Walla Walla Foundry artists prepare a bronzed London Plane branch for installation at Pioneer Park, April 2021.
Walla Walla Foundry artists prepare a bronzed London Plane branch for installation at Pioneer Park, April 2021.
World-renowned, contemporary fine-art workshop Walla Walla Foundry, 405 Woodland Ave., faces $93,600 in fines after a state Department of Labor & Industries inspection uncovered more than 40 violations of health and safety regulations.
The Foundry was cited for a variety of problems including a general lack of planning for hazard assessments and “serious failures to provide required safety equipment or training to workers,” according to the release Tuesday, April 12.
L&I also cited the company for not properly cutting power supplies to dangerous equipment to prevent machinery from being accidentally or unintentionally turned back on.
Accidents can occur when power supplies are not completely shut off, and machinery unexpectedly gets powered up causing injury or damage, according to the release.
The Foundry was also dinged for not properly supervising work activities in confined spaces.
L&I defines a confined space as one large enough and arranged so that a worker can fully enter it and work, has limited or restricted entry or exit, and is not designed for someone to be inside continuously.
Of the 40 violations that the foundry was assessed, 29 were considered serious by L&I.
The violations include a lack of eye-wash stations, employees not wearing proper eye and face protection and no emergency rescue plan in place to contact authorities in the case of an accident.
Walla Walla Foundry’s leaders have filed an appeal.
They released a statement to the Union-Bulletin on Tuesday saying: “The Walla Walla Foundry prioritizes employee safety and is committed to a work environment that is safe and healthy. We have been working with a safety consultant to ensure that we are fully compliant with L&I requirements. This is the first L&I citation the Walla Walla Foundry has received in its 42 years in business.”
The local art business was founded in 1980 to facilitate the creation of art sculptures through bronze casting and fabrication, according to the Foundry’s website.
It is one of the largest arts foundries in the world and has earned its reputation as one of the premiere fine-arts casting facilities in the United States, Foundry staff state on the site.
The Walla Walla Foundry was featured in a New York Times article in October and is a very well known facility across the art world.
The foundry has produced works that have been displayed around the world including in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Palace of Versailles in France and the Venice Biennale in Italy.
Max Erikson can be reached at merikson@wwub.com.
According to an L&I spokesperson on Tuesday, April 12, the Walla Walla Foundry has been cited with 29 serious violations:
1-2: Employees not wearing proper eye and face protection.
1-3: Lockout/tagout (to prevent injury from stored, residual, or re-accumulated energy after equipment is shut down) procedures do not have enough specific information.
1-4: Employee doing work on equipment relying on others to lockout the equipment.
1-5: Employee doing maintenance activities does not apply their own lock, relies on maintenance for lockout/tagout.
1-6a: No training for authorized employees.
1-6b: Periodic reviews not performed or documented.
1-7: No training for affected employees.
1-8: No guard on motor shaft in shell room.
1-9: No guard on metal lathe for chip or coolant hazards.
1-10: Compressed air for cleaning set at greater than 30 psi (approximately 100psi) missing several safety tip nozzles.
1-11: No effective chip guarding on compressed air nozzles used for cleaning.
1-12: Angle grinder with blade greater than 2 inches had no guard.
1-13: No side handle on angle grinder 4 inches and larger.
1-14: Not all permit-required confined spaces identified.
1-15: Effective measures not in place to prevent unauthorized employees entering permit-required confined spaces, or PRCS.
1-16a: No permit-required confined space administrator designated.
1-16b: No employee consultation with employees about PRCS program.
1-17: Inadequate training for employees involved in PRCS activities.
1-18: No entry permit completed prior to entry.
1-19: Implement measures to prevent unauthorized PRCS entry.
1-20: Maintain provided PRCS equipment.
1-21: Evaluate and control hazards for safe permit-required confined space entry.
1-22a: No adequate rescue and emergency services available during permit-required confined space entry.
1-22b: No procedures for contacting rescue and emergency services.
1-23: No non-entry retrieval systems available.
1-24: No entry supervisor used for PRCS entry.
1-25: No attendant used for PRCS entry.
1-26: Employee observed without adequate hearing protection at 85 dBA or greater.
1-27: No annual hearing conservation training.
1-28: Deficiencies in hearing conservation program not evaluated.
1-29: Employee standing between source of respirable dust and dust collector, overexposed to respirable dust.
The Foundry has also been cited for 13 general violations:
2-2: Objects not secured on top of a metal cabinet.
2-3: Extension cords used as fixed wiring.
2-4: No extension cord inspections conducted.
2-5: Employee noise monitoring not complete.
2-6: Incomplete initial silica exposure evaluation.
2-7: Work practices to reduce respirable crystalline exposure not described in written program.
2-8: Silica written exposure control plan not reviewed annually.
2-9: Air monitoring records are incomplete for respirable crystalline silica.
2-10: Respirators stored open on work benches, not zip seal bags.
2-11: One PIT, or powered industrial truck, has obscured nameplate.
2-12: Exposure evaluation not conducted for paraffin wax fume respirable dust in wax department.
2-13: Train employees on use and limitations of PPE, or personal protective equipment.
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