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Parent Category: Safety Info Posts

Category: OSHA Compliance Posts

Published: 24 September 2024

OSHA found an animal food producer exposed employees to the risks of explosions, fires and long-term respiratory illnesses from excessive amounts of airborne dust, among two dozen safety and health violations they identified. The findings follow an inspection after the agency received complaints of unsafe working conditions.

OSHA inspectors found the company's

• poor housekeeping,
• its failure to evaluate spaces for dust hazards, and
• an absence of engineering controls to reduce dust

created serious combustible and airborne dust hazards. The agency also determined the business did not

• develop a written respiratory protection program that includes medical evaluations, fit-testing, monitoring and training workers to recognize dust hazards.

OSHA also noted workers were exposed to

• hazards from walking and working surfaces,
• falls,
• confined space
• industrial trucks and forklifts when combustible dust hazards were present, increasing fire and explosion risks.

Inspectors cited the business for 19 serious and five other-than-serious safety and health violations. OSHA has assessed the company $161,332 in proposed penalties.

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