LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Southern California foundry has been fined more than $280,000 for workplace safety violations following an accident that resulted in the amputation of an employee’s legs.
Cal/OSHA said Wednesday that the fine results from an incident last August when two workers at Alhambra Foundry were cleaning a 38-foot auger screw conveyer of an industrial air filtration machine.
Officials say the workers didn’t de-energize the machine during the cleaning. At one point another employee 45 feet away turned the machine on to perform a test and the giant screw pulled one man into the conveyer.
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City News Service says both the man’s legs had to be amputated in order to free him.
Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum said employers must ensure equipment are locked out before workers perform maintenance.
A message seeking comment from foundry officials wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.
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