Washington agency cites Waste Connections, staffing agency for safety violations

The State of Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has cited and fined the waste management company Waste Connections Inc. of Washington-Clark County, and the staffing agency Leadpoint Business Services, Phoenix, for multiple safety violations at Waste Connections’ West Vancouver Material Recovery Center.

The facility is staffed by Waste Connections and contracted workers have been provided by Leadpoint
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On January 28, 2015, the L&I formally cited Leadpoint with 22 serious safety violations and fined the company $77,600. Waste Connections was cited for 23 serious violations and fined $100,000. The state department says that many of the violations centered on unsafe entry and work in confined spaces.

The investigation began in July 2014 after a Leadpoint worker was hospitalized from injuries received while performing maintenance on a “screen sorter,” which is used to sort and separate various recyclables. The investigation found that workers regularly worked in and around moving machinery and equipment at the facility.

In a statement, the L&I notes that working in and around energized or hydraulic equipment requires “lock-out/tag-out,” safety procedure that ensures employees are not hurt by the unexpected startup of machinery during service and maintenance. Both employers were cited for seven lock-out/tag-out violations.

Additionally, the investigation found that workers were entering various “permit-required confined spaces” daily with no controls in place for ensuring their safety. Permit-required confined space hazards exist in the facility’s sort screens, conveyors, manholes, tanks, vaults and garbage trucks. Waste Connections and Leadpoint were cited for more than a dozen serious violations related to failure to implement safe work practices for entering a permit-required confined space.

Both employers also were cited for an additional violation for not protecting workers from exposure to falls while working on unguarded, open-sided work surfaces up to 9 feet high.

Waste Connections and Leadpoint were given 15 working days to appeal the citation. Penalty money paid as a result of a citation is placed in the workers’ compensation supplemental pension fund, helping workers and families of those who have died on the job.

A spokeswoman for Waste Connections says the company will appeal the decision and refused any further comment.