A Chambersburg excavation company has been cited for failing to protect its employees by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The employees in question were working in an excavation for installing a water main.
Now, David H. Martin Excavating Inc. has been slapped with a heavy fine of $63,000 by OSHA. The agency has granted 15 business days from the receipt of the citations to comply. The excavation company can arrange a meeting with the area director of OSHA or challenge the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
The agency's accusations stem from the investigation of a work site carried out by OSHA near Roxbury. The workers who were installing the water pipe in the trench were not properly protected from a cave in. OSHA was notified that the workers were working in an unprotected trench. The trench was around 6 feet 11 inches deep. The water main to be installed was around 12 inches in diameter.
OSHA has made it mandatory for all excavations that are 5 feet or deeper than that should be properly protected against wall collapse and cave-ins. The director of OSHA's Harrisburg area office said that “When sudden cave-ins occur, unprotected trenches become death traps”. “The company bypassed necessary safeguards, leaving its workers at risk of serious injury and possible death”, he added.
Now, David H. Martin Excavating Inc. has been slapped with a heavy fine of $63,000 by OSHA. The agency has granted 15 business days from the receipt of the citations to comply. The excavation company can arrange a meeting with the area director of OSHA or challenge the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
The agency's accusations stem from the investigation of a work site carried out by OSHA near Roxbury. The workers who were installing the water pipe in the trench were not properly protected from a cave in. OSHA was notified that the workers were working in an unprotected trench. The trench was around 6 feet 11 inches deep. The water main to be installed was around 12 inches in diameter.
OSHA has made it mandatory for all excavations that are 5 feet or deeper than that should be properly protected against wall collapse and cave-ins. The director of OSHA's Harrisburg area office said that “When sudden cave-ins occur, unprotected trenches become death traps”. “The company bypassed necessary safeguards, leaving its workers at risk of serious injury and possible death”, he added.
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