The United State’s Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined a metal heat treatment company in Bowling Green, Ohio for exposing their employees to severe workplace hazards.

Dowa THT America Inc. exposed employees to atmospheric, thermal, electrical and mechanical hazards as they performed maintenance inside heat-treating furnaces. They are facing $1,326,367 in proposed penalties and will be placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

The company received 25 willful, serious and other-than serious violations related to confined spaces, falls, machine guarding, respiratory protections, chemical exposures and electrical equipment.

The employer failed to ensure that each employee on a walking-working surface was protected from fall hazards. They did not inform employees of the dangers of confined spaces and did not develop and implement procedures necessary for safe permit space entry operations. They received a willful violation for failing to isolate permit spaces and one for failing to implement necessary procedures to eliminate and control atmospheric hazards.

View the full list of citations here.

“The violations identified exposed employees to serious, and potentially life-threatening injuries and illnesses,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt. “Employers have a legal obligation to assess their workplaces for hazards, and establish appropriate safety and health programs to protect their workers.”

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