Fines totaling $112,000 sought against Glen Ellyn company

A Glen Ellyn construction company may be fined $112,000 six months after four workers were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said today.

However, the company, Elliot Construction Co. Inc., is expected to appeal the fines proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The federal agency claims Elliot Construction committed three violations: exposed employees to carbon monoxide above permissible levels, failed to conduct air monitoring to determine the employees' level of exposure to carbon monoxide and didn't implement administrative and engineering controls for exposure to carbon monoxide.

"This is a significant penalty," said Brad Mitchell, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Robert Brown, Elliot Construction's lawyer, said the company and OSHA officials plan to meet Thursday to reach an understanding about the alleged violations.

Brown said the first violation is untrue. He said company officials also want to look at the lab results that support the remaining violations.

In addition, Brown said, the proposed $112,000 in fines are much higher than is justified under the statute.

"If we don't resolve everything (Thursday), then our next step is to contest it in front of the OSHA commission," he said. "Right now, we don't know whether or not we will reach that step."

OSHA's investigation began March 22, one day after the four workers were hospitalized because of overexposure to carbon monoxide.

At the time of the incident, Elliot Construction was in the process of building a new cold storage unit for a business in Chicago.

Elliot Construction was cited for a similar problem in March 2003. It received three citations after nine employees were sent to the hospital due to overexposure to carbon monoxide, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said most companies comply by all regulations and safety precautions.

"I think most employers are aware of when carbon monoxide might become a problem," Mitchell said, "and are quick to deal with it."

Elliot Construction has about two weeks to file an appeal. If that happens, a OSHA committee will review all the factors that went into determining the proposed penalties.