US rubber recycler fined for health & safety violations

Austin, Texas – Ecore International, a major US manufacturer of recycled rubber-based commercial flooring and surfaces, has been fined for a series of health & safety failings.

Headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Ecore supplies reclaimed rubber products for playgrounds, fitness centres and sports fields across the US.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said 15 July that had found “more than a dozen” health & safety violations at Ecore’s Mexia plant in January.

Inspectors, it said, discovered 'employees [standing] on a forklift’s elevated tines to reach work areas, fire hazards and potentially explosive atmospheres.'

Furthermore, OSHA said that it had carried out a separate investigation in May at a new Ecore facility in Ozark, Alabama.

There, the agency said it found machine guard hazards “unchecked” and employees exposed to potential "electrocution and amputation" dangers.

The US department of labour has fined Ecore $299,000 (€275,000) for the health & safety violations, reported the OHSA.