Ecore cited after OSHA inspection

An inspection by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) staff members of a Texas facility operated by Ecore International has resulted in 16 citations carrying a combined $299,000 in potential penalties.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Ecore makes recycled-content rubber flooring surfaces, including at the Mexia, Texas, plant visited by OSHA inspectors in January.

According to a news release issued by OSHA, inspectors found more than a dozen safety and health violations in Mexia, including seeing employees stand on a forklift’s elevated tines to perform work tasks.

Other citations issued involved Ecore’s alleged failure to prevent small fires fueled by improper buildup of combustible dust, thus permitting potentially explosive atmospheres to exist; a lack of safe areas for welding; exposing employees to slip, trip and fall hazards; allowing untrained workers to operate forklifts; and a failure to ensure some machines had required safety guards.

“Ecore International must extend the innovation it credits for its company’s success to the safety and health of the people who help make and sell its products,” says Monica Camacho OSHA area director in Austin, Texas.

OSHA has classified one citation as willful and 15 as serious violations.

In a separate investigation in May at a new Ecore facility in Ozark, Alabama, OSHA found similar machine guard hazards unchecked and employees exposed to potential electrocution and amputation dangers.

“A successful enterprise like Ecore International has the resources to establish and follow a comprehensive safety and health program and to address hazards proactively before disaster strikes,” Camacho says.

According to OSHA, Ecore has 15 business days from receipt of citations and penalties to either comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before an OSHA review commission.