OSHA Cites Shipbuilder for Safety Concerns

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA ) has targeted Mississippi-based Huntington Ingalls International Shipbuilding Inc., and five of its subcontractors, for citations addressing 50 health and safety violations. The company was brought to the attention of OSHA in June 2011 when a shipyard employee submitted a complaint about safety hazards at the former Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding facility.

OSHA’s Site Specific Targeting Program, which concentrates on industries with high injury and illness rates, performed a comprehensive safety and health inspection which resulted in proposed fines of over $175,000.

Subcontractor Industrial Corrosion Control Inc. received citations and fines for serious safety violations including improper handling of compressed gas cylinders, and unaddressed tripping hazards. Two Huntington Ingalls subcontractors, General Insulation Inc. and U.S. Joiner LLC, were fined for serious electrical hazards. Two other subcontractors, Marine Flooring LLC and Robert J. Baggett Inc. were cited for health and safety violations including the application of a corrosive material without access to an eyewash facility and using a portable diesel fuel tank lacking content identification.

Huntington Ingalls itself was cited for 37 serious safety violations with penalties amounting to about $150,000. Safety violations include impalement and electrical hazards, blocked exits, lack of machine guarding, tripping and falling hazards, and others. Four serious health violations amounting to a further penalty of 16,000 include allowing for the accumulation of toxic gasses in a lunch area, using improper containers to dispense flammable liquids,  using damaged containers to store flammable liquids, and not labeling containers with adhesive and pain with hazard warnings.