ASARCO OSHA Inspections and Violations

ASARCO OSHA Inspections and Violations

OHSA
ASARCO
Employee Rights

This artifact is a very short, but very informative summary of the kind of work Occupational Safety and Health was up to during its inaugural year in business in 1971. This new federal program ensured worker safety by implementing enforceable regulations on businesses across the country. Born out of labor unionizing and the mobilization for worker safety, OSHA had a lot of work to do. Gone were the days of exploitive, unjust labor. Interestingly, Omaha was one of the first cities to have an OSHA post of its own - similar cities included Baltimore and Chicago. (OSHA.gov) Given the large industries - railroad, steel, beef packing, canning, lead, and transportation - it is logical to see why that was the case. In its second year in operation in Omaha, OHSA conducted 467 separate inspections spanning over many different industries. (OSHA.gov) Of these inspections, the industry with the most violations was lead; the most criminal company within the lead industry was ASARCO. It lead all categories in all industries with the most infractions - 30 of them totaling about $19,000. In 2019, that’s equivalent to about $116,000. (Usinflationcalculator.com) The most common infraction was ‘overhead and gantry cranes’ which could either be ventilation within a crane machine or the presence of them in improper places. (OHSA.gov)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Hyperlink from OSHA.gov

Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Omaha branch

October 27th, 1973

Rohit Akella
Betty Straub

Rights reserved for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration

English

https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=17237744&id=17269739