Cal/OSHA tags LA-area recycling businesses

Cal/OSHA tags LA-area recycling businesses

By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling

A workers' safety agency in California has cited a Los Angeles-based recycling company and two other associated businesses with three dozen safety violations.

The California Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) cited American Reclamation, Inc., its subsidiary, South Coast Fibers, Inc. and their staffing agency, Steno Employment Services, Inc., with 36 safety violations the agency alleges put more than 60 sorters, drivers, helpers and mechanics at risk while on the job. The citations issued against the companies total $38,895 in penalties.

The agency's investigation was triggered last November by a complaint that alleged workers were being put in unsafe conditions by the companies.

One of the citations issued to American Reclamation, Inc., and two to South Coast Fibers, Inc., were for violations of Cal/OSHA standards on confined space entry procedures. Cal/OSHA has a special focus on confined space hazards this year to prevent worker deaths and serious injuries. Last year, seven workers died in California while working in confined spaces without an appropriate written safety plan, adequate training and supervision.

Of the violations assessed by Cal/OSHA, five were "serious," meaning that there was a reasonable possibility that death or serious physical harm could result from the working conditions at the facility. The serious violations assessed by the agency included a failure to follow a written program to prevent workers' entry into machinery before the energy is shut off, an unsafe work platform raised on a fork lift and various unguarded pieces of machinery that could lead to amputations and other significant injuries.

The investigation also revealed multiple violations for the three employers which included no permit-required confined space entry programs, no heat illness prevention training, no drinking water for drivers and helpers in the field, and an inadequate injury and illness prevention program.

American Reclamation could not be reached for comment by press time.

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