Titan fined in wake of truck driver´s death in Des Moines, Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (March 14)—The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Bureau is fining Titan International Inc. $150,000 for violations it says led to a fire outside the company´s Des Moines tire plant and the death of a truck driver. A Nov. 24 chemical fire at the Titan facility took the life of 25-year-old driver Douglas Oswald, who worked for the transport company owning the truck. The IOSH citation said the company violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act in several ways, including the failure to develop and implement an emergency response plan and develop and utilize specific procedures for locking and tagging out the plant´s heptane chemical piping system. Titan says it has the correct emergency procedures in place and will appeal the fines.