Steel Manufacturer Fined $206,000 for Recordkeeping Violations
The willful violations address the company’s failure, from 2007 to 2010, to record standard threshold shifts on the OSHA 300 Log when employees’ hearing tests revealed that they experienced a work-related STS and the employees’ total hearing level was 25 decibels or more above audiometric zero.
OSHA has cited AK Steel Corp. for recordkeeping violations related to potential hearing hazards at its Butler Works facility in Butler, Pa. Proposed penalties total $206,000.
OSHA initiated an inspection on Dec. 3, 2010, in response to a complaint alleging under-recording of injuries from 2007 through 2010. Inspectors cited AK Steel Corp. with four willful violations carrying a penalty of $200,000, and six other-than-serious violations with a penalty of $6,000.
“Accurate injury and illness records are vital to protecting workers’ health and safety,” said Robert Szymanski, director of OSHA’s area office in Pittsburgh, Pa. “They are an important tool that employers and workers can use to identify hazards in the workplace, and they also enable OSHA to better target its resources.”
The willful violations address the company’s failure, from 2007 to 2010, to record standard threshold shifts on the OSHA 300 Log when employees’ hearing tests revealed that they experienced a work-related STS and the employees’ total hearing level was 25 decibels or more above audiometric zero.
The other-than-serious violations are due to the company’s failure to properly record other work-related injuries and illnesses occurring in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
The Butler Works facility produces specialty steels and has 1,500 employees. AK Steel Corp., based in West Chester, Ohio, operates facilities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.