November 22, 2016

OSHA issues more than $150K in fines to Louisiana contractor
for confined space violations after fumes sicken two workers

Employer Name:

Don M. Barron Contractor Inc.

Don M. Barron Contractor Inc.

3600 Dick Taylor St.

3600 Dick Taylor St.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Citations Issued: Nov. 22, 2016

Investigation Findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to a report of unsafe working conditions May 17, 2016, after two employees of Don M. Barron Contractor lost consciousness and collapsed. The workers were exposed to hazardous gas while entering a sewer system. Federal safety and health investigators found the company allowed the workers inside a confined space without having tested the space for hazards.

OSHA issued citations for six serious violations and one willful violation. The agency also cited company for failing to maintain gas testing meters and rescue equipment, and for not training all employees in confined space entry.

Proposed penalties: $152,147

Quote: "Don M. Barron Contractor should never allow workers to enter a confined space without properly evaluating hazards inside the space," said Dorinda Folse, OSHA's area director in Baton Rouge. "This employer must take responsibility for making sure these types of injuries and the potential for loss of life do not happen again."

Link to citations: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/DonMBarroncontractors_1152688.pdf

Information: Don M. Barron Contractor specializes in commercial buildings and utilities. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Baton Rouge Area Office at 225-298-5458.

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Media Contacts:

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

Release Number: 16-2159-DAL

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