OSHA Fines Tampa Smelter $320,000 for Lead Exposure

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Tampa battery recycling center and smelter almost $320,000 for exposing workers to unsafe levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic, despite being warned about its practices last year, OSHA announced.

Envirofocus Technologies, operating as Gopher Resource LLC, was cited for willful violation of safety standards and exposing workers to inhalation hazards. Employees were not provided with adequate respirators, or with respirators that were not fit-tested, and were allowed to share aluminized jackets that were damaged and stored where they were exposed to lead. The firm also failed to implement engineering and controls to reduce exposure, OSHA said in a news release Thursday.

“This employer put their bottom line above the safety and well-being of their workers,” said OSHA Area Director Danelle Jindra. “Every worker has the right to a safe workplace, and they should never have to decide between their own health and earning a living. Continuing to put workers in harm’s way is unacceptable, and OSHA will continue to hold employers like Gopher Resource responsible.”

Gopher Resources’ website notes that since 2006, it has invested more than $230 million in its Tampa recycling facility, including $140 million on protecting worker health and safety and on environmental protection.

OSHA also cited A&B Maintenance & Construction Inc. for failing to maintain a respiratory protection program for its crews. The company faces almost $16,400 in penalties.

Both companies have 15 days to comply with the citations, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before an independent review commission.

Topics Workers' Compensation