OSHA has proposed $142,150 in fines against Roads Inc. of NWF, saying the agency found violations of its safety and health standards during an investigation of a fatal accident in Pensacola, Florida.

OSHA issued to three willful citations with proposed penalties totaling $132,000, saying the company operated an excavator boom within 10 feet of an overhead power line, allowed employees to work in a trench 7 to 15 feet deep without a protective system, and placed excavated materials too close to a trench edge.

OSHA issues willful citations when an employer has shown an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

OSHA says that on the day of the accident, employees installing a new storm drainage system detected a strong gas odor. Company officials, however, failed to test the atmosphere or report the leak to the gas company, the agency alleges. Later that morning, a company employee entered the excavation to retrieve a laser surveying instrument from a sewer pipe. The worker was severely burned when an explosion and fire occurred shortly after he entered the pipe. The employee died six days later.

OSHA issued two serious citations directly related to the accident with proposed penalties of $6,650 for failing to test the air when natural gas was known to be present and failing to train employees to recognize hazards associated with trenching and excavation work. The agency also issued two additional serious citations with proposed penalties of $3,500, saying the company failed to provide workers with proper safety equipment.

The Cantonment, Florida, company has 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.