HORIZON CITED FOR SAFETY VIOLATIONS

Horizon Resources Inc., a subsidiary company of Jerry Lipps Co., of Cape Girardeau, has 15 working days to respond to citations and proposed penalties from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Horizon was cited for violations at two work sites, said G. T. Breezley, a St. Louis area director for OSHA. Some of the violations were related to the death of a worker in October.

A total of 24 citations were issued Friday by OSHA as a result of two separate inspections, with $348,350 in penalties suggested.

Horizon officials could not be contacted for comment.

OSHA began the investigation after a Horizon worker was killed Oct. 2 in an accident in Jackson, Mo., where the company was building a warehouse for Lipps' trucking company.

The worker was crushed to death while working in an aerial lift basket.

OSHA inspectors uncovered 14 violations at the Jackson site, including two classified as willful and 11 deemed serious. Willful violations are those with intentional disregard or indifference to OSHA requirements. A penalty of $180,950 was proposed for violations at the Jackson site, according to OSHA regional administrator Charles E. Adkins.

The alleged willful violations involved the modification of the aerial lift, which inspectors said had malfunctioned for some time prior to the accident; and for alleged failure to use protection against a fall.

Among the serious violations were allegations of an inadequate guardrail, failure to ensure controls were working properly, failure to inspect machines and cranes, and failure of employees to wear protective equipment.

OSHA then inspected a Horizon work site in St. Louis and cited 10 violations there, including two willful and seven serious. The administration proposed a penalty of $167,400 for the St. Louis violations.

The company has three options. It can comply with the citations and penalties; participate in an information conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the charges.