Subway Contractor Fined for Violating New Safety Regulations

In the first case of its kind in California, a major contractor on the Metro Rail subway project in North Hollywood has been cited and fined $1,750 for violating new worker safety regulations aimed at protecting employees of other companies working on the same job.

Cal/OSHA announced Wednesday that contractor Kajima-Ray Wilson was cited Tuesday for a serious violation of the state’s worker safety law when a crane operator last March lifted an improperly rigged load containing more than a ton of cement mix .

As a result, employees of Accucrete, a subcontractor on the North Hollywood subway station project, were exposed to a serious hazard, officials said. Accucrete also was cited for a serious violation of state worker safety laws and was fined $2,000.

If an accident had occurred, it would have posed a substantial probability of death or serious injury, said Mark Carleson, deputy chief of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Cal/OSHA officials said they observed the improperly rigged loads of concrete mounted on top of pallets during an inspection at the North Hollywood subway station last March.

The first worker killed on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s subway project was crushed to death in February 1997 after a two-ton bucket being lifted from a subway tunnel by a crane broke free because of a substandard chain.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently agreed to pay $6 million to settle a wrongful-death suit filed by the family of Jaime Pasillas, the worker killed in the accident. Pasillas worked for contractor Tutor-Saliba-Perini.

Carleson said the citations dated Tuesday were the first issued in the state under new multi-employer work site regulations that took effect at the end of last year.

Those regulations, patterned after federal rules, are intended to encourage employers to avoid job safety violations by one company that affect the employees of other firms at the same job site, Carleson said.

Cal/OSHA inspectors wrote in the citation to Accucrete that they observed the firm’s employees being exposed to improperly rigged loads containing more than 2,200 pounds of cement mix. The firm was given until Tuesday to correct the problem.

Kajima spokesman Joe McGowan said he could not comment on the specific incident. But he did say the firm works “very hard to ensure the safety of not only our own employees, but also the employees of our valued subcontractors and the other contractors on MTA’s projects.”

Officials of Accucrete could not be reached for comment.

Ralph Sbragia, construction safety administrator for the MTA, said he was not aware that the citations had been issued. However, he said the hazards involved would be discussed with subway contractors at a monthly safety meeting on Friday.

“Our efforts are to eliminate hazards,” he said.