New York Facility Exposes Employees to Fire Hazards

New England Wood Pellet LCC is facing federal fines from the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety violations at tow of its facility in upstate New York. OSHA officials determined that workers at the facilities were endangered because of exposure fire hazards. Investigators found large amounts of wood dust in the facility, which is extremely combustible.

“The accumulation of wood dust poses catastrophic fire and explosion hazards if proper safeguards are not implemented and maintained,” said Christopher R. Adams, OSHA area director in Syracuse. “Of particular concern is that the hazards at these two plants echo similar conditions found at the company’s New Hampshire manufacturing plant, which was the site of a combustible dust fire in October 2011.”

Additional violations included inadequate ventilation for workers and a lack of proper fire extinguishing equipment. These charges could have been a recipe for disaster. The company’s proposed fines total $47,410.

You would think that this company would be on top of fire hazards after the incident in late 2011. If you have been exposed to hazardous working conditions, please contact our firm for a free consultation.

Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus workers comp attorneys

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