Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 22, 1994 TAG: 9404220194
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
But a spokesman for Walker Machine & Foundry Corp. said claims made by state safety inspectors will not hold up in court.
"OSHA is going to look kind of silly," said Jim Guynn, an attorney for the company.
The company has put the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on notice that it will go to court to fight the allegations.
David McAlpin, 50, of Troutville, died after a gas-powered oven exploded and hit him in the head.
The oven was used to cure iron casting produced by the 73-year-old plant.
State safety inspectors last week cited the foundry because, they said, toggle switches had been added that made the oven's flame-safety controls inoperative, and an audible alarm system on the oven was not working at the time McAlpin died.
The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, which runs the state's OSHA program, alleged that Walker did not provide its employees adequate training in operation of the oven.
The foundry was also cited for not keeping a comprehensive written record of maintenance on the oven.
Inspectors found that conditions inside the oven's control panel were in violation of electrical codes.
"Nothing that OSHA has cited has anything to do with what caused the explosion," Guynn said. "We didn't cause this explosion."
Company investigators believe that McAlpin started the oven without opening the door, a practice that could lead to a buildup of gas.
by CNB