SYLACAUGA — The Imerys operation is facing 48 safety violations from the Mine Safety Health Administration for a 17-day period this year.Of the 48 citations pending before MSHA, 44 were issued directly to Imerys and four to contractors working on the Imerys site. The citations are pending hearings, appeals and other actions, according to the agency’s Web site.
Michael A. Davis, district manager of the Southeastern District of MSHA in Birmingham, would not confirm the pending safety violations without a Freedom of Information request from The Daily Home. The newspaper made the request, but it takes several weeks before this information can be made available to the newspaper through FOI.
The Department of Labor oversees MSHA, which issues and monitors these violations within the United States.
On the MSHA Web site, a history of Imerys’ safety citations was found dating back to 1995 and the pending violations were listed for 2005.
These violations included safety defects of equipment, safety belts and lines, exposure level to noise for miners, examination of working places, housekeeping issues, warning signs, moving machine parts, controls and switches on equipment and circuits, protective equipment or clothing for welding, cutting, or working with molten metal, protection for openings around travelways, brakes on equipment, correction of hazardous conditions and more.
According to a news release from Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, the union was informed by MSHA Wednesday of the 48 U.S. mine safety law violations pending against Imerys, a French-based company headquartered in Paris.
The mine violations pertain to the Imerys Sylacauga operation from Jan. 20, 2005, to Jan. 3, 2005.
Based on information The Daily Home obtained from reports on the MHSA Web site, from 1995 to 2005, there have been 347 citations. From 1995 to 2005, there have been 174 reported operator injuries at Imerys.
In 2005, two operator injuries have been reported; 37 in 2004, 33 in 2003 and 2002; 15 in 2001; and 27 in 2000. There have been no reported operator fatalities.
Imerys has owned the Sylacauga operation since May 31, 1989. It is located at 849 Fayetteville Road. The company employs more than 400, based on information from the Talladega County Economic Development Authority.
The company has paid penalties for violations, from September 2004 to May 13, 2003, ranging from $60 to $1,238, based on reports listed on MSHA’s Web site.
"This company has little respect for U.S. laws and U.S. workers," said Don Langham, PACE Region Five vice president, whose office is in Mobile.
PACE represents workers at Sylacauga and Dry Branch, Ga., facilities operated by Imerys.
Keith Fulbright, president of PACE Local 3-516 for the Sylacauga facilities, said, "This particular location has several issues with labor violations and safety incidents by the amount of citations received in MSHA inspections."
Fulbright said PACE has started a corporate campaign to get Imerys to adhere to labor laws, not just in the United States but overseas.
"This company has showed little respect of U.S. labor laws," he said.
Imerys is a French multinational company that operates in facilities in 290 manufacturing and retail sites in 38 countries. It is the world leader in mineral processing. It is the largest producer of white industrial minerals.
Imerys’ main office in North America is located in Atlanta.
Efforts to reach Imerys officials in Sylacauga or Atlanta for comments regarding the safety violations were unsuccessful.
