OSHA cuts fine against Ceres in worker's death (paid $1,250 for the violation)

[Omaha Steve]

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/03/osha-cuts-fine-against-ceres-workers-death

By Gregory Richards
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 6, 2008

The federal government slashed a fine levied against Ceres Terminals Inc. for the July 13 death of a longshoreman at Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

Ceres paid $1,250 for a violation of federal safety regulations classified as "other," said Leo Edwards, director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Norfolk office, on Wednesday.

OSHA classifies violations four ways, Edwards said: willful, repeat, serious and other. Ceres was cited for not marking safe areas for employees to walk to and from "active cargo transfer points," he said.

In August, OSHA fined Ceres $3,500, below the maximum of $7,000. It charged the stevedoring company with a "serious" violation of federal standards for not directing its employees to stay clear of the area beneath a suspended cargo container. Ceres appealed the case.

The worker, Vernon L. White Jr., 42, was crushed when he walked under a truck-size container as a crane lowered it to the ground. The Norfolk resident was leaving the ship he was working on, the SCI Kiran, for lunch. The co-worker he left with, Wendell L. Epps, said in a police report that the pair were not aware that the crane was still operating.

White was working as a foreman for Ceres, a New Jersey-based company hired by shipping lines to load and unload ships. Ceres is owned by NYK Group, a Japanese shipping company.

FULL story at link.