OSHA opened an investigation after an employee of Quala Systems Inc.’s QualaWash tank-washing subsidiary died shortly after entering an oxygen-deficient chemical container at the company’s facilities in Garden City, GA. Serious violations cited by OSHA include failure to provide employees with proper training and respiratory protection, failure to provide workers with adequate respiratory equipment for tanks containing air contaminants, and failing to monitor the workspace prior to entry. OSHA says these failures directly contributed to the employee’s death from asphyxia.

[Quala Systems Inc., Tampa, FL. Release number 08-98-ATL (025), Feb. 1, 2008]