Georgia, North Carolina Firms Cited by OSHA in Water Tower Death

Two companies — one based in Georgia, the other in North Carolina — have been cited for contributing to the conditions that led a worker to fall 90 feet to his death while working on a New Hampshire water tower in August.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Utility Services Inc. of Perry, Ga., and Bullins Painting Inc., which is based in Eden, N.C.

OSHA’s inspection found that the deceased worker’s employer, Bullins, failed to provide him with fall protection. The agency says the project’s general contractor, Utility Services, failed to inspect fall protection equipment before each use, protect vertical lifelines against cuts and abrasions, and provide a ladder cage or equivalent safeguard for tower access ladders.

Bullins Painting faces $187,800 in proposed fines while Utility Services Co. faces $93,000 in fines.