OSHA Cites Texas Steel Company for Ongoing Safety Hazards
Kyoei Steel, the operator of Vinton Steel LLC, faces $269,631 in penalties for repeat and serious safety violations.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Jul 16, 2024
In a follow-up inspection, OSHA has once again identified severe safety hazards at Vinton Steel LLC, a Texas-based steel fabrication and recycling facility operated by Kyoei Steel LTD.
According to a recent release, OSHA conducted the inspection in January 2024, two years after initially placing the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. The facility, located in El Paso, Texas, was previously cited in April 2022 for 19 serious violations, which came with $364,078 in proposed penalties. These citations were part of a broader pattern of safety lapses, including 10 workplace incidents over five years, five of which involved employee amputations.
This latest inspection resulted in proposed penalties of $269,631 for five repeat and two serious violations. OSHA uncovered continued risks such as failing to keep workers clear of loads lifted by slings and not maintaining slings in proper working order. Additionally, inspectors noted improper machine guarding and a failure to ensure fire extinguishers were fully charged and maintained. Other significant hazards included the lack of fit testing for workplace respirators and incomplete medical evaluations to determine employees' ability to use respirators.
“Vinton Steel continues to show a callous disregard for the safety of its employees by exposing them to potentially deadly hazards,” OSHA Area Director Diego Alvarado Jr. in El Paso, Texas, said in a statement. “The company must immediately stop endangering its workers and correct its safety failures before someone gets seriously injured or worse.”
Kyoei Steel LTD—headquartered in Osaka, Japan—operates Vinton Steel LLC. It now has 15 business days from the receipt of the citation and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before an independent commission.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.