Brooklyn Company Cited in Worker's Heat-Related Death
OSHA has cited Cooper Tank and Welding Corp for several alleged violations in connection with the death.
OSHA has cited Brooklyn-based Cooper Tank and Welding Corp (doing business as Cooper Tank Recycling) for eight alleged health and safety violations, according to a news release from the agency. One of the recycling company's alleged violations was connected to the death of a worker due to heat-related stress, according to OSHA.
The worker in question, age 64, had been working for several hours on a conveyor line sorting and recycling waste as he was being exposed to "excessive ambient heat stemming from environmental sources and the heat generated by recycling machinery," the release states, saying he suffered from heat illness and then died. OSHA's subsequent investigation found that the facility failed to inform and train workers on symptoms, prevention, and treatment of heat-related illnesses, and the company also failed to provide temperature control in the work area or to implement a work/rest regimen.
The other citations allege that the company exposed workers to falls of 20 to 40 feet due to unguarded wall openings, missing guardrails, and lack of fall protection equipment; electrocution hazards, laceration hazards, and amputation hazards also were cited. The company faces $40,500 in proposed fines.