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December 23, 2014

OSHA: Workers had to bring own thermals to work in -40° freezers

Latest posts by Atlantic Research Team (see all)

OSHA says employees at Birds Eye Foods’ facility in Darien, WI, were “left in the cold.” Now the company faces $109,400 in fines.

The workers faced minus 40° temperatures when working in freezers at the plant. OSHA says entry-level Birds Eye employees bought thermal protective equipment because Birds Eye didn’t provide it. OSHA initiated the inspection after a complaint.

Now Birds Eye faces one repeat and 12 serious safety violations.

The one repeat violation was for failure to install fixed stairs to access elevations with tools and equipment, which exposed workers to fall hazards. Inspectors found the same violation at the Darien facility in June 2013.

The 12 serious violations include failure to:

“It was ridiculous that workers needed to spend money on protections their employer failed to provide,” said Kim Stille, OSHA’s area director in Madison, WI.

Birds Eye has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

This article retrieved from Safetynewsalert.com

Related Training DVDs:

Personal Protective Equipment PPE Training DVD

thermals Specifically created to assist facilities in complying with OSHA’s Standard on PPE. View Product

Slips, Trips & Falls Training Video

thermals Shows employees the situations that can lead to slips, trips and falls, and what they can do to avoid or prevent these accidents. View Product

Cold Stress Training Video

thermals Protect your workers from such chilling hazards like frostbite and hypothermia and prevent costly accidents. View Product

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