(Salem) – Oregon OSHA has cited a Portland-area custom floor coatings company for 13 serious violations – four of them repeat offenses – of workplace health and safety rules. The agency’s inspection found Specialty Coatings Inc. exposed workers to multiple hazards, including the potential for fire and severe burns, suffocation, and lung disease.
The inspection – launched in response to two separate confidential complaints – examined work operations at the company’s main office and warehouse in Tigard, and job sites in Hillsboro and Portland. Those work operations included handling flammable liquids, grinding concrete floors, and applying chemicals.
The inspection’s findings included that the company did not properly handle and store flammable liquids, raising fire and severe burn dangers; failed to provide a medical evaluation before requiring the use of a respirator, increasing the risk of suffocation or heart attack; and lacked a plan to control workers’ exposure to dust containing crystalline silica, a byproduct of concrete grinding that can cause lung disease and cancer.
Four of the 13 violations – including the breach of the medical evaluation requirement – are repeat offenses stemming from previous Oregon OSHA inspections of Specialty Coatings.
“The numerous hazards identified in this case are preventable and controllable through practical measures that are available to employers,” said Oregon OSHA Administrator Michael Wood. “There is no good reason to fail to implement them – much less to repeatedly fail to do so.”
The citation against Specialty Coatings carries a total proposed penalty of $2,855. The fine amount includes a standard penalty reduction based on the small size of the company, which employed seven people at the time of Oregon OSHA’s inspection. Altogether, the inspection found:
In addition to its enforcement activities, Oregon OSHA offers employers resources to help improve workplace safety and health.
The agency’s technical staff members can answer questions about rules and how to apply them:
Phone: 503-378-3272
Toll-free in Oregon: 800-922-2689
Email: tech.web@oregon.gov
Online contact form: https://osha.oregon.gov/Pages/Contact-Technical.aspx
Employers may also contact Oregon OSHA’s no-cost consultation services for help with safety and health programs:
Phone: 503-378-3272
Toll-free in Oregon: 800-922-2689
Field office locations and phone numbers: https://osha.oregon.gov/Pages/maps.aspx
Email: consult.web@oregon.gov
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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state’s workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, visit www.osha.oregon.gov.
The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to www.dcbs.oregon.gov.