Document 0J57nm04GgLnbqD3qKeywxo4O

Wau* St ** * * ^4^ 7 , HB8 "Smelting Company n -t.. Settles OSHA Case ( On Lead Exposure ' By Albekt it Kabr Staff Reporter ofThe Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON-Doe Run Co. agreed to pay $1.3 million in settlement of Labor De partment charges that it violated federal health and safety standards at a lead smlelter at Herculaneum, Mo. Doe Run is a joint venture of Homestake Mining Co. and St. Joe Minerals Co. ; St. Joe is a unit of Fluor Corp. Doe Run also agreed to give back pay and benefits to certain contract workers who the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said were over exposed to lead and replaced by new workers. Doe Run agreed to the settlement without admitting the OSHA charges. OSHA last month proposed penalties to taling $2.8 million against Doe Run, alleg ing 313 violations at the smelter, including 283 willful violations. [In a statement, Doe Run said the re duced payment in the settlement "supports ouf position that we were not and do not deliberately jeopardize the health or safety ofiour employees." Tn San Francisco, a Homestake spokes man declined to comment on the matter, saying "the settlement speaks for itself." Separately, OSHA said it has asked the Justice Department to consider bringing crijninai charges against Texstar Con struction Corp., San Antonio, Texas, an im portant subcontractor for a Bridgeport, Conn., apartment complex that collapsed last April. The collapse of the twin-tower L'Ambience Plaza project killed 28 workers and injured 10 others, and was the worst construction accident this decade. pSHA last October proposed a record $5. i million in civil penalties against five companies engaged in building the com plex. including 12.5 million against Tex star, a construction firm that used a tech nique for lifting entire concrete floor slabs for the Bridgeport project. __________ I t l I MANAGEMENT PROVEN IN THE MARKETPLACE TT'1/WIffV 3-31 -88 4-15-8? 4- 8-88 3-31-88 4-1.1-88 4- 1-88 4- 1-88 3-31-88 3-31-88 5-14-8? 3-25-88 3-31-88 COS-UPS 3-31-88 3-25-88 3-25-88 4- 4-88 4- 1-88 3-21-88 3-15-88 4- 1-88 3-21-88 4- 1-88 3-15-88 3-29-68 3-29-88 4- 7-88 4- 1-88 4- 5-88 4-22-88 3-22-88 5- 4-88 ble in Car,< ; k-From a annual. arch 8 IV A. lancorp res Inc mkt Income dpallrtcTR > Wets Income inerpy/Oev Mo Mffl *S & Oil ns D OfA Tis Cos V* RR James Finl H Ltd p ctA p ciB odes Cmp5%pref tc Power shnson , Schweppes lOqW vShraziOoornal frjcfcx), O, RSS OSHAtoFine Venture ofFluor And Homestake By Albest R. Kass StaffReporter of The Wazx Stmset SmmstAt. WASHINGTON-The LaborDepartment proposed fines of 12.8 million against Doe Run Co., a joint venture of SL Joe Min erals Corp. and Homestake Mining Co., on charges of violating federal health and safety standards at a lead smelter. The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleged there were 313 violations at Doe Run's Herculan eum, Mo., primary lead smelter, including 283 alleged willful violations. The agency considers any violation willful if the em ployer knew about workplace health or safety conditions that don't meet govern ment requirements, or was aware of a haz ardous condition but didn't make a reason able effort to correct it OSHA cited Doe Run for 177 health vio- | lations, mainly involving exposure to lead, j and 136 instances of failing to record occu pational injuries, including lacerations, fractures, bums and eye injuries. The proposed penalties are among the largest OSHA has sought against any em ployer. The agency is also seeking back pay and benefits for certain contract workers who OSHA said were overexposed to lead and replaced by new workers. St Joe Minerals, Clayton, Mo., is a unit of Fluor Corp., Irvine, Calif., and Homestake Mining is based in San Francisco. "Doe Run's continuing disregard for complying with the spirit and the letter of the OSHA lead standard and for guarding the health of its work force is unaccepta ble," said Frank White, deputy assistant secretary of labor and OSHA's enforce ment chief. The joint venture, in a prepared re lease, said it would "move quickly to cor rect any situation that could threaten worker health or safety" at the smelter. But Doe Run added that it considers many of OSHA's charges "unwarranted," and denied disregarding either the spirit or let ter of the OSHA law. It called most of the cases "paperwork violations," and said others "involve legitimate differences of opinion over highly technical matters." Doe Run said that "our record on worker health and safety is outstanding, and we intend to keep it that way." A Homestake official said that "we stand be hind" the Doe Run statement A spokes man for Fluor declined to comment be yond the Doe Run release. OSHA said that Doe Run violated pan of nearly every section of its lead stan dard, including provisions governing leadexposure monitoring, engineering controls, biological monitoring, medical monitoring, hygiene facilities, removal of employees from hazardous work for medical reasons and respirator protection. The agency said Doe Run rotated con tract employees in and out of high-lead areas to minimize levels of lead in their blood, replacing workers when their levels rose above OSHA-set maximums. OSHA said this policy failed to meet its require ment that employees with excessive amounts of lead in their blood be removed from high-lead areas and guaranteed their pay and benefits for up to 18 months while their blood-lead levels return to normal. fsjo -fir hJoih^y - I* iaily American Republic Friday, February 12, !98i fopf#r Bluff, Mo. Lead Smelting Plant Fined $2.9 Million WASHINGTON (AP) - A Missouri smelting plant accused the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA levied the $2.78 million line Thursday against Doe Run Co.'s lead smelting operation at Herculaneum, Mo., about 30 miles south of St. Louts., saying lns^eatao& urumvttmMbviolations Virtually evai^tgaaMcmiOMh OSEA.tead.i.taitdajtd-" Doe Run recently earned a favorable initial report from the U.S. Forest Service after it ap plied to begin lead minining in Mark Twain National Forest near the Eleven Point River and Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The plan calls for encom passing 120,000 acres in Carter, Shannon and Oregon counties and has been bitterly protested by environmentalists from across the state. D^^mt/a joltttsnwS&yDS l<4h6 Iiyjfiejj Cmif., has Id days to con test the citations and proposed penalties before a three-member independent review board. John Fitzsimmons, the com pany's division manager, said he was surprised by the size of the fine and believes many of the charges are unwarranted. "We've had no health citations from OSHA for over 10 years and we've spent $20 million in mak ing the smelter safer for workers,'' Fitzsimmons said. "We thought we might get a slap on the wrist, and they hit us over the head with a sledgehammer." The company was cit^|or 177 tfwri ciaa6iifi4akfi&u diFegp#eMhe>tewv- It aiiQtwas accused of 4M*rntsmmikmpmg v4kfr*itin nc^npepofftiagmOnthe-job injuries in 1985 and 1986, and %#4netnnee**^^r?ff4otf the agency. The citations arose out of an OSHA health inspection of the 500-employee plant last June. The inspection was intended to determine if the plant had in stalled previously agreed-upon engineering controls to limit worker exposure to lead, a poison that can cause severe damage to the kidneys and ner vous system. The biggest fine ever levied by OSHA was $5.1 million against contractors for a Bridgeport, Conn , apartment building that collapsed last April, killing 28 construction workers, and $4.2 million against Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, last November. Both are being contested. OSHA slaps $2.8 million fine against Fluor plant The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- A federal agency fined a Missouri smelting plant partly owned by Fluor Corp. $2.78 million on Thursday, accus ing it of exposing workers to high levels of lead and then firing them to sidestep government medical leave requirements. It was the third-largest fine lev ied by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration The agency cited the Doe Run Co. for 177 health violations --147 of them classified as willful disre gard of the law and workers' safety -- at its lead smelting plant in Her culaneum, Mo., about 30 miles south of St. Louis.; ; The company also was accused of 136 recordkeeping violations in not reporting on-the-job injuries in 1985 and 1986, and 13 instances of failing to correct hazards previous ly cited by the agency. Doe Run is a joint venture of Flu or and the Homestake Mining Co. of San Francisco. Rick Maslin, spokesman for Irvine-based Fluor, said the company couldn't com ment until it had a chance to see the OSHA charges. Doe Run has 15 days to contest the fine before a three-member in dependent review board. John Fitzsimmons, Doe Run di vision manager, said he believes many of the charges are unwar ranted. "" * OSHA spokesman Terry Mikel- son said that, among other viola tions, "Investigators found that Doe Run would request new per sonnel from a contractor once blood-lead levels for current con tract hirees exceeded OSHA re quirements -- in essence firing workers with high blood(-lead) lev els." The practice, Mikelson said, sidestepped OSHA medical protec tions which require employees with excessive lead blood levels to be removed from lead-contaminat ed areas with full preservation of pay and benefits for up to 18 months. OSHA will seek back wages and benefits due the fired workers in amounts yet to be determined. Mi- kelson said. Racsister staff writer Judith L Seen- fiidcxj j 13/1^68 From RJMASL3N DSTappan LOfcCraw NAPeterson -BOA "BuN -BOB JORollans PJTrimble RGuyett HKCoble VKontny GGlenn -BOR "BOC "H9E "H9B "H9P "H9A DKalscheur H9H LLineberger -H9D in iiiiTlMlMMlMliftiill ^H i IT****1--m LFisher LHart -H8C ~A4K EParente OOliver JZakaryan PVanNort MBumette CBryan JStein FVarello HDean -A4K -A4C "D1L Greenville Greenville Houston Greenville Greenville Greenville cc: STAFF IC"DIr-m"M>-RS-*JC-"FD I *1 winning me worm sprint uinmpiun- ships In West AJIH*. Wise., and seemed to be a lock It medal at Calgary in cither the 500 or l.ooo. But his 500 race hnd scarcely be gun when his left foot went nut from under him. antd he slipped going into the first turn. In the 1,000;, the edge of Jansen's right skate bla de caught the ice half a lap from the finish line. His right leg buckled and be was down, sliding on the Ice. What made the mishap so painful for Jansen was the fact that he had chicked the fastest splits of the night for 2:00 and 600 meters for the first four heats and. appeared to ...be on his way to a medal. *" "I felt really good through the whole thing." said`Jansen. "I was '.smooth coming out of the 800 mark. 1 felt very strong. I put my right skate down, caught the outer edge and I was down." He said as he sat on the Ice. his mind was virtually blank. "I don't know what I thought." he said. "I .innsen in me tniirrn ann mey in me fifth. ".Innsen is ijulle good." snld Gnu* Itncv through nn interpreter. "If he hnd noi fallen I still could have won one nf (he medals.-It's difficult to say which one because there Is so slight a difference between first and third." PS. Hark and field athletes Jim Rytin and Mary Decker Slaney also fell in Olympic races. Ryun in a 1.500 heat in Munich. West Germany, ia 1072 and Slaney in the .*1.000 final in HUM in I.os Angeles. Of his two falls in Calgary, Jansen said, "II can happen to anybody. Ev ery skater knows what happens when your, blade catches the ice and you can'l roil the blade-over.'' Jansen said he wilt return to Calga ry after the funeral to see Greiner compete next week. The l.ooo was Jansen's last chance for an Olympic medal at Calgary. The United States is still looking for its first speed skating medal here nnd its first since I WHO. * Mining Firm, OSHA Talk Over Problems Offlcfnls of the Doe Run lend min ing company met with federal job- safety representatives nnd Teamsters for more than six hours Wednesday to hash over health and safety cita tions at the company's lend smelting plant in Herculaneum. Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied a $2.87 million fine against the compa ny after citing its lend smelting oper ation for more than 300 violations. . The fine was the third-largcst ever Imposed by the agency.. Company officials dispute (lie alle gations. On Thursday, company nnd union officials expressed optimism thnt they could tpiickly agree how to re solve the Issues Officials of the ngency refused to speculate on the out come of the talks. In similnr cases. Hie agency often has agreed to re duce. or eliminate fines when compa nies try to correct the problems. The company lias untUlMarch 4 to contest any-of the violations, tjf the company and the agency fail to reach an agreement by then, nn administra tive law judge will hear the case.!The company could appeal the judge's de cision in federal court. Senator From page one erything I've had into it." * Legislation that came to a vote in Schneider's absences Included a pro posal for a constitutional amendment -aimed at keeping Missouri's lottery , trom failing, and a bill to provide state money for a football stadium in St. Louis. ' One dny last Week, Sen. J.B. "Jet" Banks, D-St. Louis, stood in the Senate chambers and asked permission to In troduce a special guest -- a routine ceremony 4n the Senate. The "special guest" was Schneider, and after his Introduction, senators gave him a round of applause. Because of the way attendance re cords are kept, determining exactly what days Schneider was present in the Senate is difficult. Records show that Schneider has been counted absent with leave for nine days and present for 18 days. But he seldom has been seen in the Senate chambers. A senator does no! have to appeal In the Senate chambers or even be in the state Capitol for most of the day lo be counted as present, said 'l eiVy . Spieler. Senate secretary. Sen. John D. Schneider "had to do what t've had to do" Schneider said ht* had kept in tmich with the vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee about legisla tion before that panel. 1 he vice chair man. Sen llariv Wiggins, D-Kansas Citv. said Thuisdnv that lie had pre sided over most of the Judiciary Couimiitee's heai ings lint St hnetdci said he was familiar Wliii the levisInI ion presented to the convenient! CENTRAL'S OWN CF RATE, NO SURCHfl INSTALLMENT COP TO 60 MONTHS. Lead Free Ozark*. They say mining is a threat to water resources, human health and the beauty of the area. The area that Is targeted for prospetting -- and ultimately mining -- OSHA Fines Won't Affect Mine Ruling. Health and safety violations at the Doe Run Mining Co.'s lead smelter will have no effect on the company's chances of getting a permit to pros pect for lead In the Mark Twain Na tional Forest, company executives and federal officials agree. The mining company agreed Thursday to pay $1,211 million In fines Imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and to take steps to Improve health and safe ty conditions at the company's tend smelter at Herculaneum. 25 miles south of St. I/iuls. OSHA accused the company of fall ing to report Injuries, of exposing workers to unsafe levels of lead amt of filing some employees wtien their blood levels of lend became too high The company has agreed to change Its practices and to provide employ ees with better respirators until It In stalls' a system to remove airborne lead from the buildings at the smelter. The smelter has also come under fire for lead emissions that were four times the national standard In 198% according to a report made public recently by the Environmental Pro tection Agency. Herculaneum has one of the nation's highest levels of air borne lead. EPA records show. Jack Krokroskia, manager of Doe Run's mining operations, said: "I don't draw a parallel between OSHAs actions on the smelter and the Issue of whether Doe Run should be al lowed to prospect. A smelter isn't the Issue." . John Woerheide, a spokesman tor the U.S Forest Service In Roll, agreed. "I don't think it will affect the decision since (the smelter and the mine and mill) are different opera tions. But a lot of people would make that connection." One of the people who make that connection Is Roger Pryor, a spokes man for the Coalition for the Envi ronment and one of many opponents of the mining proposal. "The question is whether Doe Ran could be a good neighbor In Wlnonui when It has shown itself to be a hatd neighbor In Herculaneum," Pryor said. -- Christine Bertelson 2 Juveniles Charged In South Side Fires . kny lead while their body recovered. ; Instead, he add, the company mere ly shifted such workers to lower ex* posure areas. --lo ther company's defense, the . ' men said they did not believe'that .any workers ever had been fired be- cause of high concentrations of lead Inthelrblood. ' That contradict* one of the .charges brought by the agency -- that the company hired contract workers, exposed them to high lev* els of lead and then fired them when , the lead In their blood exceeded fed* oral standards. .. John E. FltzSlmmons, manager of the company's smelting division, ,'jald the contract workers were brought In when extra hands were seeded for special projects and peak .. .work times. .% \n FlUSImmona denied that the tarn* *porary workers were treated as dls* ''.posabl-e--e--m-pl*oye- es. m Post-Dispatch Map and flush them out,1* he said. ' The contractom work primarily In the Doe Run railway division. Fits* Simmons said. "They will be ex posed from time to time, but In gen eral, the rail area Is low exposure," he said. . The company has Ka workers tert- Workers at the Doe Run Co. smoKer lin Herculaneum < blood, be said. Workers are given to "putting os In the le physicals annually. places (that) kill people.-, tea QrtffKfi Is a service fore man, for Ute'company, as well as the mayor of Herculaneum. One of his ditties at Doe Run Is to keep an eye on the records of lead levels In em ployees. He said company officials were doing everything they could to keep lead levels down. Ten people now work In areas of low exposure because 4he lead levels In their blood got too high, he said. "The plant to In better shape than . Doe Run* employees i of the health threat pos lead at the plant ' Medical experts say k longed exposure to lead a the central nervous syst er. the kidney* the urine and the reproductive syste But some Doe Run wo they have too many yean Ity built up to leave. Th plant to a major employ area. About 200 of Its 900 e ever In history as ter as keeping come from Herculaneum blood (lead) levels down," Griffith nearby towns of Festus an city- FltzSlmmons said the level of lead The X200 residents of H In employees had dropped by 40 urn, about 29 miles south of percent since I960 and dipped 13 gave a tavwJiate lelaUpfu percent tost year. the plane which sits on : "Our safety and health record has along the Mlsslmlppl River,j dramatically Improved," he said. He* White the smelter has s tor AYf FEBRUARY 15,1988 Fine, Charges At Smelter In Herculaneum Surprise Officials But Not Some Workers .... -$?a <*. . ,. - Sam Leooe/Post-Dtspatch > Co. smelter in Herculaneum on their way to clean up before heading home at the end of their shift ' fore1 asttie of. his an eye la em* metals uld to people posure their- of lead by 40 M 13 is "putting us tn the league with places (that) kill people." . Doe Run's employees are aware of the health threat posed by the lead at the plant Medical experts say that pro longed exposure to lead can damage the central nervous system, the liv er, the kidneys, the urinary system and the reproductive system. But some Doe Run workers say they have too many years of senior ity built up to leave. The smelting plant is a major employer In the area. About 200 of Its 500 employees comb from Herculaneum and the nearby towns of Festus and Crystal City. . The 2,200 residents of Herculane um, about 25 miles south of St Louis, have a love-hate relationship with the plant, which sits on 40 acres along the Mississippi River. While the smelter has supplied a livelihood for generate , laneum and has supported the town through taxes, some residents com plain about fumes and vibrations from truck traffic to and from the plant The company has tried to work with municipal officials on such problems. For example, the compa ny has Increased the use of rail roads, rather than trucks, for bring ing in lead concentrate and shipping out pure lead. "We are totally involved with the community," Fitzsimmons said. The company sponsors softball teams and contributes to clubs and organizations In town. Doe Run also owns smaller parcels of land within Herculaneum, parcels that the com pany leases at no cost to the munici pality for a firehouse, ball fields and other uses. The mayor estimated that the company pays $200,000 a year In lo- trtbutlng about $300,000 toward the expansion of the local sewer system. "If we lost them, we'd be In bad shape," Griffith said. "Doe Run is the city's biggest source of revenue." The smelter bas operated continu ously since 1892. Until 1986, the plant was known as the SL Joe Lead Co. Doe Run Is a joint venture be tween the SL Joe Minerals Corp. and the Homestake Mining Co. Doe Run has six mines, four mills and two smelters, although the one In Hercu laneum is the only active one.. FttzSlmmons said he hoped to pro vide Information to the federal safe ty agency in the next few weeks. Information that would settle the agency's differences with the company. ' "They don't need to do It this way. We don't need this kind of smack- tog," be said. "All they have to do Is tell us what they expect, and well Wau* St ** * * ^4^ 7 , HB8 "Smelting Company n -t.. Settles OSHA Case ( On Lead Exposure ' By Albekt it Kabr Staff Reporter ofThe Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON-Doe Run Co. agreed to pay $1.3 million in settlement of Labor De partment charges that it violated federal health and safety standards at a lead smlelter at Herculaneum, Mo. Doe Run is a joint venture of Homestake Mining Co. and St. Joe Minerals Co. ; St. Joe is a unit of Fluor Corp. Doe Run also agreed to give back pay and benefits to certain contract workers who the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said were over exposed to lead and replaced by new workers. Doe Run agreed to the settlement without admitting the OSHA charges. OSHA last month proposed penalties to taling $2.8 million against Doe Run, alleg ing 313 violations at the smelter, including 283 willful violations. [In a statement, Doe Run said the re duced payment in the settlement "supports ouf position that we were not and do not deliberately jeopardize the health or safety ofiour employees." Tn San Francisco, a Homestake spokes man declined to comment on the matter, saying "the settlement speaks for itself." Separately, OSHA said it has asked the Justice Department to consider bringing crijninai charges against Texstar Con struction Corp., San Antonio, Texas, an im portant subcontractor for a Bridgeport, Conn., apartment complex that collapsed last April. The collapse of the twin-tower L'Ambience Plaza project killed 28 workers and injured 10 others, and was the worst construction accident this decade. pSHA last October proposed a record $5. i million in civil penalties against five companies engaged in building the com plex. including 12.5 million against Tex star, a construction firm that used a tech nique for lifting entire concrete floor slabs for the Bridgeport project. __________ I t l I MANAGEMENT PROVEN IN THE MARKETPLACE TT'1/WIffV 3-31 -88 4-15-8? 4- 8-88 3-31-88 4-1.1-88 4- 1-88 4- 1-88 3-31-88 3-31-88 5-14-8? 3-25-88 3-31-88 COS-UPS 3-31-88 3-25-88 3-25-88 4- 4-88 4- 1-88 3-21-88 3-15-88 4- 1-88 3-21-88 4- 1-88 3-15-88 3-29-68 3-29-88 4- 7-88 4- 1-88 4- 5-88 4-22-88 3-22-88 5- 4-88 ble in Car,< ; k-From a annual. arch 8 IV A. lancorp res Inc mkt Income dpallrtcTR > Wets Income inerpy/Oev Mo Mffl *S & Oil ns D OfA Tis Cos V* RR James Finl H Ltd p ctA p ciB odes Cmp5%pref tc Power shnson , Schweppes lOqW vShraziOoornal frjcfcx), O, RSS OSHAtoFine Venture ofFluor And Homestake By Albest R. Kass StaffReporter of The Wazx Stmset SmmstAt. WASHINGTON-The LaborDepartment proposed fines of 12.8 million against Doe Run Co., a joint venture of SL Joe Min erals Corp. and Homestake Mining Co., on charges of violating federal health and safety standards at a lead smelter. The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleged there were 313 violations at Doe Run's Herculan eum, Mo., primary lead smelter, including 283 alleged willful violations. The agency considers any violation willful if the em ployer knew about workplace health or safety conditions that don't meet govern ment requirements, or was aware of a haz ardous condition but didn't make a reason able effort to correct it OSHA cited Doe Run for 177 health vio- | lations, mainly involving exposure to lead, j and 136 instances of failing to record occu pational injuries, including lacerations, fractures, bums and eye injuries. The proposed penalties are among the largest OSHA has sought against any em ployer. The agency is also seeking back pay and benefits for certain contract workers who OSHA said were overexposed to lead and replaced by new workers. St Joe Minerals, Clayton, Mo., is a unit of Fluor Corp., Irvine, Calif., and Homestake Mining is based in San Francisco. "Doe Run's continuing disregard for complying with the spirit and the letter of the OSHA lead standard and for guarding the health of its work force is unaccepta ble," said Frank White, deputy assistant secretary of labor and OSHA's enforce ment chief. The joint venture, in a prepared re lease, said it would "move quickly to cor rect any situation that could threaten worker health or safety" at the smelter. But Doe Run added that it considers many of OSHA's charges "unwarranted," and denied disregarding either the spirit or let ter of the OSHA law. It called most of the cases "paperwork violations," and said others "involve legitimate differences of opinion over highly technical matters." Doe Run said that "our record on worker health and safety is outstanding, and we intend to keep it that way." A Homestake official said that "we stand be hind" the Doe Run statement A spokes man for Fluor declined to comment be yond the Doe Run release. OSHA said that Doe Run violated pan of nearly every section of its lead stan dard, including provisions governing leadexposure monitoring, engineering controls, biological monitoring, medical monitoring, hygiene facilities, removal of employees from hazardous work for medical reasons and respirator protection. The agency said Doe Run rotated con tract employees in and out of high-lead areas to minimize levels of lead in their blood, replacing workers when their levels rose above OSHA-set maximums. OSHA said this policy failed to meet its require ment that employees with excessive amounts of lead in their blood be removed from high-lead areas and guaranteed their pay and benefits for up to 18 months while their blood-lead levels return to normal. fsjo -fir hJoih^y - I* iaily American Republic Friday, February 12, !98i fopf#r Bluff, Mo. Lead Smelting Plant Fined $2.9 Million WASHINGTON (AP) - A Missouri smelting plant accused the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA levied the $2.78 million line Thursday against Doe Run Co.'s lead smelting operation at Herculaneum, Mo., about 30 miles south of St. Louts., saying lns^eatao& urumvttmMbviolations Virtually evai^tgaaMcmiOMh OSEA.tead.i.taitdajtd-" Doe Run recently earned a favorable initial report from the U.S. Forest Service after it ap plied to begin lead minining in Mark Twain National Forest near the Eleven Point River and Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The plan calls for encom passing 120,000 acres in Carter, Shannon and Oregon counties and has been bitterly protested by environmentalists from across the state. D^^mt/a joltttsnwS&yDS l<4h6 Iiyjfiejj Cmif., has Id days to con test the citations and proposed penalties before a three-member independent review board. John Fitzsimmons, the com pany's division manager, said he was surprised by the size of the fine and believes many of the charges are unwarranted. "We've had no health citations from OSHA for over 10 years and we've spent $20 million in mak ing the smelter safer for workers,'' Fitzsimmons said. "We thought we might get a slap on the wrist, and they hit us over the head with a sledgehammer." The company was cit^|or 177 tfwri ciaa6iifi4akfi&u diFegp#eMhe>tewv- It aiiQtwas accused of 4M*rntsmmikmpmg v4kfr*itin nc^npepofftiagmOnthe-job injuries in 1985 and 1986, and %#4netnnee**^^r?ff4otf the agency. The citations arose out of an OSHA health inspection of the 500-employee plant last June. The inspection was intended to determine if the plant had in stalled previously agreed-upon engineering controls to limit worker exposure to lead, a poison that can cause severe damage to the kidneys and ner vous system. The biggest fine ever levied by OSHA was $5.1 million against contractors for a Bridgeport, Conn , apartment building that collapsed last April, killing 28 construction workers, and $4.2 million against Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, last November. Both are being contested. OSHA slaps $2.8 million fine against Fluor plant The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- A federal agency fined a Missouri smelting plant partly owned by Fluor Corp. $2.78 million on Thursday, accus ing it of exposing workers to high levels of lead and then firing them to sidestep government medical leave requirements. It was the third-largest fine lev ied by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration The agency cited the Doe Run Co. for 177 health violations --147 of them classified as willful disre gard of the law and workers' safety -- at its lead smelting plant in Her culaneum, Mo., about 30 miles south of St. Louis.; ; The company also was accused of 136 recordkeeping violations in not reporting on-the-job injuries in 1985 and 1986, and 13 instances of failing to correct hazards previous ly cited by the agency. Doe Run is a joint venture of Flu or and the Homestake Mining Co. of San Francisco. Rick Maslin, spokesman for Irvine-based Fluor, said the company couldn't com ment until it had a chance to see the OSHA charges. Doe Run has 15 days to contest the fine before a three-member in dependent review board. John Fitzsimmons, Doe Run di vision manager, said he believes many of the charges are unwar ranted. "" * OSHA spokesman Terry Mikel- son said that, among other viola tions, "Investigators found that Doe Run would request new per sonnel from a contractor once blood-lead levels for current con tract hirees exceeded OSHA re quirements -- in essence firing workers with high blood(-lead) lev els." The practice, Mikelson said, sidestepped OSHA medical protec tions which require employees with excessive lead blood levels to be removed from lead-contaminat ed areas with full preservation of pay and benefits for up to 18 months. OSHA will seek back wages and benefits due the fired workers in amounts yet to be determined. Mi- kelson said. Racsister staff writer Judith L Seen- fiidcxj j 13/1^68 From RJMASL3N DSTappan LOfcCraw NAPeterson -BOA "BuN -BOB JORollans PJTrimble RGuyett HKCoble VKontny GGlenn -BOR "BOC "H9E "H9B "H9P "H9A DKalscheur H9H LLineberger -H9D in iiiiTlMlMMlMliftiill ^H i IT****1--m LFisher LHart -H8C ~A4K EParente OOliver JZakaryan PVanNort MBumette CBryan JStein FVarello HDean -A4K -A4C "D1L Greenville Greenville Houston Greenville Greenville Greenville cc: STAFF IC"DIr-m"M>-RS-*JC-"FD OSHA Fines Lead Plant In Missouri By Bob Adams Post-Dispatch Wast ,, Chief WASHINGTON -- The federal job safety agency fined the Doe Run Co. of St. Louis $2.78 million on Thursday for what the agency said were 313 health and safety violations at the company's lead smelter at Hercula neum, Mo. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied the fine -- the third largest ever imposed by the agency, a spokesman said. The agency said the facility had "violated some provision of virtually every section of the OSHA lead stan dard." The smelter formerly was^ known as St. Joe Lead Co. ,..Thfe sdfety, agency adteuse'cL^Ihe exposing them to dangerous levels of lead and firing them when the lead levels in their blood rose beyond the federal safety standard. The company has 15 working days to appeal the fines to an independent agency called the Occupational Safe ty and Health Review Commission. James E. FitzSimmons, manager of the smelting division of Doe Run, said See OSHA, Page 12 12A ST. LOUIS POST*DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12,1988 OSHA From page one the company would sit down with OSHA officials and try to work out the problems before deciding whether to appeal. But he disputed the allegations. In a press release and in a tele phone interview, FitzSimmons denied that the company had fired contract employees after the lead levels in their blood became elevated. FitzSimmons said most of the charges were "paperwork viola tions." He said others involved dis agreements with the agency on tech nical matters or lack of clarity by the agency about the rules. "There were no people at risk," FitzSimmons said. FitzSimmons said the company would move quickly to correct any violations. He said the firm had been surprised by the size of the fine and the number of violations alleged by the agency. i "They hit us with a sledgeham mer," FitzSimmons declared. "We don't believe the facts justify the size pf the fine. Our record on worker health and safety is outstanding and we intend to keep it that way." ! Terry Mikelson, a spokesman for OSHA, said the agency was seeking back pay and benefits for the con tract workers who the agency be lieves were overexposed and then replaced. i He said that the exact number of workers involved was undetermined but that it could be as many as 60 over a period of several months. About 500 workers are employed at the smelting plant at Herculaneum, 25 miles south of St. Louis. ( Mikelson said the fine sought from t>oe Run was the third largest in the history of OSHA. The largest was $5.11 million levied against the VAm biance Plaza Apartment Complex in Bridgeport, Conn., last November, af ter 28 people perished in the collapse of a building. i Osha's formal citation charges that Doe Run had: Rotated "contract" employees in what OSHA alleges are 14 violations and fined $8,500, but Mikelson said that none of the violations by Merit had been intentional. OSHA said that Doe Run would re quest new workers when contract employees developed excessive lev els of lead in their blood -- "in es sence, firing workers with high blood lead levels." The agency said this procedure "sidestepped the medical removal protections" that require employees with excessive lead levels to be re moved from contaminated areas and to have their pay and benefits pre served for up to 18 months. Frank White, deputy assistant sec retary of labor and OSHA's chief en forcement officer, said that "Doe Run's continuing disregard for com plying with the spirit and the letter of the OSHA lead standard and for guarding the health of its work force is unacceptable." Medical experts say that overexpo sure to lead can damage the central nervous system, the liver, the kid neys, the urinary system and the re productive system. Mikelson said he was unsure whether specific health problems re sulting from overexposure had been documented. "We only know that workers were overexposed," he said. Mikelson said that OSHA had im posed a high fine because "this would be considered an egregious situation in which the company willfully violat ed the standards and regulations." He said the large number of violations that were alleged also was a factor. OSHA defines a "willful" violation as one in which an employer either knows that a condition constituted a violation, or is aware that a hazard ous condition existed and fails to try to correct it. The agency said 147 health viola tions cited against Doe Run were will ful, as were 136 failures to record injuries that OSHA alleged. The agen cy alleged 30 other less serious violations. OSHA said it began its inspection of the smelter in Herculaneum last June to see if the company had installed previously agreed-upon controls on workers' exposure to lead.