MAPLETON, Ill. – Caterpillar is being fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the death of a worker at its Mapleton foundry earlier this year.
OSHA says in a news release Caterpillar is being fined more than $145,000, and is being forced to install guardrails and restraint systems, or otherwise eliminate hazards at the plant.
OSHA says had Caterpillar done that, the death of Steven Dierkes, 39, as identified by the Peoria County Coroner, could have been avoided.
“Producing more than 150,000 tons each year, Caterpillar’s foundry is one of the nation’s largest and they should be acutely aware of industry regulations to protect workers using smelters and other dangerous equipment,” said Bill Donovan, OSHA Regional Administrator, in a news release.
They also accuse the plant — which makes cast iron engine components — of routinely exposing employees to such fall hazards.
Dierkes fell into a eleven feet deep pot of molten iron heated to more than 2,000 back in early June, OSHA says, as he was attempting to remove an iron sample from a furnace.
OSHA says it was just his ninth day on the job.
“Caterpillar’s failure to meet its legal responsibilities to ensure the safety and health of workers leaves this worker’s family, friends and co-workers to grieve needlessly,” said OSHA Area Director Christine Zortman in Peoria, also in a news release. “We implore employers to review the agency specific regulations to protect workers from falls into equipment in industrial settings.”
