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after an inspection following a construction accident. Three of the safety violations were willful, meaning that Glister-Mary Lee was aware of the dangers and took no action.
Two maintenance workers were injured at the pasta manufacturing facility in October of 2011 after a dust collector exploded. The workers suffered burns to their upper bodies.
“Glister-Mary Lee Corp. has a responsibility to protect workers conducting welding operations from known hazards in its manufacturing plants, including explosive dust,” said Regional OSHA Director Karl Armstrong. “OSHA is committed to protecting workers on the job, especially when employers fail to do so.”
The safety violations include failure to eliminate dust deflagration and explosion hazards on indoor dust collectors and air material separators. The proposed OSHA penalties total $231,000. Glister-Mary Lee has been inspected by OSHA 30 times since 2002, resulting in 46 violations. OSHA placed Glister-Mary Lee in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, and it will be subject to follow up inspections in the future.
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus workers comp attorneys.