Goodyear contests citations at Virginia plant

DANVILLE, Va.—Goodyear has contested citations handed down by the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration following investigations into a series of deaths and accidents at the company's Danville plant.

VOSH cited Goodyear for numerous alleged violations at the tire factory and fined the company more than $1 million, it said in a news release issued Oct. 13.

Four fatalities have occurred at the facility from August 2015 to August 2016. The latest citations resulted from the second and third deaths, Charles “Greg” Cooper, 53, and Kevin Waid Edmonds, 54; two comprehensive plant inspections; a non-fatal steam burn accident probe; and a fingertip amputation.

Cooper died April 12, while Edmonds was killed in an industrial accident on March 31.

VOSH's investigation into the fourth fatality is still ongoing, and citations have not yet been issued, according to Jennifer L. Rose, VOSH safety program director. The only penalties levied thus far are for those listed on the citations, she said.

Its initial probe at the site into the Aug. 31, 2015, death of Jeanie Strader, 56—who died when she was caught in machine rollers, according to an OSHA report—resulted in VOSH citing three serious violations at the Danville plant and fining Goodyear $16,975 in penalties on Feb. 25, 2016.

Akron-headquartered Goodyear also contested those findings. The case has not been resolved.

A Goodyear spokeswoman said the company filed a Notice of Contest on the most recent citations “as part of a formal process to engage with VOSH on its findings and seek a mutually acceptable resolution.”

Once a case is contested, companies are not required to correct cited violations until the case is either settled or tried in a circuit court for the city or county where the alleged violation took place, according to VOSH, which is part of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

Following the latest safety and health inspections at the factory, VOSH cited four willful, 115 serious and three other serious violations at the Danville site, which operates three shifts and manufactures aviation and specialty tires. VOSH levied $1,012,400 in penalties.

Among the more serious violations cited were instances of improper machine guarding and violations of lockout/tagout requirements.

According to VOSH, standards require that dangerous machinery should be guarded to prevent accidental contact and that all machine's energy sources should remain de-energized and locked out to prevent inadvertent movement when workers are exposed to hazards while servicing or repairing the equipment.

It maintained in its news release that workers exposed to machinery without energy control devices are in jeopardy of losing a limb or even their lives, as was allegedly the case in the death of Strader.

VOSH also hit Goodyear with two willful and two serious violations and fined the tire maker $152,600 in penalties tied to the death of Cooper. He was an 18-year employee and maintenance mechanic at the facility who was ruled dead after his body was found in a 6-foot, 8-inch pit/sump containing boiling water and oil. Burns and drowning were listed as cause of death.

In addition, VOSH issued one serious violation and a $7,000 penalty for a nonfatal accident that occurred April 25 involving an employee who was burned by steam while attempting to retest a tire curing press with a co-worker.

Goodyear and the United Steelworkers union conducted extensive inspections at the Danville factory not only after the death of Cooper, but also following the three other fatalities.

The latest probes involve 47-year-old William Christopher Scheier, an electrician from South Boston, Va. An employee for almost six years, he was killed early in the morning of Aug. 12. Those investigations have not been finalized.

VOSH said it issued its latest citations and levied the fines Oct. 7.

Goodyear's spokeswoman indicated the tire maker did not receive them until Oct. 11. It officially contested the citations on Oct. 14. The tire maker had 15 days from receipt of the findings to determine if it would challenge the rulings.

In a statement, Goodyear said it is committed to the health and safety of all of its employees. The firm said after its review of the citations it will work with VOSH and the USW “to implement any necessary additional corrective actions at our Danville plant, beyond those we have already identified ourselves and are addressing.”

As far as the latest investigation and remediation are concerned, Goodyear said following its comprehensive safety review at the Danville factory, it has identified and is dealing with environmental, operational and process improvements.

“We have implemented a series of voluntary wall-to-wall inspections, enhanced our comprehensive training to associates, strengthened the rigorous safety checks at all levels and made numerous facility improvements,” it said. “Additionally, we are further enhancing our safety audit processes to identify and eliminate potential adverse events before they happen.”

VOSH Commissioner C. Ray Davenport said in a statement that “while the citations and penalties issued in the inspections to date indicate that very serious problems appear to have existed for an extended period of time at the plant, the department intends to work closely with Goodyear, the United Steelworkers, and site employees and managers.”