A Quarryville foundry where a mechanic died in a sand mixer accident in February has been cited with safety violations and ordered to pay thousands of dollars in penalties.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration charged Buck Co., 897 Lancaster Pike, Providence Township, with several “serious” violations on July 29, according to a citation. OSHA ordered the company to fix the issues and pay $30,000 in penalties. The fine was lowered to $19,000 in an informal settlement agreement Aug. 19.
Company President Matt Sullivan did not immediately return a phone call for comment Wednesday.
Fred Poston Jr., 56, of Washington Boro, was doing maintenance work inside a sand mixer on Feb. 8 when it somehow activated and fatally injured him, Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said.
Poston’s leg was caught inside the molding machine, Rawlinsville Fire Chief Carl Strickler Jr. said at the time.
Poston was “exposed to moving machine parts when the hazardous energy sources associated with the Ductile Muller were not controlled after a lock-out device was removed in order to test or position internal parts,” OSHA said in the citation.
“The company failed to identify and evaluate the batch hopper air supply as an energy source required to be controlled.”
A Lancaster EMS medic unit stationed at the foundry provided advanced life support care. Firefighters freed Poston from the equipment and he was taken to Lancaster General Hospital, where he died.
Source: lancasteronline.com
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