The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Greensboro, N.C.-based Oldcastle APG South for exposing employees to silica, struck-by, and amputation hazards at its Riviera Beach, Fla., facility. The company faces over $132,000 in proposed penalties for the violations.
The manufacturer and distributor of masonry and hardscape products was found to have exposed employees to silica levels above the permissible exposure limit without implementing engineering or work practice controls. OSHA inspectors also cited the company for failing to perform follow-up air monitoring, failing to provide employees who wore air respirators with medical evaluations, and failing to include employees exposed to silica in a medical surveillance program.
“Employers must implement effective safety and health programs to identify the hazards that exist in their workplaces, and take corrective actions to prevent worker exposures to serious or life-threatening injuries and illnesses,” OSHA Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area director Condell Eastmond said in an agency news release.
Oldcastle APG, doing business as Coastal, has 15 days from the receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal hearing with their OSHA area director, or contest the findings.
