Ill. Printer Written Up with $56,000 Fine

A Broadview, Illinois, printing company is facing $56,000 in fines proposed by the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) following an April 2004 inspection that the agency alleges revealed willful workplace safety hazards.

OSHA opened its investigation at Modern Printing Colors Inc., following notification by the Broadview Police Department of a fatality at the worksite when an employee was caught by the rotating shaft of a high speed mixer. OSHA has issued alleged willful violations for failure to guard the exposed shaft and failure to train employees on performing lockout/tagout.

“Modern Printing Colors Inc. had experienced a fatality in 2001 at their former facility in Elk Grove Village, Ill.,” said OSHA Area Director Gary Anderson, Calumet City. “Continuing problems with machinery lockout/tagout hazards and the need to properly guard machinery must be addressed at the facility for the welfare of the roughly 25 employees working there.”

The company has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to appeal before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.