Robins Air Force Base Receives 2nd Set of OSHA Citations

Robins Air Force Base Receives 2nd Set of OSHA Citations

Tuesday, January 25 2011  by Dustin Wilson

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration handed out a second round of citations to Robins Air Force Base last week and employees are voicing their concerns about the work environment

In May of last year OSHA handed down citations to Robins Air Force Base, most of which dealt with high carcinogen levels in building 169 and 670. A new set of citations were issued last week and the reoccurring problem of cancer causing particles in the work area remains and employees are concerned not enough is being done to make sure their work environment is safe.
"You don't know what you're walking into and you don't know what you're walking out of because it's something you really don't see it's kind of like dust you know. You don't know that you're being exposed to anything and then sooner or later, you know there's been people that have got cancer that has worked in that building," said Ray Fisher, an Air Craft Sheet Metal Mechanic at RAFB.

Fisher works in building 169 and is one of around 200 people who work in the building. Many employees are concerned with repeated findings of high exposure levels of chromium, cadmium, and lead, all of which can cause cancer.
These contaminants come from old paint on air craft parts. When the parts are sanded down, dust particles are emitted into the air.
In OSHA's initial round of citations in May of last year, chromium (VI) was found in a number of areas in buildings 169 and 670: A wipe sample of the break room table, where employees eat in building 169 showed 7 micrograms of Chromium (VI) and 13.5 micrograms of chromic acid.
The local union president for base employees, Tom Scott, says the federal government isn’t holding itself accountable.

"They have plenty of resources they could have corrected it. Outside agencies, private sectors the same thing would have been fined about $400-thousand, $600-thousand dollars and the agency is immune from it, you can't fine one another and I don't know if that's why the delay is or not, but I think more or less than need to get these employees a safe environment to work in," said Scott.

Last November OSHA fined the Macon-based company, Aerospace/Defense Coatings of Georgia, more than $300-thousand for over exposure of chromium (VI). Just last week OSHA fined Lead Enterprises Inc. in Miami, Florida, more than $300-thousand for over exposure of lead. OSHA officials say they can't fine other federal agencies.
We spoke with base officials about the carcinogen levels and according to Deryl Israel, the executive director of Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, before OSHA cited the violations, base officials thought their work environment was safe.


"What came as I wouldn't say a surprise to us, but we thought we were doing well and OSHA came in and found some things and we've worked since then to understand OSHA's interpretation and adjust our processes to comply with that," said Israel.

Maybe the most staggering of the May citations was in room 117, where according to OSHA a machinist was exposed to more than 17-hundred micrograms of chromium (VI), approximately 342 times the limit established to prevent lung cancer.
Base officials have since shut down the room. But the contamination doesn’t stop there, the most recent OSHA citations said high levels of chromium (VI) and cadmium were found in buildings 59, 89, and 323; further evidence that high contaminant levels could be in other areas on the base.

“As long as I've been on base for 23 years they've been working on air craft parts and the air craft parts have always had that stromium chromate which has chromate (VI) in it," said Tom Scott.

OSHA's most recent citations noted that the base didn’t properly inform employees about exposure levels. Stating employees with skin and eye contact to chromium (VI) did not demonstrate knowledge of the health hazards associated with the contaminant.
"We were never briefed on it, well I wasn't when I come through the door. We knew that we had some hazardous chemicals that we were working with, but they were pretty well known throughout the industry. But as far as the contaminants or the dust and stuff like that, I was not familiar with them until this actually broke lose," said Ray Fisher.

According to the CDC, high exposure levels to chromium can cause a number of health problems including irritation of the nose, runny nose, asthma, and in severe cases lung cancer.



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US Labor Department's OSHA cites Miami business for deliberately failing to protect employees from lead exposure, Lead Enterprises Inc. issued 32 citations, more than $307,000 in penalties

OSHA News Release

Region 4 News Release: 10-1748-ATL (19)
Jan. 20, 2011

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Miami business for deliberately
failing to protect employees from lead exposure
Lead Enterprises Inc. issued 32 citations, more than $307,000 in penalties

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations to Lead Enterprises Inc. in Miami, Fla., alleging that the company knowingly neglected to protect employees from lead exposure. The company is being cited with 32 safety and health violations, and $307,200 in total proposed penalties.

"This company was well aware of what it needed to do to protect its workers from a well-known hazard but failed to provide that protection," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "Lead exposure can cause many serious health issues including brain damage, kidney disease and harm to the reproductive system. Such a blatant disregard for OSHA's lead standard is shameful and will not be tolerated."

Lead Enterprises is a lead recycling and manufacturing company that produces lead products, including fish tackle, lead diving weights and lead-lined walls used in medical radiology facilities.

As a follow-up to a 2009 inspection, OSHA conducted a July 2010 inspection that resulted in four willful citations and proposed penalties of $224,000. The citations allege violations of OSHA's lead standard including exposing workers to lead above the permissible exposure limit; not providing engineering controls to reduce exposure; failure to perform ventilation measurements; failure to provide a clean change area; and failure to provide a suitable shower facility for workers exposed to lead above the permissible level. A willful violation exists when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Additionally, 21 serious citations with proposed penalties of $70,400 allege that Lead Enterprises failed to perform an initial exposure determination for workers who clean the facility, to conduct quarterly monitoring, to notify workers of air monitoring results, to provide appropriate protective clothing, to maintain surfaces free from lead accumulation, to properly store oxygen and acetylene tanks in the facility, properly install production equipment, and to fix or remove defective forklift trucks. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

"The management of Lead Enterprises acknowledged awareness of the OSHA lead standard and the dangers associated with lead exposure but continued to allow the hazard to exist, exposing employees to a serious health risk," said Darlene Fossum, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale.

Three repeat citations with a proposed penalty of $11,200 have been issued, alleging that the company failed to cover electrical wires on a furnace fan motor and record injuries on the OSHA recordkeeping forms for 2008 and 2010. A repeat citation is issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

Two other-than-serious citations were issued with $1,600 in proposed penalties for failing to record instances of medical removal on OSHA 300 logs, and label containers that held lead-contaminated clothing. Two additional other-than-serious citations with no monetary penalties have been issued for failing to certify forklift operators and notify the laundering facility of lead exposure dangers.

In August 2010, OSHA issued citations to E.N. Range Inc. in Miami, a sister company of Lead Enterprises. E.N. Range is the primary lead supplier for Lead Enterprises, and both companies have the same owner. The earlier citations alleged that E.N. Range knowingly neglected to protect employees who clean gun ranges from serious overexposure to lead. E.N. Range also was cited for providing, without medical supervision, non-Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for lead exposure. The company was cited for more than 50 violations of the lead and other standards, with total proposed penalties of $2,099,600. It is currently contesting the citations and penalties.

Lead Enterprises has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The site was inspected by OSHA's area office in Fort Lauderdale; telephone 954-424-0242. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/index.html.