OSHA Inspection: HARCREST HOMES, LLC

Issued

Nov 1, 2000

Abate by

Nov 29, 2000

Penalty

Initial $4,900 · Current $6,000

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from
recognized hazards that
were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that employees
were exposed to heat related illnesses such as heat stress, heat stroke,
heat exhaustion, heat
fatigue, heat syncope and heat cramps due to high heat levels during work
performed:
a)1292 Chadwick Lake Drive, Lawrenceville, GA-On the morning/afternoon of
August 17,
2000, employees were pouring and finishing concrete work at a residential
construction site and
exposed to high ambient heat levels. At this site there was no work regime
with work rest, no
cool area for rest, and no trained personnel to treat workers.  This
resulted in an employee
sustaining a heat stroke, a serious heat-related illness, and subsequently
dying that same
afternoon.  The ambient air temperature on August 17, 2000 reached
approximately
99 degrees
Fahrenheit.  The estimated metabolic work load for these employees put
them in the medium
workload categories correlated with the guidelines established by the
American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH) and the National Institute of
Occupational Safety
an Health (NIOSH).
Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct
this hazard include:
A) Establishing provisions for a work/rest regime so that exposure time to
high temperatures is
decreased and/or the work rate is decreased.  (Rest periods were at the
discretion of employees
when they could find time between concrete trucks.)
B) Providing and encouraging all workers to drink adequate amounts of cool
water. (Per
employee interviews, this employee did not drink water all day even after
he initially became
overheated).
C)Providing a cool area for heat-affected employees to rest and cool down
when
symptoms of
heat illness are recognized or reported by employees.
D) Having trained personnel available at the worksite to treat workers
that develop signs or
symptoms of serious heat-related illness, i.e. heat stroke.
E)Maintaining ice or iced water in adequate amounts for immediate first
aid to heat-stroke
victim(s).