The U.S. Department of Labor cited a Sterling, Mass., manufacturer for safety violations after hot liquid plastic burned a worker.
Berry Global Inc. reportedly failed to comply with requirements by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration for lockout/tagout and did not provide personal protective equipment, OSHA investigators determined, according to a Department of Labor release March 21.
“Berry Global Inc. could have prevented this worker’s injuries if the company had followed required safeguards,” Mary Hoye, OSHA area director in Springfield, Mass., said, according to the release.
The worker was reportedly sprayed with hot liquid plastic as a screen was being changed on a plastic bag extruder machine Sept. 23, 2021, the release said. OSHA cited the company for two willful and one repeat violation. Penalties of $369,815 were proposed.
OSHA has inspected Berry Global more than 40 times over the past five years across various locations in the U.S., the release said. The company had previous lockout/tag-out violations that led to two fatalities, inspected by the agency, the news release reported.
The proposed willful and repeat violations put Berry Global in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program as OSHA has an emphasis on standards of lockout/tagout.
The agency will hold employers accountable when they knowingly disregard their legal responsibility to provide workers a safe and healthful workplace, Hoye said, according to the release.
