Drilling Company Cited for Repeat Violations
Jay-Bee Oil & Gas Inc. was cited for the same ones at the same gas well drilling site in 2010, according to OSHA.
Following an inspection that began with a referral by a member of Congress, OSHA has cited Cairo, W.Va.-based Jay-Bee Oil & Gas Inc. for 10 repeat, three serious, and four other-than-serious workplace safety violations at a natural gas well drilling site in Salem, W.Va., with proposed penalties of $73,150.
Joanna Hawkins of the OSHA Office of Public Affairs confirmed congressional referrals are rare.
The company's corporate offices are in Union, N.J.
"This company's failure to correct previously cited violations means that it continues to place workers in harm's way," said Prentice Cline, director of OSHA's Charleston Area Office. "It is vital that the company address these hazards to protect its employees."
According to the agency, the repeat violations are the same ones with which the company was sited at the Salem site in 2010: tripping hazards; lack of guardrails or barricades around pits; lack of guarding on open-sided floors and platforms; lack of stair railings on the open sides of stairways; failing to provide first aid training to employees; failing to provide eyewash stations for employees handling corrosive materials; not properly mounted portable fire extinguishers; failing to provide portable fire extinguisher training to employees; not properly training powered industrial truck operators; and not properly training employees handling and exposed to hazardous materials.
The serious violations involve fall hazards, not properly labeling hazmat containers, MSDSs not readily accessible, and failing to provide and ensure the use of flame-retardant clothing.