FORT ATKINSON, Wis. – Jones Dairy Farm, Fort Atkinson, Wis., has been cited by the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with 15 safety and health violations, including employee overexposure to respirable dust, failure to implement a respiratory protection program and failure to properly store hazardous chemicals. The company faces fines of $70,000.

In January, OSHA conducted an inspection and citations for eight serious safety violations, with proposed penalties of $42,000, were issued for open sided platforms; damaged storage racks; a missing tongue guard on a grinder; having a compressed air gun registered over 30 lbs. per square inch; storing oxygen and acetylene cylinders together; failing to having a working pressure gauge on the acetylene cylinder; missing a flash back arrestor on the acetylene cylinder and using electrical equipment that was not free from hazards.


Citations for six serious health violations, with proposed penalties of $28,000, were issued for: failing to establish and implement a respiratory protection program; failing to have written operating procedures for high stage compressors; failing to establish procedures to manage changes to process chemicals; storing incompatible hazardous chemicals together; using equipment that had not been approved for ignitable or combustible properties and failing to train employees on the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the work area.

The company was also issued one other-than-serious health citation for not providing employees with basic advisory information on respirators. No penalty was assessed for this violation. An other-than-serious citation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious injury.

Jones Dairy Farm has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.