American Seafoods International LLC is facing fines totalling US$279,000 after being accused by federal authorities of flouting more than a dozen health and safety regulations. The company has been cited for 15 alleged “wilful and serious violations” relating to its process safety management programme at its processing plant in New Bedford, Massachusetts by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors have said the company’s PSM programme was “incomplete, lacked operating procedures and did not provide for adequate inspections of process equipment”. The agency has proposed a fine of $195,000 and that there are 12 other serious citations that carried proposed fines of $84,000. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it issues serious citations when “death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known”.
American Seafoods has 15 working days to comply with the citations or appeal against the charges.