State cites REC for safety violations

MOSES LAKE — The state fined REC Silicon $57,000 for safety violations after inspections of the company’s Plant 1.

The Washington state Department of Labor and Industries issued 14 workplace safety violations after 15 days of inspections between Sept. 28 and Nov. 12, 2009. The inspections included on-site evaluations, interviews with managers, employees and technical workers and reviewing documents and records.

A representative from REC was not available to comment Tuesday night.

Labor and Industries spokesman Hector Castro said the inspection was part of a series of routine inspections of companies considered highly hazardous. The department was following a directive from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“We weren’t conducting the inspection because of a complaint. It was just by virtue of the type of company REC is,” he said.

The department labeled 10 of the violations as serious. These are violations which could result in serious injury or death, Castro said. The amounts of these fines range from $2,500 to $6,500.

The serious violations include failing following manufacturers’ recommendations on how often to inspect and test valves and other instruments, according to the citation.

Castro said the company is supposed to test items, such as the temperature and pressure of the materials flowing through the pipes.

“If they were conducting the tests they didn’t have the records, which is the same as not doing it,” he said.

Another item was a pressure relief valve on a 60-inch by 40-inch portable container, which vents into an area where workers are.

“The whole idea of having that relief valve is to vent to an area where workers would not be affected,” he said.

Other serious violations include inadequately maintained respirators, lacking a system for employees to report safety hazards and no written follow-ups on incidents in the plant.

The other four are classified as general violations, and include failures to activate emergency eyewashes and hand-held drench hoses.

Castro said the company has until April 13 to correct the situations and still has time to appeal the citations.

“REC Silicon has made meaningful progress over the past few years in improving safety at this site. However, important work remains to be done if employees are to be fully protected from the significant hazards associated with the chemical processes,” stated Michael Silverstein, assistant director of Labor and Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “The company was very cooperative during our inspection and we expect that cooperation will continue.”

Castro added he doesn’t see the company as a “bad actor,” saying the company has taken steps in the past, including using an outside committee to evaluate safety in the plant, to improve its operations.