Georgia Power has been charged and fined as a result of an April 2013 generator explosion at their Plant Bowen near Cartersville. The plant was shut down for maintenance when the explosion occurred. The plant employees 300 people, none of whom were injured in the April accident.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the plant with 17 serious safety violations and $119,000 in fines. Among the stated violations are failure to hold safety briefings for workers at the start of each job, failure to comply with OSHA’s tagout procedures and failure to perform a yearly inspection of all energy control procedures.
The plant has 15 days from the receipt of the citation and proposed penalties to make changes that will assure compliance, contest the hearings before an independent commission or request a private hearing. In a statement, Georgia Power defended the plant’s safety record; it presented the fact that the plant had no recorded safety incidents from 2007 to 2010 and claimed that the plant is one of the most productive in the country. The company contends that a thorough investigation of the accident has already been completed and that corrective actions have been put into place.
Some George jobs require workers to be exposed to dangerous property and dangerous situations every day. When a worker is injured on the job, an attorney may be able to help him or her receive compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills and living costs. An attorney could review the property where the accident occurred and help determine if the owner can be held responsible for the injury to the worker.
Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle , “OSHA cites Georgia Power for 17 violations, $119,000 fine possible“, Michael Hunter, September 27, 2013