OSHA proposes fines in death at Peoria plant

PEORIA — The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has charged Komatsu America Corp. with safety violations at its plant in Peoria and proposed an $82,000 fine in the death of an employee.

Stanley Musgrave Jr. of Norwood died Aug. 24, 2012, after he was injured two days earlier at the plant. The Journal Star in Peoria reports that the 53-year-old Musgrave was testing hydraulic equipment when his arm was severed.

OSHA says its investigators found four safety violations. Among them was the failure of Komatsu to correct what the agency called “repeated catastrophic failures” of machine parts.

A call by The Associated Press to the plant’s office on Thursday was not returned.

OSHA says the company has 15 days to comply with the findings or contest them.