OSHA has cited two contractors for 15 alleged violations of safety standards following the electrocution death of an employee at a Hermon, Maine, residential construction site.

On September 12, 2007, a crane contacted an energized 7,200 volt overhead power line as two employees were attempting to attach the crane's rigging equipment to a section of a modular home that was being constructed. One of the employees was killed and the other seriously injured by the electric current.

OSHA's inspection found that the crane was being operated within 10 feet of the power line, which had not been de-energized beforehand, as required. The two contractors face a combined total of $121,500 in proposed fines.

"The basic safeguards designed to prevent just this sort of accident were ignored here, with fatal results," said William Coffin, OSHA's area director for Maine. "De-energizing the power line and maintaining a safe working distance from it would have prevented this death and injury."

The contractor for whom the employees worked, was issued two willful citations for allowing employees to work in close proximity to the energized power line and for not protecting employees against fall hazards. OSHA also issued the company four serious citations for a lack of onsite medical attention; absence of hardhats and electrical warning signs; and ladder hazards. The company faces a total of $32,000 in proposed fines for these conditions.

The contractor who owned and operated the crane, has been issued three repeat citations for operating the crane in high winds, inadequate support for the crane's outriggers, and not inspecting the jobsite to identify and correct these and other hazards. OSHA had cited the company in May 2005 for similar hazards at a Freeport, Maine, jobsite.