Paint giant Sherwin-Williams may have to pay nearly $300,000 in fines after OSHA accused the company of safety violations that endangered employees.
The company has just over two weeks to contest the regulatory agency’s proposed $290,000 in penalties for nine citations.
A Garland police patrol car blocks traffic on South Shiloh Road at Forest Lane after a fire at a Sherwin-Williams paint plant in August.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is fining Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams more than $290,000 for safety violations at the paint giant’s Garland plant
OSHA said it found nine violations, including a repeat violation for not inspecting processing equipment like pipes, that exposed workers to hazards. The repeat violation alone may cost the company $161,310. The other eight violations are $16,131 each.“It is the responsibility of the employer to keep workers safe and to have a safety program in place to accomplish that,” Rodriguez said.
The August explosion at the South Shiloh Road plant injured at least one employee, OSHA said. Though the source of the explosion remains a mystery, a fire likely broke out toward the utility and resin manufacturing portion of the Garland plant,OSHA also said the company exposed its employees to explosion hazards by improperly storing chemicals, not developing or implementing safety instructions for operating certain devices and not providing refresher training every three years to employees..