"worker burned by molten metal, another had several fingers amputated"

On our travels through our industry we visit plants of all sizes. We have visited aluminium plants with thousands of workers. Where some plants have 10 workers. No matter the number of workers a company has the hazards are the same throughout our industry. We acknowledge that a large smelter has more molten metal than a die-caster leading one to believe the hazard is increased with the volume of metal on your premises. But, all you have to do is look upon our industries history of plants who were destroyed with less than 50 kg of molten metal that exploded. There are many. Here is a company for whatever reason fails to acknowledge the hazard of molten metals, as well as other hazards. Here is the recent story.

A company based in the Northwest USA that manufactures electronics mounting systems and other products is facing more than $250,000 in fines for multiple serious and willful worker safety and health violations at two worksites, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries said Wednesday.

Inspectors visiting undisclosed company sites found “numerous violations” during three separate inspections this year following an incident where a worker was burned by molten aluminum and another had to have several fingers amputated, the department said in a statement.

The inspections identified 26 total violations including multiple serious and willful violations collectively resulting in fines totaling $253,320, according to the department. It was not the first set of violations for the company, which is now listed as a “severe violator,” according to the statement.

“We’ve cited this employer before for several of these very serious hazards, but the company continues to put its workers at risk,” the department’s assistant director for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said in the statement.

The amputations, which involved several fingers of one worker, occurred in a facility where there were five trimming presses, each of which was in some sort of disrepair. Among other problems each machine had an emergency stop button that was either blocked, missing or in disrepair. Worn-out and unaligned springs that made the operator visually line up levers were a contributing factor in the injury, according to the statement.

The burn injury happened at another of the company’s facility where workers were carrying molten aluminum from one machine to another in ladles slung over their backs, and they were not wearing proper personal protection equipment, according to the statement.

Officials at the company could not immediately be reached for comment.

We pray that the injured workers recover fully. We acknowledge the worker(s) who had to have their finger(s) amputated will have a physical reminder for the rest of their lives of their incident. It is these incidents that leave physical scars that we talk so much about when we visit workers.

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