VENTURA : State Penalizes Firm $240,000 in Death

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has issued six citations carrying $240,000 in penalties against a Ventura company where a worker died from chemical burns.

The citations, issued Monday against Applied Silicone Corp., came after an accident July 21 that killed 43-year-old Patrick Walsh of Oxnard, who was employed as a maintenance worker.

Applied Silicone Corp. has 15 days to appeal the citations and penalties to the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board, said Rick Rice, public information officer for the state Department of Industrial Relations. Company officials did not answer repeated requests for comment.

Walsh was helping a biochemical manager mix large quantities of chemicals when they bubbled over, spewing corrosive matter into his eyes and over his body, according to Cal/OSHA officials. Walsh, a retired Naval engineer who had worked for the company only since June, was taken to the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, where he died July 25. He received third-degree burns over most of his body.

The penalties are believed to be the largest ever issued in a single investigation since enforcement began in 1973, Cal/OSHA officials said. The amount is high because there has been a federal mandate in effect since June to increase penalties, Rice said.

The accident could have been prevented, Rice said, if the supervisor had insisted that Walsh wear safety equipment. Protective clothing for his body, head, eyes and face was available, but the manager present during the mixing operation did not require him to wear the gear, Cal/OSHA officials said.

State regulations require that proper protective clothing be worn when there is a potential for exposure to burn hazards. Because of this, five of the six citations were issued for violations of protective clothing regulations. The remaining citation was issued because the OSHA investigation determined that the company had not given Walsh proper instructions on how to handle the hazardous material, officials said.

The maximum possible penalty for such an infraction is $70,000, but because of Applied Silicone Corp.’s small size, the amount per infraction was lowered to $40,000.