Double fatality in confined space leads to $1.32M in OSHA fines
May 21, 2010 by Fred HosierPosted in: confined spaces, enforcement, Fatality, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Who Got Fined and Why?
PDF Seven-figure OSHA fines are becoming more common, especially in cases when the agency believes the company acted with willful disregard to safety.
VT Halter Marine, a shipbuilder, faces $1.32 million in fines in connection with a November 2009 explosion and fire in Escatawpa, MS, that killed two workers and seriously injured two others. The two injured workers both received third-degree burns.
OSHA cited the company for 17 willful violations, including failure to:
- inspect and test a confined space before entry
- prevent entry into confined spaces where the concentration of flammable vapors exceed the prescribed limits, and
- use explosion-proof lighting in a hazardous location.
VT Halter also faces 11 serious violations, including lack of machine guarding and use of defective electrical equipment.
The company has 15 days to decide whether to contest the fines.
The explosion happened aboard a tugboat as a crew was cleaning and prepping a tank for painting.
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May 21st, 2010 at 11:08 am
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May 21st, 2010 at 2:09 pm
I’m very familiary with Permit Required Confined Space Entry. It has been my experiance that we have a tendancy get too comfortable in what we do. If we are not careful we tend to take things for granted. Far too often the end result is a tragic event. That is why I think it is necessary to roatate personnel around the Entrant, Attendant, and even Supervisor positions. This roation is of course preceded by training.
May 21st, 2010 at 3:36 pm
All I can say is what took so long. Now they just need to add some jail time for the owners and managers of companies committing willful violations. Penalties for the employees performing the unsafe acts where employers have records to indicate proper training and can show evidence (such as progressive disciplinary action) of trying to get employee to comply would be icing on the cake.
May 21st, 2010 at 4:12 pm
I have worked in Safety for over 30 yrs in chemcial plants. I have always wondered how come the government does not license companies to do work that is hazardous and has a potential to kill employees or contractors? When they apply for a license them they should be required to take a test about basic safety.
We make those applying for a drivers license to take a test. But we allow anyone to open up a business as long as they get a “permit”. But I do not believe the owner or people running the business are required to take an exam proving they are competent?
This confined space accident involved such elementary safety as Air Monitoring and venting until the space was safe.
Again to be able to do this kind of work running a tug boat a competency exam should be taken before turning employers loose on the world.
May 21st, 2010 at 5:23 pm
There’s not enough detail in the article to form an opinion but, obviously OSHA had more information and could do so. I agree with Dave B. re employee responsibility. It comes under the heading of, “You can lead a horse to water but, you can’t make them drink”. If the company provided and documented the training, the ultimate responsibility should fall on the manager/supervisor/foreman directly in control at the job site as well as any employees, injured or otherwise, who failed to follow established safety procedures. That’s just common sense - something in short supply lately………!
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Jail time for owners and managers will result in a win/win for OSHA and Obama. Owning and/or managing any business with any potential of injury or death involved will not be worth the risk of capital investment. Thus, businesses with those risks WILL disappear from this country. The fewer hazardous jobs in this country equals fewer accidents and injuries, making OSHA look good. The only drawback is 25% to 35% perpetual unemployment in this country.
Maurice Strong, who serves on the board of the Chicago Climate Exchange, the exchange that Obama funneled money into to create when he was on the Joyce Foundation board, is quoted, “We may get to the point where the only way of saving the world will be for industrial civilization to collapse.” Maurice is one of the people who pulls the strings on Obama’s Blackberry. What better way to destroy industry in this country than to make it too risky to invest in? This is all in the name of Social Justice and making all countries equal,,, third world equal that is. AMERICA WAKE UP!!!!!
May 23rd, 2010 at 1:28 pm
There should be some ‘dandy’ investigations and fines in our industry as a result of Deepwater Horizon. I’m a special consultant on some of the issues in that ‘incident’.
I’m also very familiar with Halter Marine - in 1969 we had some problems with them on [a government] project. They’re tucked away on the Escatawpa Reach of the Pascagoula River and ‘off the beaten path’, as it were.
May 24th, 2010 at 8:16 am
I agree, complacency in the workplace and especially performing hazardous tasks, such as PRCS, require employers & employees to stay alert. This is also why I am a firm believe in continious atm. monitoring.
May 24th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
I have my confined space paperwork in place and well documented training. The issues I have are with my workers who think it’s a big joke. They get suspended if the alarm is sounded and the emergency rescue team has to assemble; they get written up for other violations, but they continue to enter the space without their suckers, respirators, without flipping their tags to let our attendant know their status. It’s very frustrating. We did have someone die at one of our other facilities where repairs on tanks that had contained petroleum products are done. At my site, we are a new manufacture facility building new tanks, the only hazard is a possible build up of Argon. However, OSHA demands that we follow the same restrictions that a repair facility does. Seems a little over-kill for my guys.
May 24th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
For Stu V.
The jail time was merely a comment, not a planned action by the government. Are you saying that all industry leaders are incompetant and cannot properly run a safe business? You appear to think that workers are expendable and employers should not be held accountable for providing a safe workplace. Accountability promotes responsibility and innovation, 2 things that are needed in all business ventures. Your political views do not really relate to this incident or reality for that matter.
Failure to use explosion proof lighting in a hazardous location alone would warrant this fine being issued and that is the responsibility of the employer, not the employee.
May 24th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
What a Value! You can be in business for a minimum of 41 years, gain all of the knowledge of your trade, have all of that experience and still manage to kill 2 people due to a lack of wisdom. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don’t apply it, of what benefit is it?
$1.32 miilion is a drop in the bucket for the 2 lives that were lost. What did the company place as their Value? Money? Greed? Speed? Life? In the long run what will it really cost them?
What Value did all of the employees involved place on “just getting the job done”, the price tag was way too high! Now those that survived have to live with the “Coulda, Shoulda, Wish I Woulda, done it”.
The Value we learn is, it would have been cheaper to just do it right in the 1st place.
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:12 am
I think Stu should take a deep breath and hit another blog, this one deals with safety in the workspace not politics! And Bill, there is a license for tug boats, just not the contractors that work on them. Depending on the area some tug boat operators must be on the job 25 years before they get thier own license.
Safety is every companie’s responsibility, but, as you know you can provide the PPE, training, attendant and have a great disciplinary program and still, workers are going to do what they feel is right. The key is to terminate, not just write them up. If they put themselves in a life threatening situation or put others in same, get rid of them. I’ve worked both union and non-union jobs and have terminated from both.
But, that does not appear to be the problem here. From what’s written, which is never enough, the company is at fault. IF they are, yes, look at jail time for flagrant violations as they are not concerned about the money (generally). Put the blame where it lies, where is their safety manager for the job? This is basic, let’s not try to make it in to something else. Have a program, work that program and everyone goes home at night. Without it, you are at fault!
Doc