Ga. peanut company violates settlement, hit with $309K fine

A Georgia peanut processing facility that failed to live up to its formal settlement with OSHA faces $309,505 in proposed penalties.

The agency says a follow-up inspection it conducted at the Great Southern Peanut LLC Leesburg worksite as part of that agreement found that the company had failed to:

• develop and implement procedures for confined space entry
• train employees on confined space hazards
• reduce compressed air to the required level; and
• meet recordkeeping requirements.

The company was placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

"This employer failed to adhere to the terms of a formal agreement to correct workplace hazards identified in a previous inspection, continuing to put employees at risk of serious injury," said OSHA Savannah Area Office Director Margo Westmoreland.