UPDATED
The January death of a long-time employee of Oak Creations in Columbus has been attributed to “acute exposure to wood dust,” according to a report issued Thursday by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).
Tom Hegg was a finish sander who had worked for the company for 15 years. His death prompted an OSHA inspection that found a total of 21 safety violations that were classified as “serious,” according to the report.
Those violations included conditions that exposed workers to respiratory hazards, fire, explosions and amputation.
“Oak Creations could have implemented simple, common-sense measures to provide a safe workplace for employees,” wrote OSHA’s Billings director Eric Brooks in a news release. “The best way to honor Mr. Hegg is to ensure that his colleagues have a safe place to work.”
Hegg was described as “one of the most loyal friends a person could have; whether it was branding, calving, moving cattle, bucking hay, or just talking, Tom was always willing and ready to lend a hand. New acquaintances turned into old friends at the Atlas Bar where everybody knew his name. Tom enjoyed being social whether it was at a local sledding hill or a gun shoot. He felt very strongly that friendship was one of the most important things a person could possess,” according to his obituary that was published in the News. He left behind a wife, five sons and nine grandchildren.
Specific citations included the following:
•Explosion hazards while transferring sawdust to an in-house fabricated dust collection system through a 4-inch PVC sewer pipe.
•Fire and explosion hazards while constructing custom cabinets with combustible sawdust and elevated surfaces and ledges from .5 to 2-inches deep.
•Fire hazards in using a stand-up freezer as an unapproved flammable storage cabinet.
•Fire and explosion hazards while applying flammable and combustible liquids such as, but not limited to, ethanol, propanol, methyl proposal, formaldehyde, acetone, butyl acetone, methoxy propanol acetate and amorphous silica to finished cabinets in spraying areas while using an unapproved heater and other electrical equipment.
•Exposure to “caught in” and “struck-by” hazards while operating unguarded or unsecured machinery.
•Amputation hazards while “ripping grain lumber” with unguarded equipment.
The citations total $50,000 and the company has 15 days from the date they were issued to “comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director in Billings, or contest the findings before the independent OSHA Review Commission,” according to the news release. The citations were issued on July 27.