Penalties reduced, case dismissed in fatal fall incident at cement plant

摘要

Acontractor hired to remove roofing at a cement plant agreed to pay MSHA a civil penalty reduced from 14,400 dollars to 11,520 dollars in a case arising from a fatal fall. The contractor's on-site foreman agreed to pay the agency a personal penalty reduced from 1,500 dollars to 1,200 dollars, and MSHA agreed to drop its Sec. 110(c) case against the contractor's vice president. Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Chief ALJ Robert J. Lesnick approved the setdement agreement involving Parsons Steel Erectors Inc., its vice president, Joe M. Parsons, and foreman John Hall in an April 15 decision. The fatal accident occurred in September 2002 at Arizona Portland Cement's Rillito Plant, a cement plant in Pima County, Ariz. Parsons Steel had been hired to remove roofing on a kiln, and one of its employees, 30-year-old Clifford J. Duna-gan, was working with the foreman to remove sections of the roof. The foreman heard a yell, turned, and saw Dunagan fall from the roof onto the concrete pad, 46 feet below. His death was attributed to multiple injuries to the head and torso owing to blunt impact.