OSHA has fined a Rochester, NY, recycling company in connection with the June death of an employee inside a compactor.

Julio Vicente, 35, died after becoming trapped in a scrap metal compactor at the Metalico Rochester, Inc., facility. The compactor unexpectedly started while Vicente was clearing material from the machine.

OSHA says the company hadn’t developed procedures to lock out the machine’s power source and didn’t train employees about lockout/tagout.

The company had been cited for similar hazards at its Pittsburgh, PA, location in 2010, so OSHA issued two repeat violations for the lockout failures and one serious violation for not providing safe access to the compactor at the Rochester facility.

The fines total $73,300. Metalico has 15 business days to decide whether to contest the fine.

Tags: compactor, crushed to death, lockout/tagout, recycling, repeat violations