Quala is a company that brands itself as the “Tank Pros.” Quala says it operates the largest independent network of tank cleaning, maintenance, and industrial services in North America, with more than 120 locations that primarily focus on cleaning up hazardous substances for the chemical, food and transportation industries.
In November 2019, a pair of employees working for Quala Services in La Porte, Texas, died while cleaning the inside of a tanker truck. About eight months later, OSHA cited the location for various health and safety violations stemming from the industrial accident.
Most Read on IEN:
Last year, a similar incident claimed the life of a 53-year-old worker, and it happened just two days before Christmas.
According to OSHA, Quala Services disregarded federal safety standards that could’ve protected the employee from hazardous working conditions and prevented the fatal injury. For example, the company failed to make sure that atmospheric testing was performed inside the tank before the employee entered.
Following an OSHA investigation, Quala was cited for eight repeat violations and now faces more than $800,000 ($810,703) in proposed penalties.
Other serious violations include failing to prevent unauthorized entry into a permit-required confined space, which exposed employees to explosion, inhalation, and asphyxiation hazards. Quala also failed to provide an attendant while employees were in such spaces.
The company also failed to identify an authorized entry duration, which services to contact in the event of an emergency or even how to call emergency services. Quala even failed to specify personal protective, rescue and communications equipment and alarm systems.
In a statement, OSHA Area Director Larissa Ipsen said that if Quala Services had acted responsibly and made the safety reforms as required in 2020, another employee would not have lost their life.
The company has 15 business days from receiving the citations to comply, request an informal conference or contest the findings.
IEN reached out to OSHA, which could not immediately comment because its Houston offices are closed due to the rolling blackout in the area. We also reached out to the company, which has yet to respond to our request for comment.
The 53-year-old worker left behind a wife and son.
Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter featuring breaking manufacturing industry news.