The feed mill of Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) at Nashville, AR, has been fined a sum of $70,000 for “willful” safety violations by The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). The violation led to a fatality and the company has to pay the penalty by June 22 or prove its innocence.
Forty-eight year old Johnny Needham, of Lockesburg, AR, was killed during the early hours on December 9 when a grain silo collapsed, trapping him beneath several tons of grain and concrete.
As reported by The Texarkana Gazette, the federal agency had cited on June 1, 2011 that the collapsed grain silo was "structurally unsound." The report was released on Friday, June 10, 2011. It also accused Tyson of violating federal laws that makes it mandatory to keep workplaces free from any potential hazard.
A second silo was razed by the company in January, and the report certified that workplace safety issues identified by OSHA were corrected during inspection.
In June 2001, OSHA and Tyson Foods had signed a partnership agreement aimed at rendering proper worker safety and improving health conditions at two of the poultry processor's facilities in Clarksville, AR and in Monett, MO. OSHA will conduct a baseline evaluation at each site and list the compliance issues that need to be solved, along with recommended areas for improvement.
OSHA had charged the meat-packing plant of Tyson at Lexington, NE a sum of $66,000 against eight charges. Of all, one included exposing its workers to heath hazards in their workplace. The management failed to cover an electrical fitting and there were deficiencies in the refrigeration systems as well. The agency reported that the retail giant had been blamed for repeating a mistake and seven other serious violations.
The plant also failed to meet the standards as per the safety management program, respiratory protection program and control of hazardous energy lockout program;
On March 30, 2011 the company had been meted out a penalty charge of $45,000 on account of ten safety violations in its plant at Jefferson. Out of them nine were serious violations and only one was other-than-serious. On the other hand, Tyson Foods managed to secure a safer position of 50 out of 150 companies rated by Forbes’ Reputation in the first week of April.
Part of Tyson’s reputation is tied to its ongoing corporate social initiatives of fighting hunger in the U.S. The company celebrated 10 years of dedicated service for hunger relief in September 2010 and has donated almost 79 million pounds of protein during the time period.
Tyson which competes with Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD) holds a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating.
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