Wisconsin-based URT was cited for employees being exposed to heavy metals during CRT dismantling, and the company president emphasized that the company has been working with OSHA for a year on the issues. | Drazah/Shutterstock[/caption]
Federal regulators have fined URT more than $200,000 for multiple instances of workers exposed to elevated lead and cadmium levels during cathode ray tube device dismantling at the company's Wisconsin location.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, on Oct. 9 announced that an inspection at the Janesville, Wisconsin, plant revealed two "repeat" violations, six "serious" violations and one non-serious violation of workplace safety regulations.
Overall, OSHA found URT "failed to implement adequate engineering controls and did not keep surfaces as free as practicable from lead and cadmium accumulations." OSHA proposed $202,820 in fines for the violations.
OSHA noted that the violations came after URT was cited for many of the same issues in April 2023, leading to the "repeat" label on multiple violations.
In an Oct. 14 statement shared with E-Scrap News, URT stated that company President Ken Thomas "expressed surprise at the citation and fine, emphasizing that the company has been working proactively with OSHA on this issue for the past year."
"We have been in active collaboration with OSHA to address any concerns," Thomas said in the statement. "Over the past year, URT has invested more than $150,000 to enhance the facility's engineering controls and improve overall air quality."
The OSHA regulatory process allows penalized companies to either comply with the requirements, request an informal conference with an OSHA area director to discuss the citation or formally contest the findings.
URT indicated in its statement that the company scheduled meetings with OSHA representatives for this week, to discuss the findings.
URT processes CRTs by disassembling the devices to remove various components for commodity recovery and sending the glass through a proprietary system that separates it into funnel and panel glass streams.
[caption id="attachment_9932" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Wisconsin-based URT was cited for employees being exposed to heavy metals during CRT dismantling, and the company president emphasized that the company has been working with OSHA for a year on the issues. | Drazah/Shutterstock[/caption]
Federal regulators have fined URT more than $200,000 for multiple instances of workers exposed to elevated lead and cadmium levels during cathode ray tube device dismantling at the company's Wisconsin location.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, on Oct. 9 announced that an inspection at the Janesville, Wisconsin, plant revealed two "repeat" violations, six "serious" violations and one non-serious violation of workplace safety regulations.
Overall, OSHA found URT "failed to implement adequate engineering controls and did not keep surfaces as free as practicable from lead and cadmium accumulations." OSHA proposed $202,820 in fines for the violations.
OSHA noted that the violations came after URT was cited for many of the same issues in April 2023, leading to the "repeat" label on multiple violations.
In an Oct. 14 statement shared with E-Scrap News, URT stated that company President Ken Thomas "expressed surprise at the citation and fine, emphasizing that the company has been working proactively with OSHA on this issue for the past year."
"We have been in active collaboration with OSHA to address any concerns," Thomas said in the statement. "Over the past year, URT has invested more than $150,000 to enhance the facility's engineering controls and improve overall air quality."
The OSHA regulatory process allows penalized companies to either comply with the requirements, request an informal conference with an OSHA area director to discuss the citation or formally contest the findings.
URT indicated in its statement that the company scheduled meetings with OSHA representatives for this week, to discuss the findings.
URT processes CRTs by disassembling the devices to remove various components for commodity recovery and sending the glass through a proprietary system that separates it into funnel and panel glass streams.
Wisconsin-based URT was cited for employees being exposed to heavy metals during CRT dismantling, and the company president emphasized that the company has been working with OSHA for a year on the issues. | Drazah/Shutterstock[/caption]
Federal regulators have fined URT more than $200,000 for multiple instances of workers exposed to elevated lead and cadmium levels during cathode ray tube device dismantling at the company's Wisconsin location.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, on Oct. 9 announced that an inspection at the Janesville, Wisconsin, plant revealed two "repeat" violations, six "serious" violations and one non-serious violation of workplace safety regulations.
Overall, OSHA found URT "failed to implement adequate engineering controls and did not keep surfaces as free as practicable from lead and cadmium accumulations." OSHA proposed $202,820 in fines for the violations.
OSHA noted that the violations came after URT was cited for many of the same issues in April 2023, leading to the "repeat" label on multiple violations.
In an Oct. 14 statement shared with E-Scrap News, URT stated that company President Ken Thomas "expressed surprise at the citation and fine, emphasizing that the company has been working proactively with OSHA on this issue for the past year."
"We have been in active collaboration with OSHA to address any concerns," Thomas said in the statement. "Over the past year, URT has invested more than $150,000 to enhance the facility's engineering controls and improve overall air quality."
The OSHA regulatory process allows penalized companies to either comply with the requirements, request an informal conference with an OSHA area director to discuss the citation or formally contest the findings.
URT indicated in its statement that the company scheduled meetings with OSHA representatives for this week, to discuss the findings.
URT processes CRTs by disassembling the devices to remove various components for commodity recovery and sending the glass through a proprietary system that separates it into funnel and panel glass streams.
Categories