Lead Exposure at Ohio Workplace Costs Company $126,700

An Ohio-based glass company has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for 15 health violations. The company’s projected fines total $126,700.

The violations were detected by OSHA following a complaint stating that workers were not provided with adequate protective equipment and were being exposed lead.

The company was fined with 13 serious violations, including failure to administer engineering and work practices to reduce lead exposure; failure to record exposure levels to cadmium; failures to provide clean changing rooms and storage facilities for protective work clothing; and failure to provide medical surveillance for lead exposure. Other serious violations included dry sweeping lead, noise overexposure, lack of hazard communication procedures, and failure to provide adequate protective equipment for glass, lead, and cadmium.

According to OSHA, a serious violation occurs when there is a great chance that serious physical harm or death could result from a hazard of which employers were or should have been aware.

Exposure to lead at high levels, either through inhalation or ingestion, can cause serious health effects, including damage to the nervous system, kidneys, organs, and reproductive system.

“The health hazards caused by lead can be severe in otherwise healthy adults, especially those who suffer repeated occupational exposure at the workplace,” states Shannon Kauffman, Metals Laboratory Supervisor at EMSL Analytical, Inc. “EMSL Analytical offers fast results for accredited heavy metal testing, including lead, at locations across the country.”

For more information on EMSL’s testing services, please contact EMSL at (800) 220-3675, visit www.EMSL.com, or email  info@EMSL.com .

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical, Inc. is a full service testing company providing quality lab services under the same private ownership since 1981. Including the corporate lab facility in Cinnaminson, NJ, EMSL Analytical operates over thirty laboratories nationwide in the U.S. and Canada. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations, as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

Contact Information

Joseph Frasca

Senior Vice President of Marketing

EMSL Analytical

(1) 1-800-220-3675

jfrasca@emsl.com