The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has

cited Republic Steel for eleven safety and health violations, comprised of three repeat and eight

serious violations. They come in response to two inspections of a worksite in Lorain, Ohio in

February and April of 2015. These inspections were initiated in response to complaints that

employees are exposed to serious fall and chemical hazards. This is the third time that Republic

Steel has been cited by OSHA for safety violations. The violations from this most recent

inspections are for similar hazards. The citations for these inspections were for hazards relating

to falls of about 20 feet, failure to mark lifting devices with rated weight capacity for loads, and

improperly labeling a hydrochloric acid dip tank for chemical hazards. These violations carry

proposed penalties of $162,400.

“Republic Steel has made a significant investment in workplace safety and health programs. The

company must remain vigilant and protect workers from hazards while it updates equipment,

trains workers and instills a culture of safety in its mills,” said Kimberly Nelson, OSHA’s area

director in Toledo. “Steel manufacturing is a high-hazard industry. OSHA will continue to

monitor worker safety and health at this and other facilities.”

As you can see, repeat offenders have increasingly costly fines for citations. So if you have ever

been the subject of an inspection, and anything was uncovered to be amiss, it is imperative you

update your occupational safety and health policies and procedures to protect your company.

If you have any questions about occupational safety and health, or would like a second opinion

of your occupational safety and health policies and procedures, please contact us. If you have

anything to add about these citations, please leave a comment.