On July 5, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced citations for violations at a Greencastle, Pennsylvania, Dollar General store the agency had cited a year earlier. OSHA is seeking new penalties totaling $136,741.
Responding to a complaint, the agency began an inspection at the store on December 28, 2021, and found conditions similar to those for which the company has received numerous citations at locations throughout the country. OSHA cited the store with two repeat violations for blocked and constricted exit routes—the same violations the agency cited in June 2021.
OSHA inspectors found the Greencastle store staged excessive amounts of merchandise in the store’s aisles and stockroom.
Since 2017, the agency has issued numerous repeat and willful citations at Dollar General locations nationwide. Inspectors have cited violations related to obstructed exit routes and blocked portable fire extinguishers and electrical panels. According to the agency, Dollar General Corp.’s director of risk management, Adam Zager, has signed settlement agreements on several occasions, promising to resolve similar violations at the company’s stores.
“Dollar General Corp. has a substantial history of the same violations and hazards found at its stores all over the country,” Kevin T. Chambers, OSHA’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, area director, said in an agency statement. “Their repeated failures to correct these violations must end before an emergency leads to a tragedy.”
Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General Corp. operates more than 18,000 stores in 46 states, according to the agency.
OSHA seeks $400K penalty from Texas manufacturer
On July 1, OSHA announced it is seeking $400,902 in penalties for 1 willful and 25 serious violations after a temporary worker suffered serious injuries after being struck by a large mold at a Sulfur Springs, Texas, concrete polymer manufacturing company.
The agency learned that a similar injury had occurred at Armorock LLC’s facility in March 2021 on the same platform where employees fill molds with resin.
“Armorock LLC’s willingness to ignore hazards that previously caused a worker’s injury is difficult to understand,” Basil Singh, OSHA’s Dallas area director, said in an agency statement. “Employers are legally obligated to provide a safe workplace for all employees, including temporary workers.”
OSHA inspectors also determined that the employer’s poor housekeeping exposed workers to airborne concentrations of respirable crystalline silica, which put workers at increased risk of serious silica-related diseases, including silicosis, an incurable lung disease that can lead to disability and death; lung cancer; and chronic obstructive pulmonary or kidney disease.
In addition to the lack of machine guards and silica exposure, the company was cited for:
- Failing to provide proper machine guarding on a rotating table used to pour concrete into the molds,
- Exposing workers to slip and trip hazards in the production area,
- Failing to provide adequate energy control procedures or sufficient lockout/tagout devices,
- Failing to provide the correct respirators and not performing annual fit testing on employees,
- Not making eyewash stations available in some areas where they may be needed,
- Not implementing a process safety management program, and
- Using slings compromised with concrete buildup to lift large objects.
According to the agency, Armorock LLC has about 100 employees who manufacture concrete polymer manholes and other wastewater structures at its Sulphur Springs, Texas; Boulder City, Nevada; and Plant City, Florida, facilities.