OSHA fines metal business over $378,000

ST. MARYS - A Houston, Texas-based company faces more than $378,000 in fines for exposing three employees to dangerous levels of lead, arsenic, iron oxide and copper at a St. Marys scrapyard.

The alleged violations took place at OmniSource in St. Marys and involved employees of CS Metals, which operates numerous facilities in Texas, Indiana and Ohio.

OmniSource and another company operating at the St. Marys site also face fines.

CS Metals Inc. also was placed in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for repeat violations.

OSHA on Monday announced it cited CS Metals for five willful, nine serious and two repeated safety violations. No employees showed signs of illness during the investigation, according to Scott Allen, director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of Labor in Chicago.

OSHA's investigation began in June after the agency received a complaint alleging unsafe work conditions. Investigators in June and in subsequent inspections found CS Metals did not provide required protective equipment or health monitoring.

"CS Metals failed its workers by not providing personal protective equipment and monitoring exposure levels to metal dust, which can cause severe, long-term health effects to the central nervous system and vital organs," stated Kim Nelson, OSHA's Toledo area director. "OSHA's investigation found deficiencies with CS Metals' compliance programs for lead exposure, arsenic and other hazardous air contaminants. These violations must stop."

The willful violations accuse the company of not ensuring work clothing contaminated with lead and arsenic were placed in a closed container in the changing room. During the same inspection, it was also discovered employees who had been exposed to airborne lead and arsenic while torching steel had not showered at the end of their shift.

On Aug. 29, inspectors found that employees were overexposed to lead, another willful violation, OSHA reported.

A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for requirements or indifference to employee safety and health, according to OSHA. Those violations carry a fine of $308,000.

The serious violations allegedly involved employees not being required to properly store their half-face, tight-fitting respirators. Employees instead were storing them inside hard hats, setting them on top of protective clothing and hanging them from headbands throughout the torch-cutting areas, overexposing them to lead, iron oxide and copper fumes, OSHA stated.

The company also was charged with not providing showers with hot and cold water; an employee using a respirator for two days that was missing an inhalation valve; not ensuring engineering controls were implemented for employees torch cutting and overexposing employees to copper fumes; overexposing an employee in August to arsenic; not ensuring a written arsenic housekeeping plan was developed that detailed cleaning frequency of surfaces and floors in the change rooms, showers, lunchrooms and lavatory; and not ensuring an arsenic medical surveillance program was instituted.

A serious violation is one that carries substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard the employer knew or should have known, according to OSHA.

Those violations carry a fine of $48,510, according to records.

The repeat violations included washing facilities not being maintained in a sanitary condition and contaminated with lead. All surfaces in the lockers, on the floors and on other equipment in the change area had lead accumulation, and overexposures to iron oxide were not prevented to protect employees. The violations carry a fine of $21,560.

All the violations must be addressed by Jan. 22.

According to OSHA, a company on the severe violator list is subject to follow-up and related inspections, notifying company headquarters and added provisions in a settlement agreement.

CS Metals also was cited in 2010 for overexposing employees to lead and iron oxide, OSHA records show.

No one from CS Metals in Houston could be reached for comment.

The investigation also led OSHA to inspect OmniSource, which was cited for three serious violations that carry $21,000 in penalties for lead exposure.

Also cited by OSHA was Nicholas D. Starr Inc., operating as Master Maintenance at OmniSource, for two serious violations of lead exposure with a proposed penalty total of $9,000.

OmniSource and Starr have 15 days to respond to the violations.