OSHA has proposed $683,000 fine to Mueller Industries subsidiaries for allegedly exposing its employees to safety and health hazards.
The company received a total of 128 citations. OSHA has given them 15 days to contest these violations.
The investigation started after a worker of Mueller Copper Tube was killed and two other employees were injured when a flammable substance leaked and ignited from an electric pump.
Out of the 128 violations, 90 were against Mueller Copper Tube, a subsidiary of Mueller Industries in Fulton, MS. They were issued willful, repeat and serious citations. Some of the violations are:
- Failure to guard machinery
- Exposure to electrical shock
- Unsafe electrical equipment and practices
- Failure to label hazardous chemicals.
 The total fine to Mueller Copper Tube is $413,000.
Other citations were issued to Mueller fittings. Some of the violations are unsafe propane storage and handling, unsafe material storage and likelihood of exposure to blood-borne pathogens.
Mueller Packaging also received citations for unsafe crane operation, failure to lock out source of hazardous energy and electrical hazards.
Mueller Industries’ headquarters is located in Memphis, TN. The company owns and operates 20 facilities located in eight states and two foreign countries.
wow thats a huge amount. Companies should have a good OHS and Risk Management systems to avoid problems like this one.
If an OSHA inspector spent 5 months at your site, looking for things wrong, what issues might they find?
I’d venture to say that very few companies could stand that kind of scrutiny.
Don’t know if this happened with Mueller, but it did with us. We had a good safety program, but after spending that much time on the site, and interviewing all of our employees, at least 3 time each, he also brought in a second inspector (Industrial Hygienist) to help for a couple days, they found enough to fine us heavily.
Example: We received a Willful based soley on a statememt by one of our employees. We weren’t allowed to know which employee made the claim. How do you defend yourself against something that most likely never happened?
The new mandate is “More citations and higher penalties.”
Before pointing fingers at companies like Mueller Industries, as a bad player, realize that you may be next. Is your program really as good as you think it is?
Instead of feeling distain for other victims, you should be feeling fear for yourself.
Howard, I do want to point out that all companies are given a 15-day period to contest the violations, as was the case with Mueller industries above. Did you contest the violations? What proof was given by OSHA to support the violation given to you based on the employees word?
In the industry, Managers & supervisers have to be on the floor of the house all the time to ensure safety of operations, safe operation of machines with legal safety distance & safe working space,cleanliness & safety of gases & cylinders with legal labeling & blending if any must be under extremely safe distance with emergency relief available. All workforce should know the safety plans & exits in case of emergency & remedies available & places of medical first aid kits & the people trained for first aid. Govt penalties are not the solutions, it is precautions taken & measures adopted as given in the guidelines mentioned in OSHA & manufacturers warning labelled on the chemicals with anticedot treatment immediately.Prevention is always cheaper than cure as well human & social survival to keep the morale of the workforce & image of the organization & management.