OSHA Fines Tonawanda Coke $175k After Worker’s Death

The Buffalo, NY area office of the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing $175,200 in fines for the Tonawanda Coke Corp. facility in New York state after an investigation following the death of a worker there in January uncovered several violations, the agency announced by press release Thursday.

Of the eight citations by the agency, two were repeat violations and six were classified as “serious” violations. The recent investigation was prompted after an employee was pulled into a coal elevator’s rotating shaft and killed at the site on Jan. 6, 2016. The agency said that Tonawanda did not shut down the elevator or lock out its power source, which is required by OSHA’s hazardous energy-control, or “lockout/tagout,” standard.

“Training employees on lockout procedures and ensuring those procedures are used would have prevented this needless loss of a worker’s life,” said Michael Scime, area director of OSHA’s Buffalo area office. “Compounding this tragedy is the disturbing fact that OSHA cited Tonawanda Coke in the past for not following the requirements of the lockout standard. Yet, the company exposed both the victim and another employee who greased and lubricated plant equipment to these same hazards. This is unacceptable. It is Tonawanda Coke’s responsibility to eliminate these hazards once and for all and protect its employees.”

In its inspection, the agency said it determined that the facility failed to:

OSHA said it cited the company for similar violations in 2010 and 2014. Tonawanda Coke has 15 days after receipt of OSHA’s citations to meet with the agency’s area director, comply, or contest the violations before an independent commission.