ALJ Decision in Riverdale Mills Corporation, OSHRC Docket Nos. 19-1566 & 19-2011, Becomes a Final Order of the Commission.
Riverdale Mills Corporation (Riverdale) manufactures coated wire mesh products at its facility in Northbridge, Massachusetts. On April 3, 2019, a Riverdale employee suffered a severe injury to his right arm as he attempted to adjust a length of mesh as it moved through rotating rollers on the Coating Line. The Northbridge Police Department notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the incident. An OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO) opened a safety inspection at Riverdale’s facility later that day. On June 27, 2019, an OSHA Industrial Hygienist (IH) opened a health inspection of the facility. On September 26, 2019, the Secretary issued a Citation and Notification of Penalty to Riverdale (the Safety Citation), alleging violations of eight safety standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. §§651-678 (Act). On December 13, 2019, the Secretary issued a second Citation (the Health Citation) to Riverdale, alleging violations of four health standards of the Act. After Riverdale contested the Citations, the Commission docketed the Safety and Health Citations as Nos. 19-1566 and 19-2011, respectively. The Safety and Health cases were consolidated for hearing and disposition on February 4, 2020.