18 WESTERN PALLET
Illinois Pallet Manufacturer Cited After Employees Are Sickened from Unsafe Carbon Monoxide Levels
GENOA, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Cleary Pallet Sales Inc., a Genoa, Illinois-based pallet manufacturer, after 10 employees required emergency medical treatment for carbon monoxide exposure. The company faces proposed penalties totaling $216,253.
OSHA investigators inspected the facility in January 2018, and found that employees were exposed to carbon monoxide levels nearly 10 times the permissible exposure limit. OSHA has cited Cleary Pallet Sales Inc. for failing to address high carbon monoxide level warnings; allowing employees to operate defective forklifts; failing to ensure adequate machine guarding; and failing to train workers on hazardous communications and forklift safety. A subsequent inspection conducted one month later found further machine safety violations at the facility.
"Employers are required to regularly conduct workplace hazard assessments to determine appropriate measures to protect workers’ safety and health," said OSHA Aurora Area Office Director Jake Scott. "This employer risked the health of several workers, and disregarded basic safety standards."
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov/.
U.S. OSHA has cited a Genoa, Illinois-based pallet manufacturer, after 10 employees required emergency medical treatment for carbon monoxide exposure. The company faces proposed penalties totaling $216,253. The CO poisoning was attributed to badly out-of-tune forklifts, ventilation issues and failing to react to a CO monitor.
OSHA investigators inspected the facility in January 2018, and found that employees were exposed to carbon monoxide levels nearly 10 times the permissible exposure limit. OSHA has cited the company for failing to address high carbon monoxide level warnings; allowing employees to operate defective forklifts; failing to ensure adequate machine guarding; and failing to train workers on hazardous communications and forklift safety. A subsequent inspection conducted one month later found further machine safety violations at the facility.
"Employers are required to regularly conduct workplace hazard assessments to determine appropriate measures to protect workers’ safety and health," said OSHA Aurora Area Office Director Jake Scott. "This employer risked the health of
several workers, and disregarded basic safety standards."
The company had 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
According to a news report from January, six employees were taken by ambulance to a hospital and three more employees were treated at the location by paramedics. “The main symptoms include headache and nausea, along with being tired or drowsy,” one of the responders said.
This detail was added by Industrial Equipment News (IEN):
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employees should not be exposed to an airborne concentration of carbon monoxide above 50 ppm for an 8-hour shift. One employee who was sorting boards in the saw room was exposed to 513.4 ppm, about 10.27 times the permissible limit. Another employee who was disassembling pallets in the shop was exposed to 344.4 ppm, 6.89 times the
limit. Other employees were exposed to anywhere from 235.8 ppm to 70.9 ppm.