Dive Brief:
- The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has levied a $313,000 fine on the primary contractor in a demolition job that led to the June 5 collapse of a four-story wall onto a neighboring building in Philadelphia. An $84,000 fine was leveled on a subcontractor.
- Six people were killed in a Salvation Army thrift shop onto which the wall fell, and 14 more people were hurt.
- OSHA said there were willful violations by prime contractor Campbell Construction and owner Griffin Campbell, as well as S&R Contracting and owner Sean Benschop.
Dive Insight:
The fines were associated with 12 citations. Among the violations OSHA alleged were that Campbell didn't demolish the structure from the top down, that its workers left an unsupported wall more than one story high and that the company didn't supply its workers with hard hats. S&R was accused of letting the high wall stand and of not providing workers with fall protection. Benschop faces state charges of involuntary manslaughter for what prosecutors say was operating machinery under the influence of marijuana.
