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[May 26, 2007]

Rexnord will pay safety fines: Company agrees to correct violations uncovered after Falk plant explosion

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 26--Rexnord Industries has agreed to pay $40,000 in fines and correct violations of federal safety regulations uncovered in the investigation of a propane explosion that killed three workers and injured 45 others in December.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration accused Rexnord of failing to maintain an anti-corrosion system on an underground propane pipe at its Falk Corp. plant in the Menomonee Valley.

Two leaks in that pipe allowed propane to accumulate and ignite in a large storage building. The explosion scattered debris for hundreds of yards, damaged adjacent buildings and rattled windows miles from the blast zone.

Federal regulators also charged that Rexnord's lack of adequate evacuation plans and lack of training to respond to a propane leak violated federal safety standards.

OSHA initially levied a $56,000 fine against Rexnord, the maximum allowed, for eight serious violations of federal safety standards. Rexnord agreed to pay the $40,000 in a settlement with the agency.

"We accept the OSHA findings," said Evan Zeppos, a spokesman for Rexnord, which purchased the Falk gear division in 2005.

J.M. Brennan Corp., a Milwaukee-based mechanical contractor, is contesting the OSHA citation that accuses it of failing to install the underground pipe properly in 1988.

The pipe was not properly supported or protected against physical damage, according to the OSHA findings. Regulators also accused Brennan of failing to adequately train its workers to respond to a propane leak and failing to provide a sufficient response plan.

The agency levied a $16,800 fine against Brennan.

Through its spokesman, Jeffrey Remsik, the contractor has maintained that it installed the pipe properly with a working anti-corrosion system. That system was working when last tested in 1996, but had failed sometime later, according to tests conducted after the blast.

Brennan claims that Rexnord was responsible for the anti-corrosion system that could have protected the pipe.

The Brennan challenge of its OSHA citation now moves to an administrative court proceeding in Chicago.

Steamfitters from the mechanical contractor and maintenance workers employed by Rexnord were conducting a test of the Falk plant's propane system on Dec. 6 when the underground pipe began leaking.

The rapidly expanding gas traveled more than 100 feet and concentrated in the annex, a 50,000-square-foot storage building that was reduced to rubble when the propane ignited.

Family members of the three men killed in the blast and eight of the injured workers have sued Brennan in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, contending that improper installation caused the pipe to fail. They also claim that a Brennan employee discouraged an evacuation of the area after workers first detected the leaking gas.

In their public statements, the two companies have sought to blame the other for the pipe failure and subsequent explosion.

Brennan, however, is the lone defendant in the lawsuits now pending.

Rexnord is largely immune from such litigation under the state worker's compensation law. Workers cannot sue their own employer for injuries they suffer on the job, limiting their legal recourse pursuit to worker's compensation claims.

Lawyers from the Habush, Habush & Rottier firm pursuing the lawsuit against Brennan have said the OSHA findings would have no effect on their lawsuit. They could not be reached for comment Friday.

Copyright (c) 2007, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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