A campground in upstate New York has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for exposing their employees to electrical hazards from damaged and rusty electrical equipment and equipment that was still electrically active when employees were servicing the equipment.

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. is the operator of the Alpine Lake RV Resort in Corinth, New York. They operate other vacation areas throughout the country. An investigation on the worksite resulted in two willful violations of workplace safety measures, and seven serious violations. Willful violations means the employee knew that there were probably hazards presented to their employees and the employer did not try to correct those hazards. The company is facing $187,000 in fines.

The company received a serious violation for exposing employees to damaged and rusty electrical boxes that could have harmed them if they were servicing them. They also received a serious violation for improperly labeling circuit breakers, so employees did not know which switch corresponded to which box when they were turning off the power to boxes in order to work on them safely. Markings that were on field boxes were done in marker which had begun to fade off. These boxes are out in the open and so the company needed to have a better system for marking them that would withstand the elements. Employees were not trained in safe electrical work practices nor were they provided with the proper electrical protective equipment like gloves or face shields.

The company received a willful citation for improperly using electrical equipment and overloading circuits in their field boxes so that they constantly tripped and had to be reset. They received a second willful citation for failing de-energize or lock out electrical equipment while employees were using it.

Workers were exposed to hazards from about 30 faulty electric field boxes. OSHA has an electrical safety resource booklet that encourages employers to learn about electrical hazards and how they can be prevented.

“These employees were knowingly exposed to electrical hazards that could have burned, shocked, disabled or killed them. They lacked the basic training, personal protective equipment and safeguards necessary to protect them,” said the OHSA Albany area director Robert Garvey. “This employer must take prompt and effective steps to address and eliminate all these hazards before workers are harmed.”