OSHA Orders Safety Measures
Feature Story by Michelle Russell - 1/17/2002
OSHA Orders Safety MeasuresBoston, January 15--The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it has cited Kayem Foods Inc. for failing to meet safety standards at its Chelsea plant. The citations resulted in a fine of $16,500.
Penalties were issued for failing to properly guard dangerous machinery, permitting workers to use unsafe equipment, and for not providing certain safety equipment, such as goggles and hearing plugs. OSHA is allowing the company until March 5 to comply with the issued safety standards.
The Massachusetts Coalition for Safety and Health (MassCosh) called OSHA’s citation of the Chelsea plant “a victory” for the large number of immigrant workers employed there. MassCosh revealed yesterday that through interviews with several of these workers, it was learned that several had lost fingers and hands and were exposed to hazardous working conditions on a daily basis.
Kayem Foods, Inc. denied that the injuries suffered by its workers’ were caused by unsafe equipment. Scott Farmelant, a spokesman for the company, explained: “Any incident involving injury to an employee was not caused by faulty or dangerous equipment but by improper use of the equipment and failure to follow established guidelines.'' Farmelant went on to state that Kayem has already ameliorated three-quarters of the complaints OSHA brought against the company and is expecting to address all of the safety issues by March 5.
