Daikin America OSHA Chemical Exposure Overview:
- Who: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing fines of more than $230,000 after citing Daikin America for nine “serious” violations.
- Why: OSHA says the fluorochemical producer is responsible for the death of two workers after it failed to provide sufficient safety equipment.
- Where: The workers died after working at an Alabama chemical manufacturing plant.
Chemical company Daikin America is facing fines of $230,000 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after two of its employees died and one was sickened due to exposure to dangerous toxins at work.
In a press release Jan. 5, OSHA said that exposure to “dangerous toxins” at a Daikin America Alabama chemical manufacturing plant led to the deaths after Daikin failed to provide appropriate protective equipment and implement safe work practices for employees doing maintenance activities on chemical processing equipment.
“Two families will enter 2022 without their loved ones, and one family will have the long-lasting memory of a frightening and serious illness,” OSHA Area Director Ramona Morris said. “This tragic event should serve as a lesson for all employers to ensure effective safety protocols are established before initiating maintenance activities involving chemical processing equipment and systems.”
A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found that on July 2, 2021, Daikin America had exposed three chemical operators to toxic fluorocarbon and other hazardous chemicals that resulted in the workers suffering respiratory failure, OSHA said.
“One worker spent nearly a week in a local hospital for respiratory failure treatment before he returned home. The other two employees were treated for respiratory failure at local hospitals but later died,” it said.
Daikin Failed To Institute Critical Safe Work Practices, Investigation Found
The investigation found that Daikin failed to institute critical safe work practices that would have ensured the workers used the appropriate respiratory protection and personal protective equipment.
“The employer also failed to perform air monitoring to assess chemical exposures, provide written procedures that clearly identify the required level of respiratory protection, and communicate to workers the hazards associated with the chemicals,” OSHA said.
The agency cited Daikin America for nine serious violations and one willful violation. The company faces $232,103 in proposed penalties. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply or contest the fines.
Daikin released a statement saying it had received the report and was reviewing the fines.
“Because this matter may later involve litigation, we are necessarily limited in our comments at this time,” it said. “However, what we can say at this time is that we strongly disagree with OSHA’s conclusions because we believe they are mistaken.”
Meanwhile, other industries have also been cited for not doing enough to protect employees. Exposure to dangerous chemicals and toxins has reportedly led to myriad diagnoses of cancer in railroad workers. Click here to read more.
What do you think of the fines handed down to Daikin? Let us know in the comments!
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