Home Depot fined by OSHA in Texas

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a Home Depot store in San Antonio, Texas $70,500 for what it calls "serious and repeat violations," according to an article in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

OSHA alleges that the home improvement retailer's location at 9115 North Loop did not have adequate personal protective equipment and had deficient injury recordkeeping.

The federal agency said it began an inspection of the Home Depot store on July 30 and found an employee sustained chemical burns due to lack of appropriate personal protective equipment and training for protective equipment. It also cited the store for other violations that included failure to train employees on the proper use of protective equipment, failure to teach employees how to safely clean up spills and not assessing respiratory hazards.

Repeat violations cited included failure to ensure eye protection was used; failure to provide adequate eye wash and quick drenching facilities; and improper record keeping of injuries, according to OSHA.