OSHA Cites Copper Manufacturer for Safety Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited three subsidiaries of Mueller Industries, based in Memphis, Tenn., for safety and health violations. The agency has proposed $683,000 in penalties.

OSHA has cited the company’s Fulton, Miss., facilities for a total of 128 citations for a host of problems that the agency claims exposed workers to a myriad of safety and health hazards.

Mueller owns and operates 20 facilities in eight states and two countries.

OSHA began its investigation last July after a fatality at the plant caused by the leak of a flammable liquid that caused an explosion.

The citations included the following:

·         Mueller Copper Tube was given a citation with a penalty of $40,000 that alleges the failure to repair a corroded live electrical disconnect, which exposed workers to electrical shock.

·         10 repeat citations, with penalties totaling $150,000, were given over alleged failure to guard machinery; unsafe electrical equipment and practices; and failure to label hazardous chemicals.

·         69 serious citations, with proposed penalties of $223,500, allege unsafe cranes; fall hazards; unsafe ladders; blocked and inadequate exits; unsafe flammable liquid and compressed gas use and storage; locking out hazardous energy sources during maintenance and service; a lack of machine guards; unsafe electrical equipment and practices; and failure to establish a respiratory protection program.

Initial safety inspection at Mueller Cooper Tube was expanded to include Mueller Fittings LLC and Mueller Packaging LLC, two more subsidiaries. Mueller Fittings has been issued 22 citations, with penalties of $64,000, alleging the failure to lock out energy sources, unsafe propane storage and handling, overexposure to noise, unsafe material storage and the likelihood of exposure to pathogens.

Eight repeat citations also have been issued, with penalties of $102,500, alleging a lack of machine guarding, electrical hazards and the inadequate labeling of hazardous chemicals.

Mueller Packaging has been issued 12 serious citations, with penalties of $28,000, alleging unsafe crane operation, failing to lock out sources of hazardous energy, hazardous chemical exposures, and overexposure to noise; five repeat citations, with penalties of $75,000, alleging an unsafe forklift modification, electrical hazards and inadequate labeling under the hazard communication standard; and one other-than-serious violation, with no penalty, for an electrical deficiency.