The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited U.S. Steel for two "serious" violations and proposed $10,000 in fines related to an investigation of workplace conditions after a Gary Works maintenance foreman died at the facility June 6.
Washington Township resident Alexander Santoyo, 54, died after falling about 90 feet from a crane at the No. 2 Q-BOP, that is, the modified Basic Oxygen Process, shop. The shop includes equipment to turn molten iron into molten steel.
Indiana Department of Labor spokesman Sean Keefer said IOSHA sent the Safety Order and Notification of Penalty to U.S. Steel Friday. The company is expected to respond to the safety order, but IOSHA hadn't received a response as of Tuesday morning. He said it's not unusual for a response to come later than the first few days after the safety order is sent.
The incident was deemed an accident, but IOSHA told Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel that appropriate safeguards weren't in place to keep employees away from certain dangers while at work.
A "serious" violation is one that could cause or is likely to cause serious injury or death. The on-site investigation was from June 6 through June 23.
U.S. Steel said it received the safety order and in a statement said, "Issues raised by IOSHA in the order have already been addressed, and we plan to pay the penalties without objection.
"Safety has been -- and will continue to be -- our primary core value, and we will continue to focus our efforts on preventing all types of incidents at our facilities and ensuring the safety of all U.S. Steel employees."
In one violation, IOSHA said "fall protection was not used by employees working on a crane 80 to 90 feet above ground level in which an employee fell to his death. Among other methods, one acceptable means to abate this hazard is to develop a policy to enforce the use of fall protection." IOSHA said this violation was corrected during the inspection and that the proposed penalty was $5,000.
The second violation was for a ladder being placed too close to the frame of the charging crane, making the climb difficult and potentially unsafe for workers. The proposed penalty is $5,000 and IOSHA is expecting the violation to be fixed by Sept. 10.
The penalties are expected to be paid within 15 business days after receiving the safety order.
Proof of correcting the violations have to be sent to the state. The company also could petition to seek more time to correct a violation without having to file a petition for review contending the safety order.
After receiving the safety order, U.S. Steel could have contested the proposed penalties and petitioned for an administrative review or requested an informal conference with IOSHA to settle any potential disputes.
