U.S. Department of Labor Finds Mississippi Concrete Products Manufacturer and Distributor Ignored Safety Measures
OSHA proposes $118K in penalties for Mississippi Limestone Corp. after worker’s death.
- By Shereen Hashem
- Oct 26, 2021
An employer at a Drummonds, TN worksite ignored federal workplace requirements leading to the death of a 67-year-old worker in April 2021, an OSHA investigation found. Investigators determined the employee of Mississippi Limestone Corp., a Friars Point, Mississippi concrete products manufacturer and distributor, was trying to repair a rock hopper of a mobile concrete plant when he became engulfed in rock. OSHA cited the company for not evaluating the workplace to determine that spaces were permit-required confined spaces. Investigators also found the company failed to establish a written permit space program for workers, did not provide employees with adequate training and failed to implement an energy control program for workers conducting maintenance on the plant.
In addition, OSHA cited Mississippi Limestone Corp. for willfully exposing workers to fall hazards by not installing a stair rail system on the open side of the batch plant. Mississippi Limestone also failed to train and evaluate each powered industrial truck operator and to remove unsafe vehicles from service as required, according to a press release. Mississippi Limestone faces $118,200 in proposed penalties.
"Mississippi Limestone's failure to comply with safety and health requirements exposed workers to life-threatening hazards that led to the loss of a man's life," said OSHA Area Director William Cochran in Nashville, Tennessee. "Putting workers' safety and health in jeopardy should never be an option. OSHA will hold employers accountable and ensure they meet their legal obligation to protect workers on the job."
In addition to the citations for Mississippi Limestone, OSHA issued a notice to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with one serious violation for exposing workers to amputation, asphyxiation and crushing hazards by failing to ensure confined space entry was allowed only through compliance with a permit-required confined space program. A notice for a second serious violation was issued to the Corps for failing to ensure outside personnel were informed of their respective energy control procedures. Based in Friars Point, Mississippi Limestone Corp. manufactures concrete products and distributes limestone, sand and gravel. The company performs contract-based concrete product manufacturing for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain supplies of articulated concrete mattresses, used for erosion control in connection with the Mississippi River Corps of Engineers Channel Improvement program.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent OSHRC.
About the Author
Shereen Hashem is the Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety magazine.