Anchor Glass fined by OSHA, 1 year after paying penalty following worker's death

Jeff Smith, The Leader
·2 min read

Anchor Glass Container Corp. agreed to pay about $64,000 after it was cited for serious workforce hazards in its Elmira Heights plant.

That agreement comes less than a year after the company paid about $52,000 in penalties for four serious violations found after an employee was trapped and killed in a silo in late January 2022.

Ted Fitzgerald, a Department of Labor spokesman, said the fatality inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened Jan. 31, 2022, and Anchor Glass corrected the violations and paid $51,796 in penalties.

A comprehensive inspection of the facility on East McCanns Boulevard started July 2022 and OSHA cited Anchor Glass on Jan. 19 with 15 serious violations and proposed $107,148 in penalties, Fitzgerald said. OSHA and Anchor Glass reached a settlement and the company agreed to pay the $64,289 penalty.

The Elmira Height Fire Department was one of many area departments at Anchor Glass in an attempt to save a trapped employee’s life in January 2022.
The Elmira Height Fire Department was one of many area departments at Anchor Glass in an attempt to save a trapped employee’s life in January 2022.

Serious violations exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.

“Workers who enter confined spaces, including silos, risk being overcome, sometimes fatally, by toxic and oxygen-deficient atmospheres and also face engulfment hazards that can result in suffocation,” Fitzgerald said. “OSHA standards require that employers identify confined spaces in their workplaces and maintain a comprehensive and effective confines space program so that no worker is exposed to these hazards.”

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Guy L. Peck II, 60, of Waverly, was killed at Anchor Glass plant in the January 2022 while working in an area known as the batch house, officials said. He discovered a problem with a manufacturing holding silo and entered the silo tank, where he became trapped in lime powder.

“In general, employers should embrace safety and health as a core value,” Fitzgerald said. “A comprehensive safety and health program that includes management commitment, employee involvement, risk assessment, hazard prevention and control, education and training, and program evaluation should be developed and implemented to protect workers.”

Anchor Glass Container Corp. officials did not respond for comment.

This article originally appeared on The Leader: Anchor Glass in Elmira Heights pays OSHA penalties twice in 12 months