Earlier this year, AK’s Coshocton and Zanesville plants were awarded for safety by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Division of Safety & Hygiene, for the lowest incident rates and operating without a lost-time injury last year, according to the company. A subsidiary, AK Tube LLC, received awards in April from Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International, for performing better than the industry injury and illness average by at least 10 percent, according to AK.
So far this year, there have been seven injuries at Middletown Works and 19 injuries companywide, said Alan McCoy, a spokesman for the West Chester Twp.-based steelmaker.
Dick Gilgrist, area director of OSHA’s Cincinnati field office, said the steelmaker under-reports injuries.
“By not properly recording injuries and creating an environment that discourages employees from reporting occupational hazards, AK Steel has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the safety and welfare of its workers,” Gilgrist said in a statement.
AK Steel officials met with OSHA last week and issued a protest of the allegations Oct. 1, McCoy said. A hearing will likely result. But with revenues exceeding $4 billion a year, the fine isn’t significant.
“What is extraordinarily significant though is the allegation. That’s why we will not let it stand,” McCoy said.
This is not the first time there have been safety issues at the plant, and workers had been killed there, said Michael Bailey, former president of what was then the Armco Employees Independent Federation union. In the late 1990s, an agreement was made to put union safety coordinators on the floor to ensure safety, Bailey said.
“It’s a sad day to hear that environment has returned when men and women are fearful to turn in a violation,” said Bailey, who retired from AK in 2002. “I’m hoping this is not true.”
AK Steel disputes OSHA’s claims
An AK Steel Corp. official calls “absurd” an area OSHA director’s assertion that record-keeping violations may be just the beginning of the steelmaker’s problems in reporting workplace injuries.
AK Steel was cited for eight record-keeping violations for allegedly not properly recording work injuries at its Middletown Works plant by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and faces fines of $53,000.
“This notion that we intimidate employees to not record serious injury is absurd,” said Alan McCoy, a spokesman for AK Steel.
He also said OSHA has not presented evidence for its claims.
AK Steel filed a Notice of Contest Oct. 1, according to McCoy. The dispute, said McCoy, is not that the workplace injuries were not reported, but whether they should have been reported to OSHA.
“But the overlying issue is we believe what we see recorded is just the tip of the ice burg. That employees are afraid to report illnesses and injuries to the employer,” said Dick Gilgrist, area director of OSHA’s Cincinnati field office.
AK Steel was selected for a random inspection under an OSHA primary metals local emphasis program, Gilgrist said. Three compliance officers were in Middletown from January to August. They reviewed 300 medical records over three years and conducted interviews, McCoy said.
Work-related injuries qualify to be reported to OSHA when they require certain levels of medical treatment, restricted work or lost work days, McCoy said. For example, McCoy said one of the alleged violations involves a burn on the leg and during treatment, a third-party doctor found a pre-existing medical condition. It was not reported to OSHA because the prescription medication was not for a work-related injury, he said.
Thirteen employees are alleged to have work-related hearing loss. But an independent study found the hearing loss was not work-related, according to the company.
McCoy also said AK has a safety program that disciplines employees and supervisors for violating safety rules. Employees can get verbal or written warnings, lose hours or be terminated. In addition, he said safety is one of three components of an annual bonus program that would pay $600 for safety tips.
But Gilgrist contends it’s more than that. Bonuses are partly based on whether managers make safety observations. If rules are violated, employees will be taken off-site, drug tested and put through a sobriety test no matter how minor the incident, which he said is a disincentive to report injuries.
Gilgrist also said the reported injury rate compares to rates seen at video rental stores, for example.
OSHA has cited AK Steel almost 500 times since 1972, according to the organization. Scott Rich, president and acting business director of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers that represents hourly workers at Middletown Works, said the union has addressed safety issues with the company and is waiting to hear back.
Middletown Works also recently received four notices between April and September from Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services alleging violations for smoke emissions that were too thick.
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