U.S. Tank Painting Inc., a New Jersey water tank painting contractor, is facing $485,580 in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines after a worker’s 80-foot fall from a Bayville, New Jersey, water tower, resulting in severe injuries, the agency announced July 24.

Agency investigators determined that U.S. Tank Painting employed workers to sandblast and paint the tower’s interior and exterior and replace a ladder attached to the structure to access the tower’s peak. OSHA learned that the injured worker fell while climbing a maintenance tube ladder into the water tank. The agency cited U.S. Tank Painting with 3 willful and 19 serious violations for its failure to do the following:

• Ensure workers used fall protection while ascending or descending the maintenance tube ladder. 
• Reduce noise levels below the permissible exposure level using administrative or engineering controls or hearing protection.
• Evaluate the hazards within the water tower, which qualified as a permit-required confined space, and ensure hazards were eliminated.
• Complete required confined space permits.
• Develop a rescue plan for those working inside the water tower—a violation the company was cited for in 2017.
• Provide continuous air monitoring equipment for use inside the water tower.
• Take proper safety precautions when flammable paint was used.
• Evaluate employee exposure to crystalline silica contained within paint, which was found to be over safe levels.
• Train workers on crystalline silica hazards, and have a specific silica program for the Bayville site.
• Develop a site-specific respiratory protection program.
• Ensure the use of a carbon monoxide detector when workers used supplied-air respirators.
• Provide the required respirator cartridge needed to filter crystalline silica.

“An employee suffered numerous severe injuries because their employer did not make sure legally required fall protection was provided for workers climbing up and down the inside of an 8-story water tower,” Paula Dixon-Roderick, OSHA’s Marlton, New Jersey, area office director, said in a statement.

Meat casing manufacturer cited after employees’ severe injuries

Viscofan USA Inc., the Danville, Illinois, subsidiary of a global meat casing manufacturer, faces $197,054 in OSHA penalties after two employees suffered severe injuries in the same week, the agency announced July 24. OSHA cited the company, which has a history of dozens of serious violations since 2015, with one repeat violation, seven serious violations, and one other-than-serious violation.

The agency responded to a report of a maintenance worker employed by Viscofan USA Inc. who needed hospitalization after suffering broken bones and lacerations when the employee’s arm was caught in a roller machine on January 25. During its investigation, OSHA learned another employee suffered chemical burns while cleaning a pump on February 1.

The agency learned that the employer also failed to train its employees in lockout/tagout procedures. OSHA’s lockout/tagout standard (29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1910.147) is one of its top 10 most cited standards, cited 2,554 times in fiscal year (FY) 2023.

“Viscofan USA has a long history of violations and worker injuries at its Danville facility, with two more workers needlessly suffering severe injuries because the company again failed to implement an effective safety and health program and develop specific energy control procedures to protect workers doing maintenance,” Edward Marshall, OSHA’s Peoria, Illinois, area office director, said in a statement.