OSHA fines Montana highway contractor $225K for burns, fall

Dive Brief:

  • OSHA has cited a Montana highway contractor for 26 serious and two other violations and proposed fines totaling $225,425 in connection with an accident during which three employees sustained burns and one worker fell. The agency’s initial press release in April reported 23 serious violations and fines of $261,418.
  • The agency said three employees of Kalispell, Montana-based highway contractor Nelcon Inc. were burned at a mobile asphalt mixing plant in Laurel, Montana, when they poured cooler oil into a hot oil tank. One worker fell 15 feet and had to be hospitalized.
  • The violations that OSHA issued to Nelcon include failing to use fall protection systems and guard machinery; not providing sufficient personal protective equipment; failing to control hazardous energy; and not reporting a work-related incident leading to hospitalization within 24 hours.

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