OSHA inspected a storm drain and sewer line installation site in Atlanta and cited one company with two repeat and one serious safety violations and another with four serious safety violations. Plateau Excavation Inc. is facing $75,000 in proposed penalties for repeat violations alleging that workers were exposed to cave-in hazards by the placement of excavated materials within two feet of a trench, and allowing workers to enter 18-foot-deep unprotected trenches. The company was also fined $7,000 for a serious violation of failing to provide employees with a means of egress from the trench. Beck Inc. was cited for four serious safety violations carrying $12,250 in proposed penalties. The charges allege that the company failed to provide hazard recognition training to employees, provided inadequate access for a 24-foot-deep trench, allowed excavated materials to be placed too near the edge of a trench and did not provide an adequate protective system for employees working in a trench.

[Plateau Excavation Inc., Austell, GA and Beck Inc., Graham, AL. Release number 08-526-ATL (100), April 24, 2008]