USPS Charged with Seven Violations in Pittsburgh
June 10, 2010
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the USPS its sixth set of workplace safety citations on June 8, charging the Postal Service with seven “willful” and “serious” violations related to electrical hazards at the Pittsburgh, PA mail processing facility.
The proposed penalties at the Pittsburgh facility are nearly $299,500, which brings the Postal Service’s total OSHA fines to nearly $1.8 million. The lastest citations were issued less than a week after similar violations were found at the Philadelphia Bulk Mail Center and the Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center.
OSHA cited the Postal Service with four “willful” violations, one repeat violation, and two “serious” violations at the Pittsburgh facility. Employees were found operating live machinery without adequate training or protection, which exposed them to electrical hazards. The repeat violation was due to the facility’s failure to use approved protective covers for electrical junction boxes. [OSHA Press Release]
The Pittsburgh violations are the sixth set of citations issued to the Postal Service since April 29. Other safety citations were issued at the Philadelphia P&DC; the Philadelphia BMC; in Bedford Park, IL; in Denver, CO; and in Providence, RI.