OSHA Inspection: U.S. POSTAL SERVICE

Issued

Oct 21, 2015

Abate by

Aug 11, 2016

Penalty

Initial $38,500 · Current $7,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): 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 excessive heat where the afternoon heat index was 100 degrees or more while delivering the U.S. mail. Such exposure(s) may lead to serious and life-threatening heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion heat syncope, heat cramps, heat rash, and transient heat fatigue:       On or about June 9, 2015 through June 10, 2015, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory.  The seasonal elevated ambient outdoor temperatures were increasing throughout the day of June 10, 2015 and the afternoon temperatures reached 92 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity level of 55% creating a heat index of 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Employees of United Postal Service (USPS) Ottumwa, IA were exposed to these high levels of ambient heat during the performance of their duties while delivering mail to customers at job sites located on mail routes in and around Ottumwa, Iowa:     (a) A city carrier assistant (CCA) had not become acclimatized to walking and delivering mail in excessive heat, as June 9 and June 10, 2015 were the first excessive heat workdays in the 2015 mail delivery season.  Beginning at approximately 8:30 am, on June 10, 2015, the employee walked in the heat and direct sun on mail Route #9 carrying a mail bag weighing up to 35 pounds and at times working from an enclosed vehicle without air-conditioning.  At approximately 12:00 pm, a co-worker of the employee saw the CCA at a gas station and noticed that that the employee was very pail with clammy skin.  At approximately 2:00 pm, the CCA requested assistance from the Acting Postmaster in completing the route?s delivery because due to the heat the CCA could not walk at a fast enough pace to complete it on time, but the employee was told that heat is worse in other parts of the world, "how hot do you think it is in Afghanistan", and to just keep going.  By the time the employee was relieved at approximately 5:00 pm, the symptoms of heat induced illness were experienced so acutely to cause shaking and continued into the next day that the CCA called in sick the next day in order to recover.        (b) A city postal carrier had not become acclimatized to walking and delivering mail in excessive heat, as June 9 and June 10, 2015 were the first excessive heat workdays in the 2015 mail delivery season.  Beginning at approximately 8:30 am on June 10, the employee walked in the heat and direct sun carrying mail and at times working from an enclosed vehicle without air-conditioning.  At approximately, 11:00 am, the carrier reported to the Acting Postmaster that assistance would be needed as the employee was behind 45 minutes due to the heat, but the employee was told  better hurry up.        (c) Another city postal carrier had not become acclimatized to walking and delivering mail in excessive heat, as June 9 and June 10, 2015 were the first excessive heat workdays in the 2015 mail delivery season.  Beginning at approximately 8:30 am on June 10, the employee walked in the heat and direct sun carrying a mail bag weighing up to 35 pounds and at times working from an enclosed vehicle without air-conditioning.  The employee stated that symptoms of heat induced illness were experienced that day while delivering on mail Route #19 and returned home exhausted.    The employer failed to ensure its management employees were properly implementing and following the employer's heat stress program in accordance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) document, "Working in Hot Environments."      Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is     2. Re-training management not only about the effects of heat-related illness, specific to recognizing, monitoring and reporting heat-related illness symptoms but to ensure employees were monitored while on the routes during high heat days in order to prevent heat-related illnesses.      Abatement certification is required for this violation using the CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTIVE ACTION WORKSHEET), and in addition, documentation demonstrating that abatement is complete must be included with your certification.  This documentation may include, but is not limited to, evidence of the purchase or repair of equipment, photographic or video evidence of abatement, or other written records.

Issued

Oct 21, 2015

Abate by

Aug 11, 2016

Penalty

Initial $1,100 · Current $1,000 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1904.29(b)(3): The employer did not enter each recordable injury or illness on the OSHA 300 Log and 301 Incident Report within seven (7) calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness had occurred:    (a)  On or about June 9-10, 2015, Central Iowa was under a heat advisory with heat indices in the the upper 90s and low 100s.  An employee delivering mail on Route #9 at approximately 2:00 p.m. was feeling ill because of the heat,  requested assistance from the Acting Postmaster in completing the route's delivery and was told to continue working. Although this employee was relieved at around 5:00 p.m., the employee continued to experience symptoms of heat induced illness the next day and called in sick.  The incident was not recorded as a lost work day on the US Postal Service 300 log nor was an incident investigation conducted.  The employee informed the supervisor he would not be in because he was still feeling sick from the day before.