Extrudex cited for violations
Staff report
North jackson
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Extrudex Aluminum with eight safety violations and recommended a fine of $175,000 for an incident in October when a worker was pinned and killed on the factory floor.
The Mahoning County Coroner’s office determined in November that John J. Tomlin Jr., 21, of Niles, died of “mechanical asphyxiation” after he was crushed by the weight of a metal rack he was working to move with several others at the company’s Mahoning Avenue facility.
The rack was stocked with aluminum sheets, which also fell on Tomlin.
A co-worker, Dallas Bright, 19, of Cortland, also was severely injured during the incident.
Extrudex specializes in manufacturing aluminum extrusions for commercial, marine and industrial applications.
In its citation, OSHA suggested the company could have done more to prevent the tragedy.
Violations cited in the ruling include exposing workers to heavily weighted racks, failing to provide personal protective equipment, failing to set forth a hazardous assessment plan and failure to conduct periodic safety inspections, among other things.
The company has 15 days to respond to the citations. It can request an informal hearing or challenge the findings.