July 11, 2024

Department of Labor cites severe safety violator again after inspection finds workers at Vinton steel plant exposed to serious workplace hazards

Kyoei Steel LTD faces $269K in penalties for 5 repeat, 2 serious safety violations

EL PASO, TX – Two years after the U.S. Department of Labor added Kyoei Steel LTD to its program for severe violators of federal safety and health regulations, inspectors returned for a follow-up inspection at the Vinton steel fabrication and recycling facility and again found the company endangering its workers.

In April 2022, the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for 19 serious violations by the company, which operates as Vinton Steel LLC, and assessed $364,078 in proposed penalties. OSHA also placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. In the past five years, there have been 10 workplace safety incidents, five of which involved an employee's amputation injury.

An inspection of the facility in January 2024 again found the company exposing employees to dangers related to the following hazards:

• Failing to keep workers clear of loads lifted by slings, and not keeping slings in good working order.
• Not properly guarding machinery and exposing workers to moving parts.
• Failing to have fire extinguishers maintained, fully charged and in good operating condition.
• Not ensuring fit testing of workplace respirators to protect employees.
• Not completing medical evaluations to determine employees' ability to use a respirator.

"Vinton Steel continues to show a callous disregard for the safety of its employees by exposing them to potentially deadly hazards," said OSHA Area Director Diego Alvarado Jr. in El Paso, Texas. "The company must immediately stop endangering its workers and correct its safety failures before someone gets seriously injured or worse."

OSHA cited Vinton Steel for five repeat and two serious violations and proposed $269,631 in penalties.

Based in Osaka, Japan, Kyoei Steel LTD operates Vinton Steel LLC in Texas with about 400 employees represented by United Steelworkers Local 9424. The company and its subsidiaries operate primarily in Japan with additional operations in Canada and Vietnam.

Kyoei Steel LTD has 15 business days from receipt of citation 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.

Learn more about OSHA.

Media Contacts:

Chauntra Rideaux, 972-850-4710, rideaux.chauntra.d@dol.gov
Juan J. Rodríguez, 972-850-4709, rodriguez.juan@dol.gov

Release Number: 24-1389-DAL