Eye on OSHA: Visits Down in 2nd Quarter 2011
Inspections of stone companies by the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) continue to decline through this year’s second quarter.
The one-third drop from April-June 2010 continues the trend of fewer inspections of stone shops seen in this year’s first quarter.
An exclusive Stone Update analysis of OSHA data reveals 46 inspections of stone shops from April-June, a drop of one-third from the 69 inspections for the same time in 2010. Inspectors wrote up 156 total violations in second quarter 2011, down 45.2% from last year.
Of the 34 shops cited for violations, four received write-ups for respiratory issues connected with silica-dust exposure (up from two in second quarter 2010). Inspectors noted 30 total exposures among the four locations.
Current OSHA penalties for stone companies in this year’s second quarter totaled $146,652.25, bucking the downhill trend with a 5.5% increase from the same tine last year. The final total for last year’s second quarter is actually larger — $184,504 – but the total includes $46,800 in failure-to-abate (FTA) assessed later.
OSHA by the Numbers
April-June 2011
NAICS 327991 (Cut stone and stone product manufacturing)
Number of inspections: 46
Inspections with violations: 35
Companies not found/inactive: 7
Planned inspections: 21
Follow-up inspections: 7
Referral inspections: 5
Complaint inspections: 9
Accident/Monitoring inspections: 2
Total violations cited: 156
Largest number of violations at one inspection: 13
Silica respiratory violation sites: 4
Silica case exposures (total): 30
Initial fines: $230,045
Current fines: $146,652.25
States with inspections: 21
Top five states (number of inspections): Florida, New York (6); California, North Carolina, Virginia (4).
Eye on OSHA is an ongoing Stone Update review of inspection reports from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), operating under the federal Department of Labor. Not all violations entail fines; pending fines may be lowered or dropped if conditions are remedied or upon appeal. Source of data: OSHA databases.
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