First Posted: 2/26/2015
ELIDA — A & D Wood Products was issued 27 separate violations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after a complaint by an employee led inspectors to the plant.
Unsafe working conditions prompted OSHA to issue four willful, four repeated and 19 serious health and safety violations after its Aug. 21 inspection. Among findings in the report, employees operated machines without eye protection and without effective safeguards from moving parts amid large amounts of combustible wood dust piled throughout the facility. Ten employees were routinely exposed to amputation, combustible dust and other dangerous hazards. The company faces proposed penalties of $133,540 and has been placed in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
“A & D Wood Products operates a manufacturing shop that exposes workers to real hazards daily, creating an environment that forces workers to make a choice between their lives and their livelihood,” said Kim Nelson, OSHA’s area director in Toledo. “With 27 violations, it’s clear the safety and health of its workforce is not a priority for them.”
OSHA issued four willful violations related to the hazards, including the combustible dust violations. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.
A & D also failed to provide hearing protection and audiometric testing for employees, which can identify premature hearing loss. Noise-related hearing loss is one of the most prevalent occupational health concerns in the U.S., with an estimated 30 million workers exposed to noise each year. This exposure can cause permanent hearing loss that neither surgery nor a hearing aid can correct.
OSHA inspectors also noted issues with machine guarding and electrical safety violations, poor hygiene conditions and unsafe practices related to forklift operations, including leaving forklifts running and unattended. The company also failed to train employees on fire extinguisher use and about hazardous chemicals and products used in the facility, and provided inadequate personal protective equipment. In total, 19 serious violations were cited.
Calls to a listed number to the plant went to a fax machine, and another number found online for the plant was not working.
