Houston Powder Coating Co. Hit with OSHA Fines

39 Serious Violations Included Toxic Exposures to Lead, Arsenic & More

Dozens of safety violations at a Houston metal powder coating company recently came to light during a routine OSHA inspection, sparking an in-depth investigation and hefty fines. The company at the center of this case is Outdoor Furniture Refinishing, LLC, operating in Houston, TX, since 1981 as Allied Powder Coating.

Here’s what regulators found and why Allied Powder Coating may be on OSHA’s radar for follow-up inspections, repeat violations, and more scrutiny in the future.

A Closer Look at the OSHA Inspection & Violations

In December 2023, OSHA regulators visited the Allied Powder Coating facility for a scheduled inspection, rather than as a response to a workplace accident or formal complaint. The alarming safety violations unearthed in this inspection ignited a 4-month-long OSHA investigation on Dec. 28, 2023.

When that investigation concluded at the end of April 2024, regulators had found 39 serious violations and 5 non-serious violations. Some of the serious OSHA violations included:

• A lack of a protective spray booth to safeguard workers
• Exposures to multiple inhalation hazards, including hazardous dust
• Failures to provide respirators and proper training on how to use respirators
• No showers or changing areas for employees who have been overexposed to toxic substances, including lead, arsenic, and beryllium
• Failures to conduct air monitoring to prevent overexposure to toxins via inhalation
• A lack of “regulated areas” for certain toxic substances, like arsenic and beryllium
• Failures to properly maintain electrical equipment

Most serious OSHA violations uncovered at Allied Powder Coating were met with fines between about $8,000 and just over $11,200. Only one of the non-serious violations was associated with an OSHA fine — that was a forklift violation, for which OSHA fined Allied Powder Coating $906 due to its potential for accidents and injuries.

In total, Allied Powder Coating must now pay OSHA $338,094 while rectifying the underlying issues linked to each violation found.

Putting the Houston powder coating company on blast, OSHA Area Director in south Houston, Larissa Ipsen, explained that:

Outdoor Furniture Refinishing Inc. has a legal responsibility to ensure its employees have a safe work environment and must do better at understanding the hazards that exist in the work they do… Employers are required to know all dangers present in their workplace and develop procedures, provide safety equipment, and train employees to ensure workers are protected from immediate and long-term hazards.

How Toxic Exposures Can Cause Severe Work Injuries

Different than workplace accidents and traumatic events, toxic exposures can lead to insidious injuries over time, with some causing fatal occupational illnesses. In many cases, the more workers are exposed to toxins — via inhalation, ingestion, and even skin contact — the greater their risk of developing a serious, incurable, or even deadly disease.

Highlighting just how dangerous toxic exposures can be, the table below shows the various health complications that can develop from prolonged exposure to lead, arsenic, beryllium, and triglycidyl isocyanurate (the same chemicals that Allied Powder Coating’s workers were exposed to, according to OSHA investigators).

Please note that:

• The table above does not exhaust all potential health complications associated with these toxic exposures.
• Some carcinogens and extremely dangerous substances can cause severe health problems with more limited exposures (i.e., prolonged exposure may not be necessary to develop severe complications if the substance is particularly hazardous).

All toxic substances above have the potential to cause deadly injuries.

What’s Next?

Allied Powder Coating now has the right to appeal OSHA’s findings or pay the fine by regulators’ deadline. Regardless of how this Houston company responds, its recent OSHA investigation serves as an important cautionary tale for both employers and the workers they hire.

For employers, the takeaway may be that safety violations can’t be brushed under the carpet forever — and putting workers’ lives at risk will come at a high price, with closer oversight in the future.

For workers, it’s crucial that they don’t forget about their right to a safe workplace and OSHA-compliant employers — and that they may have the right to seek financial recovery and hold negligent employers accountable when workplace safety failures cause real harm.