Date citations issued and what prompted inspection: On July 22, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued eight serious safety citations. OSHA initiated a Process Safety Management*, or PSM, inspection after determining that the company was using flammable liquids above the threshold quantities that could present a potential for a catastrophic event.
Investigation findings: Contract Filling Inc. was cited for not implementing five elements of the PSM standard, including process hazard analysis, operating procedures and training; and not preventing the sudden startup or movement of equipment during service and maintenance, a procedure known as lockout/tagout.
Proposed Penalties: $50,400
Quote: "The numerous safety hazards found at Contract Filling’s facility exposed employees to the dangers of potentially fatal fires, which is unacceptable,” said Kris Hoffman, OSHA's area director in Parsippany. "This company must strengthen and improve its chemical safeguards to prevent a life-threatening incident."
View the citations: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/ContractFillingInc_1021723_0722_15.pdf
To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, losses of an eye, 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 Parsippany Area Office at 973-263-1003.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Joanna Hawkins, 215-861-5101, hawkins.joanna@dol.gov
Leni Fortson, 215-861-5102, uddyback-fortson.lenore@dol.gov
Release Number: 15-1497-NEW (osha 15-064)
U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The department's Reasonable Accommodation Resource Center converts departmental information and documents into alternative formats, which include Braille and large print. For alternative format requests, please contact the department at (202) 693-7828 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (federal relay).
*Accessibility Assistance: Contact OSHA's Office of Communications at 202-693-1999 for assistance accessing PDF materials.
