OSHA finds machine safety hazards, lead overexposure at steel plant

An Ohio automotive steel manufacturer is facing $279,578 in proposed penalties after investigators found workers at its Canton plant exposed to machine hazards and lead.

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators found “one maintenance worker suffered severe injuries after being struck by an unguarded machine, and at least seven workers were exposed to excessive levels of lead” at Canton, Ohio-based Republic Steel, the agency said Friday in a statement.

Subsequent OSHA investigations found that a 64-year-old maintenance worker suffered a fractured pelvis after being struck by a sail because lock-out devices were not affixed to the machine’s operating parts to stop movement during maintenance, and seven incidents of lead overexposure in the caster facility, the agency said in the statement. 

Republic Steel was cited for two repeated and five serious safety and health violations.
 
A Republic Steel spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.