OSHA News

American Made Tires, an automotive tire recycler in Elmira Heights that was cited and fined by Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 12 violations in November, has again been fined for failing to correct those violations.

Because of that inaction and the discovery of new and recurring hazards during a follow-up OSHA inspection, the company faces an additional $160,280 in proposed fines, according to a press release from OSHA.

OSHA’s Syracuse Area Office initially cited the company for 16 serious violations of workplace safety standards in July, following an inspection conducted between March and July 2013. American Made Tires agreed to correct the cited hazards and pay the required fine of $20,100.

But when the company failed to submit proof that it had corrected the hazards, OSHA did a follow-up inspection in November. Because of the uncorrected hazards, OSHA issued 12 failure to abate notices carrying fines totaling $144,000.

Three repeat violations were cited for hazards identified in the earlier inspection. These violations carry $14,080 in fines. One serious violation discovered during the November inspection, use of a portable electric lamp in a spraying area during operations, carried a $2,200 fine.

During the November re-inspection, American Made Tires’ citations include improperly constructed flammable spray booths located near spark-producing equipment, failure to implement lockout/tagout procedures, lack of machine guarding and training for employees working with hazardous chemicals.

The repeat violations included the use of hazardous electrical equipment and use of a spark-producing grinder in a flammable area.

American Made Tires has 15 business days from receipt of its failure-to-abate notices, citations and proposed penalties dated to comply, meet informally with OSHA’s area director in Syracuse, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

American Made Tires has also been cited by the Village of Elmira Heights for code violations that include having tires stockpiled outside the company’s building at 1717 Grand Central Ave., which constitutes a fire hazard, having unregistered motor vehicles and unsightly debris on the property.

Village officials, however, would not discuss the status of those violations.