Florida Company Cited in Burn Case
"This owner's intentional disregard of the manufacturers' safety instructions and failure to take proper safety measures resulted in serious injuries to an employee," said OSHA Jacksonville Area Office Director Michelle Gonzalez.
OSHA announced recently it has cited L.A. Disaster Relief and Property Maintenance LLC after an employee suffered burn injuries at a McDavid, Fla., work site in July 2018. The property maintenance and land clearing company located in Interlachen, Fla., faces $94,415 in penalties.
OSHA's citations in the case are a serious violation of the Hazard Communication standard, for not developing, implementing, or maintain a written HazCom program; a willful violation of the OSHA General Duty Clause for not furnishing a place of employment safe from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm, in this case, not ensuring that workers who ignite air burners did not use combustible materials such as gasoline; and an other-than-serious violation of the PPE standard, for not conducting a hazard assessment to determine whether PPE would be required for employees exposed to burn hazards.
OSHA reported that its investigators determined the company's owner directed the injured employee to ignite wood and debris inside an air burn box using a torch and gasoline, which caused an explosion.
"This owner's intentional disregard of the manufacturers' safety instructions and failure to take proper safety measures resulted in serious injuries to an employee," said OSHA Jacksonville Area Office Director Michelle Gonzalez.