OSHA fines Imperial Sugar $8.7M in deadly blast

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Federal officials proposed more than $8.7 million in fines Friday against Imperial Sugar Co. for violations at a Georgia plant where an explosion this year killed 13 people and at another plant in Louisiana. The fines would be the third-highest in the history of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and include $5 million for the explosion near Savannah and $3.7 million for the plant in Gramercy, La., where authorities found violations a month after the Feb. 7 blast in Georgia that injured dozens of workers. OSHA found 120 violations against the Georgia plant, including 61 that are considered egregious and 91 violations against the Louisiana plant, including 47 egregious ones, according to a report of the agency's investigation. "It's pretty stiff," Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston said of the proposed... [read full story]