OSHA Hits AK Steel With $200,000 Fine for Recordkeeping

June 10, 2011

Agency alleges that company failed to report certain hearing-threshold shifts.

OSHA has cited AK Steel Corp. for allegedly failing to record hearing hazards at the company's Butler Works facility in Butler, Pa.

Proposed penalties total $206,000.

After receiving a complaint, OSHA inspected the facility on Dec. 3. Inspectors cited AK Steel with four willful violations carrying a penalty of $200,000, and six other-than-serious violations with a penalty of $6,000.

The willful violations stem from the company's alleged failure, from 2007 to 2010, to record standard threshold shifts (STS) on the OSHA 300 Log when employees' hearing tests revealed that they experienced a work-related STS and the employees' total hearing level was 25 decibels or more above audiometric zero, according to OSHA.

The other-than-serious violations are due to the company's alleged failure to properly record other work-related injuries and illnesses occurring in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

The Butler Works facility produces specialty steels and has 1,500 employees, according to OSHA.

West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel makes flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products for automotive, appliance, construction and electrical-power markets, according to the company's website.

About the Author

Josh Cable | Former Senior Editor

Former Senior Editor Josh Cable covered innovation issues -- including trends and best practices in R&D, process improvement and product development. He also reported on the best practices of the most successful companies and executives in the world of transportation manufacturing, which encompasses the aerospace, automotive, rail and shipbuilding sectors.

Josh also led the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW’s annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

Before joining IndustryWeek, Josh was the editor-in-chief of Penton Media’s Government Product News and Government Procurement. He also was an award-winning beat reporter for several small newspapers in Northeast Ohio.

Josh received his BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green University, and continued his professional development through course-work at Ohio University and Cuyahoga Community College.

A lifelong resident of the Buckeye State, Josh currently lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. When the weather cooperates, you’ll find him riding his bike to work, exercising his green thumb in the backyard or playing ultimate Frisbee.