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OSHA originally inspected this company after an employee was injured when a steam-jacketed kettle of beans exploded. Now the agency says the company hasn’t corrected several hazards since the September 2010 incident.

Colorado Blue Ribbon Foods in Rocky Ford, CO, faces $116,160 in penalties for 28 OSHA violations.

Seven repeat violations involved:

• respiratory protection
• material storage
• powered industrial trucks, and
• machine guarding.

OSHA says a repeat violation exists when a company previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation at any of its facilities in federal enforcement states within the last five years. In this case, the similar violations were at the same facility.

Eighteen serious violations include:

• improper preventive maintenance of an anhydrous ammonia system
• no lockout procedures for de-energizing equipment before performing maintenance
• inadequate personal protective equipment
• inadequate housekeeping, and
• various electrical hazards.

Three violations were categorized as other-than-serious.

The company has 15 days to decide whether to contest the citations.

Tags: ammonia, electrical hazards, follow-up inspection, kettle of beans exploded, personal protective equipment