Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 23, 1993 TAG: 9309230021
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ARLINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The three, employees of Roanoke Belt Inc., were found dead Sept. 25 in a storage tank where they were doing repair work for the county. Stephen Lynn Miller and Martin Matthew Mroczkowski of Roanoke and Frank Wayne Johnson of Salem were poisoned by toxic fumes filling the tank, an investigation showed.
The company has failed to contest $610,000 in fines levied by the state for 14 safety violations.
Company President Roger Wickham said Roanoke Belt learned too late about last week's court hearing and could not make the trip. The company had not decided Wednesday whether to appeal, he said.
State investigators cited Roanoke Belt in March for failure to provide proper training and for numerous worker violations.
The company had the opportunity to contest the ruling; an Arlington Circuit Court judge awarded the $610,000 judgment by default last week after it did not respond.
Virginia labor officials initially cited Arlington for failing to monitor air quality at a second tank and failing to provide an employee with proper equipment.
The citations were not related to the accident. They resulted from a subsequent state investigation of conditions at the sewage treatment site. The citations were rescinded Tuesday after further study by state officials.
"Once we went back and requestioned people, we got a clearer idea of what happened," said Matt Dillon, director of enforcement for the state Department of Labor and Industry. "It appeared there was nothing that warranted being called a serious violation."
Staff writer Mag Poff contributed to this story.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB