Julie Su Acting United States Secretary of Labor | Official Website
HUBBARD, OH—A Hubbard industrial manufacturer failed to protect its employees from molten metal heated to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the U.S. Department of Labor determined after an investigation into how a 30-year-old employee suffered fatal injuries.
Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that Ellwood Engineered Castings Co. did not have an effective process for containing and managing molten metal leaks. The employee was working at the bottom of a pit below the casting operation when the incident occurred.
OSHA also determined that the company did not develop and implement an effective permit-required confined space program to ensure workers could access and exit the mold pit safely. Additionally, it failed to train employees on the hazards in the pit and exposed workers to fall hazards up to 15 feet.
“A worker died needlessly because Ellwood Engineered Castings Co. failed to protect him and his colleagues from obvious and deadly hazards,” said OSHA Area Director Howard Eberts in Cleveland. “The company could have prevented this tragedy by being responsible and by following well-known safety measures.”
The agency has cited Ellwood Engineered Castings Co. for 11 serious violations and proposed $145,184 in penalties.
Part of the privately owned Ellwood Group, Ellwood Engineered Castings in Hubbard was founded in 1992. It produces gray iron castings weighing up to 160 tons and ductile iron castings up to 60 tons, operating three 55-ton coreless induction furnaces. Its parent company owns more than 20 companies engaged in steelmaking, fabrication, and other types of industrial manufacturing across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Canada, and Mexico.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
