Updated 09/14/2009 08:14 PM
OSHA trainer says construction site violations too common
Following a May report that labeled Texas the nation's deadliest state when it comes to construction accidents, the state has seen an influx of federal inspectors.
According to the labor union conglomerate AFL-CIO, only 77 OSHA inspectors are permanently assigned to Texas, and it would take those 77 inspectors 144 years to visit every job site.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, however, sent more federal safety inspectors to Texas in July.
•Click the link to access the statistics for the fatal occupational injuries, annual average hours worked, total employment, and rates of fatal occupational injuries by selected worker characteristics, occupations and industries for 2007, the last year the government took statistics.
•Also, for the first study of its kind of Mexican worker deaths in the United States, the Associated Press talked with scores of workers, employers, advocates and government officials and analyzed years of federal safety and population statistics.
An agency spokesperson wouldn't say how many inspectors arrived, nor did he disclose the duration of their stay. He did say, however, that the added inspectors have issued nearly 1,300 violations, resulting in $1.8 million in fines.
Department of Labor data from May shows a 31 percent increase in construction deaths in Texas over four years. In 2008, 67 workers died in construction site related deaths. That numbers had reached 33 for 2009, so far.
Manuel Pescador Jr. is not an inspector, but he is an OSHA-authorized outreach trainer who travels the state teaching construction workers to spot and avoid safety hazards.
"I've seen some major violations that could cause a death, and I've seen some good locations also," he said.
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Starting with the good, Pescador highlighted a site in downtown Austin run by a multi-million-dollar company. Pescador said big sites can usually afford to invest in safety, and it shows.
"We have proper lighting, we have a barricade, a danger hard hat area," he said. "We have a gentleman with a safety vest."
Good examples, however, are the exception, Pescador said.
"Where we'll find a lot of safety violations is if we go into areas not as visible," he said.
• For more information on OSHA penalties see Section 17 of the OSH Act.
• If you are an employer, you may wish to contact the OSHA Consultation Program for your state for free on-site assistance in identifying and correcting hazards or setting up safety and health programs.
• If you are a worker, you can call the nearest OSHA area office, or you can file a complaint online through the OSHA Workers' Page.
Pescador said one site in East Austin looks to be the work of low-budget subcontractors.
"Here we have a major violation," Pescador said. "Any and all electrical receptacles must be fully enclosed. Somebody can go in there and stick in a finger. People can actually die, get electrocuted."
That kind of violation could affect a child or any passerby who approaches the receptacles. Pescador also pointed to workers exposed to further risks.
"The gentleman painting, if he falls off, he's going to fall approximately 25 feet," Pescador said. "The law says if there's a possibility to fall off more than six feet, you need fall protection. He has none."
No worker at the site wore a hard hat and one man lacked welding protection.
The general contractor of that East Austin development where Pescador found violations said it has never had a workplace injury, nor received an OSHA citation in eight years.
"I would stop this job. If I had the authority to stop it, I would stop it," Pescador said.
The problem is Pescador doesn't have the authority. He's only a trainer.
Workplace injury lawyer Steven Pastrana said a lack of authority on the issue is a major problem.
"Unfortunately I don't think we have the resources, state nor federal, to properly police and regulate the industry," Pastrana said.
Pastrana said that's not much incentive to play by the rules.
"What it does is it encourages contractors to cut corners," he said.
Pastrana and Pescador agree that helps explain why 142 Texas construction workers died on the job in 2007.
"Why is Texas the leading state for deaths and injuries? Why have we had fatalities here in Austin? Why?" Pescador said. "It's not about me grading them. The numbers speak for themselves."