OSHA fines Park Stein Inc.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued citations June 3, 2016, to Park Stein Inc., a scrap recycler in Clifton, New Jersey, for what it says is several federal violations. 

The citations follow an inspection carried out Dec. 4, 2015, when the city of Clifton reported potential hazards at the facility.

The agency cited the recycler for the following violations:

• lack of adequate respiratory program; 
• failure to properly store compressed gas cylinders; and 
• lack of proper hearing conservation program.

The recycler allegedly also operated an improperly maintained front-end loader, which exposed employees to struck-by hazards, OSHA says. 

“Park Stein’s regular use of a front-end loader that was so poorly maintained as to create a hazard to its employees reflects a willful lack of regard for the safety of employees at the facility,” says Lisa Levy, director of OSHA’s Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. “Inspectors documented many repeated violations at Park Stein that meet the requirements for OSHA’s Severe Violator’s Enforcement Program. The agency created the program for recalcitrant employers who demonstrate indifference to the health and safety of their employees through willful, repeated or failure to-abate violations of the OSH Act.”

Park Stein has been cited for 16 safety and health violations, with proposed penalties totaling $121,660, OSHA reports.