Is Big Government coming down

unfairly on a Fayetteville business?

The U.S. Labor Department's

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Fayetteville's

Brent Scarborough and Company for repeatedly and willfully exposing employees

to trenching hazards. The agency is proposing $75,000 in total penalties.

But Frank James, who is Scarborough's

safety director, said everything is not as it seems.

OSHA officials said they began

an inspection Oct. 1, after an inspector observed workers installing sewer

pipes in a 12-foot-deep, improperly shored trench at a Newnan subdivision

construction site. The agency has a national emphasis program that allows

immediate inspection of a site when trenching hazards are observed.

"Unprotected trenches

can collapse without warning, trapping or killing workers, and employers

must take steps to protect workers and prevent such incidents," said

Andre Richards, OSHA's Atlanta-West area director.

James said the company was

working at the subdivision site with a pre-existing manhole and did indeed

dig a trench.

But the foreman went to get

the trench box to place in the 12-foot deep trench and told everybody

"to stay out," James said.

"One of the workers jumped

down in the hole, and was immediately ordered out," James explained.

"The worker jumped back

out, and that's when OSHA pulled up and saw footprints in the trench,"

he said.

James said the worker was wrong

to get in the trench, and said the company is actively appealing the proposed

penalties.

"We have had no reportable

injuries in the last three years and we're one of the three safest

contractors in the state," James said.

Scarborough's company

received one willful citation with a proposed penalty of $50,000 for allegedly

failing to adequately and properly slope a trench. OSHA officials said

the company had received several citations previously at other construction

sites for similar violations.

The agency also issued one

repeat citation with a proposed penalty of $25,000 for alleged failure

to have a designated competent person inspect the trench and surrounding

area to be sure that adequate protection systems were in place before

allowing workers to enter.

An inspection would have shown

the condition of the soil, recently excavated areas near the trench, and

the lack of proper shoring and sloping, all factors that lead to cave-ins.

OSHA issues a willful citation

when an employer has intentional disregarded or shown plain indifference

to the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

A repeat citation is issued when an employer has been cited previously

for a substantially similar condition and the citation has become a final

order of the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The company has 15 working

days to contest the recent citations and proposed penalties before the

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Inspection of the Newnan Crossings

work site was conducted by OSHA's Atlanta-West area office located

in Smyrna. Richards pointed out that the area office has a compliance

assistance program, separate from its enforcement program, to help employers

comply with trenching and excavation standards.

OSHA is dedicated to assuring

workers' safety and health. Safety and health add value to business,

the workplace and life. For more information, visit the agency website

at www.osha.gov.

Back

to News Home Page |