The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Carson Helicopters Inc. for eight alleged serious violations, including exposing workers to hazards involving hexavalent chromium, at the company’s facility in Perkasie, Pa. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $40,500 after a December 2012 inspection of the facility was launched because of a complaint.
The serious violations include spray booths containing combustible floor lining; no air flow measuring devices or fire extinguisher systems present; exposure to hexavalent chromium above the permissible exposure limits; a lack of engineering controls to reduce exposures; and a lack of a medical program for workers exposed to hexavalent chromium, as well as a monitoring program for workers exposed to hexavalent chromium. The company also failed to ensure the use of proper respiratory protection for workers while painting; ensure there was a regulated area where exposure to hexavalent chromium was above the permissible exposure level; provide training on the hazards of hexavalent chromium exposure; provide storage areas separating street clothes from contaminated clothing; and keep eating and drinking areas free of hexavalent chromium.
Detailed information about the hazards involving hexavalent chromium can be found at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hexavalentchromium/index.html.
Carson Helicopters has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director in Allentown, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
