Safety Board: Employer Ignored Safety Recommendations After Deadly Explosion
- The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board said Columbus, Ohio-based Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers has not acted on or meaningfully answered any of the five safety recommendations it issued after an April 2021 explosion and fire at its resin plant. The blast killed one employee and injured eight, and the CSB first sent the recommendations in December 2023.
- The CSB said it sent follow-up letters Feb. 5 and Sept. 10 and received no reply, even after Yenkin-Majestic pleaded guilty in September to a federal charge tied to the disaster. CSB Executive Director of Investigations and Recommendations Stephen Klejst said the unresponsiveness “seems to demonstrate a serious disregard for the safety of the company’s workers.”
- The CSB said the explosion resulted from a reactor manway cover that was not properly designed, built or tested, along with lapses in basic safety protocols. Investigators also found serious problems with emergency planning, inadequate training and no effective alarm system to warn staff to evacuate. Injuries included burns, fractures and one worker losing a leg after being trapped under debris.
- CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said most companies willingly implement the board’s recommendations, unlike Yenkin-Majestic/OPC Polymers. The CSB does not issue fines. It investigates serious chemical incidents and makes recommendations.
Indiana OSHA Cites County Over Safety Violation at Justice Building
- The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a $3,000 penalty against Monroe County and cited it for a serious chemical-safety violation at the Justice Building in Bloomington, after finding the county lacked a written hazard-communication program for employees handling hazardous chemicals. The agency issued the order Oct. 15 and set Nov. 12 as the deadline to correct the violation.
- IOSHA said the failure exposed employees to potential severe skin burns, eye damage, permanent visual loss and respiratory tract discomfort. It said penalties for public-sector entities are deferred while it awaits evidence of corrective action, and that missing the deadline could lead to a follow-up inspection and collection of the deferred penalty.
- The inspection followed seven complaints, including one alleging that jail staff’s use of drain cleaner Aug. 4 caused a strong rotten-egg smell and symptoms such as headaches, gagging, vomiting and difficulty breathing among employees throughout the building. IOSHA wrote that appropriate employee training “may have prevented the 8/4 incident from occurring.”
- IOSHA also issued a non-serious citation, with no proposed penalty, for failing to provide complete injury logs within four business hours; the county corrected it during the inspection. It issued no orders over flood cleanup, sewage odors or drain cleaner storage, but recommended steps to keep water out of electrical enclosures after an Aug. 17 light fixture sparked, and additional eyewash stations.
Survey Highlights Growing Safety Issues in Fisheries Sector
- A survey by SINTEF Ocean and NTNU found 85% of Norwegian aquaculture employees who work on service vessels had close calls in the last two years, as did 66% of all respondents in fish farming, shipping, service vessel operation and supplier companies. The survey covered 1,962 employees in those sectors and 349 employees in salmon slaughterhouses and processing plants.
- About two out of three employees in fish farming and related sectors worry the working environment could harm their health, and almost half worry about being exposed to a workplace accident. Respondents also cited inadequate maintenance leading to poorer safety, production taking precedence over safety and pressure to work in ways that could threaten safety. A union official said the survey shows no significant improvement from 2023.
- In the first survey of slaughterhouse and processing employees, 71% worry the working environment could harm their health, 42% reported near misses and 42% said production takes precedence over safety. Almost four in 10 said they are not involved in risk assessments or equipment purchases.
- A separate interview-based study identified the riskiest aquaculture operations, such as delousing, often involve several employers with widely variating procedures. Researchers cited pressure to carry out operations, inadequate staffing, high turnover, insufficient training and challenges with vessels, equipment and working hours as ongoing safety risks.