OSHA has hit Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. with a $206,000 fine for committing nine safety violations at its Findlay, Ohio, plant.
The fine covered safety violations earlier this year where a worker was seriously burned while working with flammable chemicals, another incident involving potential fire and explosion hazards, another situation that was called a “repeat” violation, and others.
Some of the violations were defined as “willful,” which OSHA says means the company acted with either intention or indifference.
"Cooper Tire is deeply concerned about the safety of our employees, and while there is always room for improvement, we are proud of our overall safety performance and progress," Tom Carroll, Cooper’s manager of global health, safety and security, said in a statement. "We have a solid record of working cooperatively with agencies, our employees, as well as our union safety committee in making sure that we address any potentially unsafe working conditions and actions in a proactive manner.
"The safety and well being of our people is and always has been a top priority at Cooper. We will continue to make sure our plants remain safe and will take the steps necessary for our facilities to remain a safe environment for employees.
"While we are disappointed with the fines and the categorization of the violations in the notice, we are committed to reviewing these issues one by one with OSHA and are in the process of scheduling a conference with the agency."
Cooper can appeal the fine and the citations.
