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Syracuse auto parts manufacturer faces $218K fine for electrical hazards & more

September 2, 2016 | By Renée Francoeur


September 2, 2016 – American workplace safety and health inspectors have cited York Metal Toll Processing Inc. for exposing employees to uncorrected electrical, crushing and respiratory hazards, as well as recurring amputation hazards.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the U.S. opened two follow-up inspections at the company’s Syracuse, N.Y. auto parts manufacturing facility on March 14, 2016, after the employer failed to prove they corrected violations cited during previous OSHA inspections. One of the previous inspections occurred as a result of an employee’s hand being amputated by a power press.

Agency inspectors found that York Metal Toll Processing failed to:

•    Ensure electrical equipment used in a powder coat booth conformed to electrical standards.
•    Properly guard live electrical parts to prevent contact with energized circuits.
•    Safely remove powder coat via exhaust ducts to a powder recovery system.
•    Adequately train workers performing inspections and maintenance on power presses.
•    Inspect mechanical power presses.
•    Ensure lockout/tagout procedures were specific to equipment in the facility.
•    Perform annual lockout/tagout procedure inspections.
•    Train employees who wear respiratory equipment and provide medical evaluations to ensure that they can wear a respirator safely.
•    Provide proper ventilation for welders working in spaces less than 10,000 cubic feet.
•    Inspect steel slings used for hoisting.
•    Maintain passageways and aisles in passable condition.

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“York Metal Toll Processing has disregarded employee safety by failing to correct obvious electrical, crushing, and respiratory hazards, and also for allowing new and recurring hazards to exist,” said Chris Adams, OSHA’s area director in Syracuse. “For the safety and well-being of its employees, York Metal Toll Processing must recognize the severity of these hazards and correct them once and for all.”

As a result of the follow-up inspections, OSHA has issued York Metal Toll Processing citations for failure to abate fourteen previously cited violations, four repeat violations and three serious violations. The company faces proposed penalties of $218,502.

The citations can be viewed HERE, HERE, and HERE.


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