OSHA Fines NJ Aluminum Company $89K After Amputations

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Pennsauken, NJ aluminum company with three citations and a $89,390 fine on Sept. 23 stemming from two separate fingertip amputations and a thumb injury this Spring.

OSHA initiated an inspection of Aluminum Shapes LLC on Apr. 27 following the amputation of a worker’s fingertip while the employee was feeding aluminum pieces into a roll-forming machine, the federal agency said in an Oct. 5 press release. During the agency’s investigation, a worker suffered a thumb injury and another incident resulted in the amputation of an employee’s fingertip.

Aluminum Shapes was cited for a lack of machine guarding and a failure to report the amputation in the required timeframe. OSHA cited the New Jersey company for similar violation in May 2012 and March 2016.

“In 2015, our investigation found 44 safety violations at Aluminum Shapes’ facility including amputation hazards related to the lack of machine guarding. This employer has taken no action to protect its workers and serious and senseless injuries are the result. This is unacceptable,” the director of OSHA’s Marlton, NJ area office, Paula Dixon-Roderick, said in a statement.

Aluminum Shapes has 15 business days after the citation issue date to request a conference with the OSHA area director, contest the findings before an independent board, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, or comply with the penalties.

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