“The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued 54 workplace safety and health citations with penalties totaling $1.2 million to gun powder substitute manufacturer Black Mag LLC, following an investigation into the causes of a deadly explosion in May at the company’s worksite in Colebrook, N.H. The explosion took the lives of two workers who had been on the job for only a month.” As reliableplant reveals, the company’s cavalier attitude to safety is some major league scary ass shit . . .
On May 14, two workers and a plant supervisor were manufacturing a gun powder substitute known as Black Mag powder when the explosion occurred. The workers had been required to hand feed powder into operating equipment due to the employer’s failure to implement essential protective controls. The employer also chose not to implement remote starting procedures, isolate operating stations, establish safe distancing and erect barriers or shielding – all of which are necessary for the safe manufacture of explosive powder. Additionally, the employer chose not to provide the personal protective equipment and other safety measures its employees needed to work safely with such hazardous material. OSHA cited the company with four egregious willful, 12 willful, 36 serious and two other-than-serious violations . . .
Click here for OSHA’s report on Millennium Designed Muzzleloaders‘ ops. It’s even worse in detail. For example, the factory failed to prohibit smoking or institute the most basic of safety and security measures (e.g. the manufacturing area was accessible to the rest of the plant through a tarp-covered doorway).
Given the shocking nature and incredible scope of the safety violations, you’ve got to wonder if the feds should have simply padlocked the place (despite the effect on local employment). The forthcoming civil lawsuits may achieve the same result.