Albertsons LLC: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Aug 26, 1996: Employee's leg fractured between dock plate and trailer

At approximately 3:00 a.m. on August 26, 1996, Employee #1, a warehouse worker, was preparing to unload a trailer. Typically, the picker positioned a hydraulica lly powered dock plate onto the trailer to be unloaded. The dock plate consisted of a metal plate set into the floor of the warehouse adjacent to where a traile r would back in. The plate was hinged to the floor at the end furthest from the edge of the dock. In neutral, the plate was level with the floor; to accommodate trailers of different heights, it could be moved up or down so that the outside edge of the plate was level without the trailer being unloaded. When Employee # 1 arrived at the dock with the trailer to be unloaded , she found a loaded palle t on that dock. In addition, the dock plate was lower than floor level. The cowo rker who had left the pallet, began to raise the dock plate to floor level, whic h allowed the pallet to slide off the plate. The dock plate was raised too high and the opening strap for the trailer door became pinned between the trailer doo r and the lip of the plate. Employee #1 stepped between the dock plate and the t railer door with one foot, reached down to grasp the strap, and attempted to pul l it free. It was pinned too tightly, so she told the coworker at the controls t o lift the plate further, thinking that this might free the strap. As the dock p late rose, Employee #1's leg became pinned between the lip and the trailer door. A tractor was then hooked to the trailer to pull it away from the dock to free Employee #1. When this was done, the tractor backed into the trailer and the tra iler was pushed further back on Employee #1. She sustained a compound fracture o f the tibia and fibula of her right leg.

Incident on Mar 5, 1994: Employee injured in fall to concrete floor

At approximately 6:30 p.m. on March 5, 1994, Employee #1 climbed a storage rack approximately 15 feet to obtain an item from a pallet instead of using the avail able ladder or power lift. A coworker observed Employee #1 and asked him what he was doing. A board on the pallet on which Employee #1 was standing broke and he fell to the concrete floor. His feet struck a load of diapers on a six wheel ca rt on the way down and his head struck the concrete floor. The coworker aided hi m and had someone call the paramedics. Employee #1 was stabilized, then flown by Life Flight to the hospital with a head injury.

Incident on Nov 5, 1993: Employee falls from and is pinned by machine

On November 8, 1993, when Employee #1 turned the pallet jack control to travel f orward, the equipment traveled in reverse. He was thrown off balance and fell fr om the machine, which continued to travel in reverse. His leg was pinned underne ath and his body pinned against some shelves. The machine was found to be in poo r condition and had an inoperative brake.

Incident on Oct 20, 1988: Seven employees overexposed to carbon monoxide

At approximately 3:00 a.m. on October 20, 1988, Employees #1 through #7 were wor king in a refrigerated food warehouse where other companies were doing remodelin g and construction work at the rear of the warehouse distribution center. The wa rehouse employees started work adjacent to the construction where propane-powere d manlifts had been running most of the day. Employees #1 through #7 became ill after 4 to 5 hours and were taken to the hospital, where carboxyhemoglobin was m easured and ranged from a low of 15.2 percent to a high of 23.4 percent. Employe es #1 through #7 were hospitalized suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Incident on Nov 20, 1985: Inhaled phosgene gas

EMPLOYEE #1 WAS ATTEMPING TO REPAIR A LEAK IN A REFRIGERATION SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH W RITTEN AND ESTABLISHED PROCEEDURES REQUIRED IT, THE EMPLOYEE DID NOT DRAIN AND P URGE THE PRESSURING SYSTEM BEFORE BEGINNING THE REPAIRS. HE HAD BEEN THE SHOP FO REMAN FOR 2 1/2 YEARS, AND HAD RUN HIS OWN BUSINESS FOR 22 YEARS BEFORE THAT. HE BEGAN HEATING A COPPER TUBING JOINT THAT WAS HELD TOGETHER WITH ZEBAN SOLDER. T HE HOLE ENLARGED, CAUSING THE FREON TO SPRAY OUT INTO THE TORCH FLAME. THE PHOSG ENE THUS CREATED SPILLED INTO THE EMPLOYEE'S BREATHING ZONE, CAUSING RESPIRATORY DISTRESS AND SUBSEQUENT HOSPITALIZATION.