BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Dravo Lime Co. either knew or had reason to know a storage bin had deteriorated before it collapsed Oct. 12, killing a company chemist, a federal agency charged Thursday.
That was among five citations issued Thursday by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) against Dravo's plant in Carntown, Ky. The other citations centered on four other coal and stone bins that had holes or corrosion, at least one that company officials knew about.
"All fatalities are tragic. But this is a particularly sad case. It's just heartbreaking," said Davitt McAteer, assistant secretary for the MSHA.
Each citation carries a penalty from $55 to $55,000. The MSHA's assessment division will determine the fine amounts later. The MSHA will issue a final report within 90 days.
The citation issued for the fatality said: "The mine operator had examined the bin two to three months prior to the failure and knew or had reason to know of the deteriorated condition. Failure to take corrective action is a serious lack of reasonable care constituting more than ordinary negligence and is an unwarrantable failure to comply with a mandatory safety standard."
Quality-control chemist Michael Sanzere, 45, of Dayton, Ky., died from injuries suffered when a storage bin collapsed, pouring 600 tons of limestone onto the building in which he was working. Dravo spokesman Ronald Sommer said while "some sort of corrective action should have been taken" to the bin that collapsed, it's premature to conclude the rust on the bin was the sole reason for its collapse.
The Dravo spokesman said the company will take up to 10 days to decide whether it will respond to the citations.
Dravo also is working with the MSHA to take corrective action at the plant, Mr. Sommer said. MSHA officials are further examining the other four faulty bins to determine whether they can be used in the future.
He said Dravo employees are required to conduct visual inspections of bins before beginning work.
Dravo can appeal the citations to an administrative law judge, and if that fails, then to the MSHA's five-member review commission. Ultimately, the citations can go to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
"Hopefully, the (citations) teach a lesson in that the operator learns what conditions can lead to a fatal accident," said Rodney Brown, spokesman at the MSHA's headquarters in Arlington, Va.
Data provided by the MSHA showed the plant had been inspected 39 times since 1995, and Dravo had been cited for 196 violations. Of those, 84 were deemed "s-s," meaning serious and substantial. The "s-s" violations included problems with maintaining guardrails, testing explosive dusts, moving machine parts, protecting conveyors, and stacking and storing materials.
