BRASELTON, Ga. – The US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited poultry processor KD Acquisition I LLC, doing business as Coleman Natural Foods, for eight safety violations at the company's KD5 plant in Braselton after receiving a complaint about safety hazards, the agency said on Jan 12. Proposed penalties total $142,150.

OSHA cited the company for three repeat violations for failing to:

• install machine guards on equipment where employees could come into contact with moving parts;
• tightly seal electrical enclosures to prevent corrosion; and
• provide adequate strain relief on electrical components.

The violations carry penalties of $121,000, OSHA said. Similar violations were cited in 2006 and 2007.

OSHA also cited KD Acquisition for four safety violations for failing to:

• Provide and ammonia detector that would warn of gas dispersal into the air;
• Provide training to employees acting in the capacity of hazardous materials technicians when accessing equipment during emergency release of ammonia;
• Repair or contain hydraulic fluid leaks that created slippery floors; and
• Provide machine guards when operating the shaft ends of conveyor systems.

Another violation cited by OSHA was failing to provide an annual maintenance inspection of a fire extinguisher.