The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Tenneco Automotive Operating Co. Inc., a manufacturer of automotive exhaust systems and components, for 27 safety and health violations at its Hartwell, Ga., plant. Staffing agency Elite Logistic Service Inc., which provided temporary employees to Tenneco at the plant, was also cited for one serious safety violation.

OSHA cited Tenneco for eight “repeat” violations, carrying $242,550 in penalties, and placed the company in its severe violator enforcement program for demonstrating indifference to its OSH Act obligations to provide a safe and healthful workplace for employees. According to OSHA, the violations involve exposing workers to slip and fall hazards due to soiled and slippery welding oils on floors; failing to protect workers from moving machine parts during service and maintenance; neglecting to protect employees from dangerous equipment with required guarding; and storing oxygen and acetylene cylinders improperly. The company was cited for these same violations in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

OSHA also cited Tenneco for 16 “serious” violations, with $93,400 in penalties, for an inoperable stop pull cord used for emergencies and exposing workers to struck-by and crushing hazards. The company failed to ensure emergency exit signs were installed and operational and to affix equipment to the floor, which exposed workers to fire. Three other violations included failure to label hazardous materials properly, workers using designed safety locks inappropriately and not standardizing safety locks.

Tenneco is a global transportation components manufacturer with more than 80 facilities on six continents and corporate offices in Lake Forest, Ill.

According to OSHA, Elite Logistic Service employs approximately 110 temporary workers at the Tenneco facility. Elite was cited with one violation, carrying a penalty of $6,300, for failure to remove its employees from exposure to unguarded pallet tippers.

“The high number of repeat violations of the same or similar hazards demonstrates that this employer is not concerned with protecting its permanent or temporary employees from occupational dangers,” said Bill Fulcher, director of OSHA’s Atlanta-East area office. “Fixing a hazard once, but allowing it to creep back into the workplace, shows that management has priorities other than running an effective safety and health program.”

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.