Cereal manufacturer faces $40k fine for worker safety violations
The US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said the firm exposed full-time and temporary workers to electrical, fall and noise hazards after an inspection at the cereal production facility in Macon, Georgia.
The agency initiated the December 2013 inspection because of a complaint.
With $39,900 in penalties, the serious safety and health violations include the employer's failure to provide permanent and temporary workers with training to protect themselves from moving machine parts during servicing and maintenance activities and for exposing workers to fall hazards.
The company failed to institute a monitoring and training program for occupational noise exposure to prevent permanent hearing loss from unsafe noise levels, said OSHA.
Other violations, with $700 in penalties, were cited for failure to conduct training for workers required to use powered industrial trucks and for not ensuring the required load safety data plates were intact and visible.
