The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Toledo, Ohio-area dealer $177,800 as the result of an October 2009 accident in which four employees were injured.
OSHA cited Tireman Auto Service Centers Ltd. for three violations of worker safety regulations after investigating the accident. The Tireman employees suffered injuries when an agricultural tire being worked on exploded.
In a statement issued, OSHA area director Jule Hovi said, “Employees that work with agricultural tires and high-pressure air face serious injury or even death if proper OSHA safety regulations are not followed. Those who ignore these safety regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers."
OSHA spokesman Scott Allen told the Toledo Blade that the dealer did not provide a safety cage or barrier to protect employees working on large commercial tires, failed to ensure employees worked outside the trajectory path, and that the tire’s maximum inflation pressure was exceeded when the employees attempted to seat the tire’s beads. In addition, citations were issued because employees failed to wear safety glasses and not having a required valve pressure gauge.