he U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited two contractors – Enerfab Process Solutions & Fabricated Products Inc. and Industrial Services Group Inc. – for exposing employees to fall hazards after a fatal injury at a Delaware Port of Wilmington worksite in January.
The companies face $687,619 in penalties.
Employees of Enerfab Process Solutions & Fabricated Products Inc. and Industrial Services Group Inc. – doing business as Universal Blastco – were renovating a 1.5 million gallon above ground storage tank at an orange juice processing facility in Port of Wilmington when a Blastco employee fell 40 feet from a scaffold.
OSHA issued willful citations to both companies for hazards involving scaffolding and lack of fall protection as well as serious citations for electrical, confined space, and respiratory protection violations.
“Falls continue to be the leading cause of worker fatalities in the construction industry, yet they are preventable when the proper fall protection is utilized,” said OSHA Area Director Erin Patterson, Wilmington. “Employers have a legal responsibility to protect workers from falls, and neither company met their obligations in this case.”
Both companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed 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. Enerfab plans to contest the ruling.
