Displaying items by tag: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
US: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the US Department of Labor has found that Buzzi Unicem USA failed in its duty to implement safe practices, after a 50-year-old employee died at work in February 2023. The victim was working on a Mississippi River barge belonging to Buzzi Unicem USA subsidiary River Cement Sales when he fell overboard, leading to his death. OSHA concluded that Buzzi Unicem USA had committed multiple serious safety violations. Those connected to the tragedy in February 2023 included failures to ensure that workers wore personal floatation devices and to install guardrails. The administration said that the failures ‘cost a worker his life.’ Safety inspectors proposed a fine of US$62,500 for the breaches.
US: The US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Cleveland Area Office has cited Essroc Cement for one repeated and 10 serious safety and health violations at its site in Middlebranch, Ohio. OSHA found that the company had exposed workers to machine, noise and respiratory hazards following an investigation started in November 2015 after a complaint was submitted alleging unsafe working conditions. The US subsidiary of Italacementi faces fines of up to US$92,000 for the violations.
"Employers have a responsibility to protect workers from exposure to noise and respiratory hazards that can lead to debilitating health conditions," said Howard Eberts, OSHA's area director in Cleveland. "Essroc needs to immediately re-evaluate its safety and health programs to keep workers safe on the job."
Essroc operates a slag grinding plant and a cement terminal at the site.