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The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated Evraz Inc. NA, a steel making facility in Pueblo, CO on Feb. 16, 2016, in an inspection conducted under OSHA's National Emphasis Program for Amputations. The agency issued one repeat citation for not making repairs to overhead cranes promptly to ensure safe operations. The employer was cited for the same or similar citation on September, 2013 at its facility in Claymont, Delaware.
- Additionally, OSHA issued 10 serious citations to Evraz for failing to:
- Provide standard guardrails on open-sided floors and platforms 4 feet or more above a lower level.
- Keep portable fire extinguishers in their designated location when not in use.
- Provide bumper stops to stop rail cars from potentially rolling in a crosswalk or vehicular traffic.
- Fasten fixed ladders securely on overhead cranes.
- Ensure to fasten guards on overhead cranes' moving equipment securely in their designed place.
- Properly inspect the operation of overhead cranes.
- Inspect overhead cranes periodically.
- Ensure a properly sized safety latch on a link chain nest-hook.
- Clearly mark the functions on the pendent controller used to operate overhead cranes.
- Prohibit use of overhead cranes for side pulls.
- Put guards on sprocket wheels and chains.
The agency also identified and cited the Evraz for several electrical violations.
Proposed penalties after the inspection were $103,820. "Evraz needs to involve their workers in identifying and correcting hazardous conditions to ensure more effective safety and health management systems," said David Nelson, OSHA's Area Director in Englewood, Colorado. "Evraz needs to fix these hazards before someone is injured or worse."