Group Questions OSHA Settlement Practices In Wake Of Deadly Grain Elevator Blast

A public interest group that keeps close tabs on OSHA enforcement activity sharply called into question the agency's citation and penalty practices, saying “lax” procedures have allowed safety problems to run rampant without holding employers fully responsible, in the wake of a grain elevator blast in Kansas that killed six workers in late October. But OSHA -- which currently has a grain elevator emphasis program under way -- has not yet released details of its probe of the incident, nor made public any plans to cite the Kansas employer. The group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibi