County Concrete Corp in East Orange, New Jersey faces an $88,544 proposed fine after it allegedly exposed its workers to airborne silica hazards, according to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The fine follws an inspection of the East Orange plant on July 19 and was a follow-up to a 2013 settlement between the company and OSHA, during which the company was hit with 18 safety and health violations, and $153,900 in penalties, federal officials said.
The agency issued the repeated violation because the company again “failed to conduct annual tests to ensure that respirators fit employees properly while they were cleaning concrete mixers,” officials stated.
“Our follow-up inspection found that two County Concrete employees were exposed to silica above the permissible limit as they cleaned concrete mixers,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office.
“In 2013, OSHA cited this company for these same hazards. Employers must bear the responsibility of fully complying with respiratory protection requirements to protect the safety and health of their workers.”
The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
