The Washington Department of Labor & Industries has fined a Vancouver tile and granite company $261,000 for failing to protect workers from silica dust exposure and other health hazards related to stone slab grinding.
Wall to Wall Tile & Stone, 1305 W. 17th St., received 11 citations, the majority of which came from violations found during a November 2014 inspection and were never corrected, according to a Department of Labor & Industries news release.
An inspector found that employees were exposed to silica quartz dust at more than 3.4 times the permitted limit. Breathing in silica dust, over time, can cause lung disease, cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis and other airway diseases, the news release said.
Most of the serious violations were related to personal protective equipment, such as full-face respirators. The state agency found that Wall to Wall didn’t have a written respiratory protection program or provide testing and training for workers who wear respirators. The company also was cited for failing to provide testing and training for hearing protection, and for failing to develop, implement and maintain a written chemical hazard program.
The company received two general violations from the 2014 inspection for failing to provide medical evaluations for employees who wear full-face respirators and for not creating a list of chemicals used in the workplace, the news release said.
Since that inspection, the company was additionally cited for not providing “appropriate” respirators for employees grinding stone slab and for not ensuring employees who wear respirators don’t have facial hair. Respirators may not seal properly on workers who have facial hair, according to the state agency.
Serious violations are cited for hazards in which there’s a possibility of serious injury or death, the department said. General violations address other low-level safety issues.
The owner of Wall to Wall, Tyler Kruckenberg, said he’s already in the process of appealing the citations.
“We don’t agree with any of the fines,” he said. “It’s very brand-damaging on their part.”
Kruckenberg said the company also appealed the 2014 violations but said he was told that the Department of Labor & Industries didn’t receive it.
Personal protection devices always have been provided to employees, he said, and no employees have suffered medical-related issues from what the company was cited for.
Wall to Wall adheres to the Marble Institute of America’s national industry standards, Kruckenberg said. He blames a “lack of industry knowledge” for the citations brought by the Department of Labor & Industries.
“We feel we are over-compliant. Millions of dollars are put into safe workplace practices,” Kruckenberg said. “They’re trying to throw the book at us very hard. … If I agreed, I’d pay it but I don’t agree.”
Penalty money is placed in the workers’ compensation supplemental pension fund to help workers and families of those who have died on the job, according to the news release.
Jessica Prokop: 360-735-4551; jessica.prokop@columbian.com; twitter.com/JProkop16
