Painting Contractor Cited by OSHA After Worker Falls 80 Feet from Water Tower

A New Jersey contractor whose employee fell 80 feet to the bottom of a Bayville water tower has been cited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for allegedly failing to provide required safety equipment that could have prevented the fall.

OSHA inspectors said U.S. Tank Painting Inc. employed workers to sandblast and paint the tower’s interior and exterior and replace a ladder attached to the structure to access the tower’s peak. OSHA learned a painter suffered severe injuries in January 2024 after falling while climbing a maintenance tube ladder into the water tank.

OSHA claims the company failed to install safety equipment that would have prevented the employee from falling 80 feet.

In addition to failing to protect employees from fall hazards, U.S. Tank Painting exposed employees to respiratory injuries and hearing loss while working in a permit-required confined space, fire and explosion hazards, and long-term lung damage related to unsafe levels of silica dust, according to OSHA.

Specifically, OSHA cited the company with three willful and 19 serious violations, including for allegedly not monitoring air quality and noise levels inside the water tower; not implementing proper safety precautions when flammable paint was being used; and not developing a rescue plan for those working inside the water tower, for which OSHA said the company was cited in 2017.

U.S. Tank Painting faces $485,580 in proposed penalties for violations identified at the Bayville work site.

The company has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent OSHA review commission.

Operating for more than 30 years, U.S. Tank Painting is an industrial painting and sandblasting contractor with clients in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Topics Workers' Compensation Contractors