The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is fining an ice plant in Seaford for leaving the safety cover off an ice-cutting machine that's amputated two workers' limbs in three years.
Seaford Ice racked up $77,000 in fines for one major violation plus eight others, stemming from an investigation that began in May. That's when an unidentified worker lost both legs below the knee after falling into open screw conveyor.
"So the screw conveyor both moves ice, and cuts ice. So the edges are sharp, and it looks just like a screw -- it rotates," says Erin Patterson, who directs OSHA's Wilmington office. "And in the incident that occurred in May, an employee actually fell into the opening," which she says was supposed to be covered by a grate.
OSHA was referred to this case by the police officer who responded to the injury. As of this year, law enforcement is required to tell federal labor authorities about any serious workplace injury they encounter, rather than just deaths.
Patterson adds that Seaford Ice had an incident with the same machine in three years ago.
"The 2012 incident involved a guard whose openings were too large, and an employee's foot passed through an opening and was amputated," she says. "The 2015 incident was a removed guard."
That constitutes a "willful" violation -- the highest level OSHA uses for these kind of situations, and one Patterson says she doesn't often see:
"I have been in this position a little less than a year, and I have issued less than 10," she says.
She says a proper grate has now been welded over the conveyor. Seaford Ice has to fix several other issues by next week -- from covering other hazards, to chemical safety training. Patterson says OSHA will follow up with more inspections.
A person who answered the phone at the company's office on Tuesday said they had no comment on the citations.
Workers who encounter hazards on the job are encouraged report them to the Labor Department at 1-800-321-OSHA.
